For the past couple of days various Circut Breakers have been tripping in my condo, even at night. Nothing new has been plugged in. Now I can't reset some of them. The condo is about 7 years old, and so are the breakers. We've never had any electrical issues before. Can this be something as simple as wear-and-tear on the breakers and that I simply just need to replace them?
2007-08-20 02:52:36 · 10 answers · asked by smd6169 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
A quick update, I am able to reset the breakers, but there is no power in those rooms, after everything is reset.
2007-08-20 03:02:32 · update #1
We did [previously] have mice issues due to sourounding area construction but that was eradicated months ago - hope they are not back.
2007-08-20 03:40:05 · update #2
...I placed a call to my electrician.
2007-08-20 03:41:23 · update #3
One of the Grand Master Electricians with over 100 years of experience will soon be here to give you an answer. Sounds a little strange to me. I've seen many breakers go bad but only one at a time unless the panel was hit by lightning or other high voltage surge.
Let us know what your electrician finds. I'm curious to know.
Hi Fordman. Pretty good, how bout you?
2007-08-20 03:12:24 · answer #1 · answered by John himself 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The breakers should be OK. They are not that old. I would have a qualified electrician look at the wiring soon.
It is possible that you had a short, that was why the breakers tripped. With you resetting them, it could have caused the wiring to burn free of the short. Now the breakers will reset but the wiring may be burnt and you now have an open circuit and no power to the outlets.
It could also have GFI circuits and you will have to reset them to get power back to the outlets. These are the ones with the reset buttons on the faceplate, and will be found in the kitchen and bathrooms, basements and garages, and your outside outlets.
I really would want an electrician to take a look at this wiring, it may be cheap insurance for you.
HEY JOHN, HOW'S IT GOING??????
2007-08-20 03:36:26 · answer #2 · answered by Fordman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Breakers can wear out and I have seen many that look reset when they are actually not. Once a breaker trips for the very first time it loses some capacity for how much current it can handle. In other words they do get weak especially if they have been tripped a lot of times.
Check for voltage right at the terminal where voltage leaves the breaker (load side). If no voltage then make sure you turn the breaker completely off and try to turn it back on. You cannot just turn a breaker once it has been tripped. It has to be flipped completely off first.
Obviously you have issues. Current draw needs to be checked with an amp clamp on those circuits to determine if the breaker is tripping prematurely. I breaker is usually designed to run at a maximum of 80% of the rating. It can reach it's total rating momentarily and not trip, but on a normal day you should not be drawing more current than about 80% of the rating.
2007-08-20 03:12:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Try shutting the breaker off completely twice in a row and then turn it on. If it does not work then you most likely have a bad breaker. Just to be sure unplug the hall lamp and try the breaker again. If it still does not work than un plug everything in the room and shut the light off. If the breaker now stays on you need to turn one thing at a time until you find what is causing the breaker to trip. If the breaker still won't reset than take the plug ins out and do a visual inspection of them. At this point if nothing works than it is definitely a bad breaker. I hope this will help you and Good luck. Richard
2016-04-01 08:30:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe this is a breaker wearing out problem, you seem to be having a problem on multiple circuits which tells me there is a major problem with something in the breaker box or the main wiring in the condo. Since you seem unfamiliar with electricity call the builder or your loan company to see if there is a warren-tee on the electrical system. If not call an electrician, this does seem to be a major problem that needs immediate attention.
2007-08-20 03:06:02 · answer #5 · answered by frfiter 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It could be that the breakers have worn out and should be replaced.
It could also be that one of the GFI outlets in or outside the house needs to be reset. These are the outlets that have the push button to reset them (usually found in the kitchen/bathroom/basement/garage and sometimes on outdoor lighting). Reset all of them even if they look OK and then try resetting the breakers.
If it's an ongoing problem, you may have moisture getting in somewhere it shouldn't or its possible the wiring is damaged (maybe squirrels or possibly a nail has worn through).
If all else fails, call an electrician.
Good luck!
2007-08-20 03:03:00 · answer #6 · answered by MARY N 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Those are all good answers but before giving up try snapping tripped breaker off and back on hard. you may not be fully resetting them.... ......................................
OK still no power -if your not too knowledgeable call an electrician ,I seen wires held together with hockey tape (I guess it was the same stuff in the 70's lol) You may have worse wiring than you think, better safe than sorry.
2007-08-20 03:05:35 · answer #7 · answered by frozenbrew 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Another look at this do you live in an area where you have mice because if you do they love to eat the insalation off of wiring for some reason and if that is the case you have a short in a wall somewhere that you will need to find and fix.
2007-08-20 03:13:46 · answer #8 · answered by dadcat00759 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Put them from the tripped position to the off position then to the on position.
2007-08-20 04:48:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
or it could be a short somwhere, can you isolate the power and try again
2007-08-20 03:01:25 · answer #10 · answered by grd_jck(AU) 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋