Common Causes of a Tripped Breaker

This is the list of common causes of tripped breaker

• A malfunctioning appliance (oven, iron, fridge, washer, dryer, TV etc.)
• A missing or damaged earth
• A short inside of a receptacle
• A damaged wire in the wiring (neutral, live or ground)
• A short winding of a fan or any other motorized appliance
• A bad breaker
• A loose breaker
• A dismounted breaker
• An under capacity breaker
• Power surges
• An over capacity appliance in an under capacity outlet/receptacle
• Damaged heater coils etc.
• Corroded connectors
• Wet connections
• Outdoor receptacles not fully covered
• Water leakage from roof or other areas of house
• Rare but pet issues
• Rare but insect/bird issues can trip a breaker
• Rare but non-domestic animal issues

How to check an appliance?

To check the issues with an appliance; if you observe that using a specific appliance, such as your heater, trips the breaker every time you turn it on, plug heater in a different receptacle in a totally different room. If the breaker for that room trips now, there’s a possible electrical short in the appliance. Now, don’t use the appliance again until fixed, or you risk yourself getting a shock or damaging more of your property.

A breaker that is tripping repeatedly should not be tried to be reset without finding and solving the cause. A tripping breaker is meant to do so to prevent any major appliance damage or a disaster from happening.

If you have a hot tub in your house, it can be an issue of tripping breakers or even affecting other circuits in the house.

If you experience tripping of the breakers quite frequently, it is time to call in the electrician from Professional Electrical to investigate and solve the problem. Give us a call at 780-476-1413.

How to reset a breaker?

Simply remember that when you are trying to reset a breaker, it first has to be brought to complete “Off” position, then only you can turn it back “On”. The middle position for a breaker is “Trip” position and normally a breaker won’t reset back to “On” from “Trip” position.

If a breaker trips twice or thrice, don’t reset it without getting the circuit checked. The breaker is doing its job and if you keep resetting it, the actual reason is getting ignored which can be dangerous in the long run.

Our electricians will love to guide you about a breaker tripping and can provide you exact solution required in your case.

Give us a call at 780-476-1413, 24/7