What would make a circuit flip?

Question

My breaker box had a circuit breaker flip off for my air conditioner. What does this mean? Is it dangerous?

Answer 1

You have a amp load greater than the size of the circuit breaker.
Let's say your breaker is a 20 amp breaker, there are a few electrical items on this circuit which add up to almost 20 amps, then you start your air conditioner which takes15 amps to run,. you are over the max. allowed on that breaker, so for safety it trips. This action of the breaker is what takes place to avoid anything dangerous. To avoid this problem again, turn the breaker off and check around to see what doesn't have any power, then you can see which items can be move to other circuits in your electrical panel in order to run your air conditioner when you need it. You don't have to go into the electrical panel, just move one plug from one outlet to another to balance your amp. load. and avoid tripping any breakers

Answer 2

A circuit breaker is just like it's name suggests. It's a safety device designed to prevent you from burning down your house when an electrical device shorts out or when there are too many electrical devices 'loading up' a single circuit.
In your case, since your ac is the only thing on the breaker, you have a short somewhere in the system.
This could mean one of the following:
A short in the wiring.
Motor shorted and/or going to ground.
Motor starter contactor shorted or welded contacts.
Compressor shorted or overloading.

It's also possible that you have a bad breaker.

No matter what, the situation should be corrected by having it looked at by a qualified electrician. Normally I'd tell a person how to troublshoot the problem by themselves, but ac breakers are usually rated at around 50 to 60 amps. This much current being shorted is a definate fire hazard.
The electrician can determine why the breaker is tripping.
If the problem turns out to be the ac, you will need to call an ac repairman.

Best of luck.

BTW, ignore the IDIOT that says to put a larger breaker in. He obviously hasn't got a clue.

Answer 3

The two primary things that will cause a breaker to trip is either a short (Hot wire making contact with ground) or overload. Make sure your A/C is turned off when you re-set the breaker. If the breaker trips immediatly when you turn it back on, you have a short, call an electrician. If your A/C is on a dedicated circuit (only thing on it), and it runs for a while after you turn it on before it trips the breaker, you probably have an overload. This can happen, especially as your unit gets older. If it has been running a lot in your area (as mine has, due to hot weather) it could have just got hot and overloaded (maybe froze up). Lightening surge (not strike) can cause the breaker to trip. Wait a few minutes before re-starting the unit. Pressure against the compressor will cause it to trip again if you re-start too early. If the breaker re-sets OK, and the A/C unit runs OK, don`t worry about it.......it just happens sometimes. If it starts doing it more often, contact your service man. (At least now, you know your circuit breaker is working and protecting you.)

Answer 4

Whenever a circuit turns off by "flipping", you have too much amperage coming off of that circuit, so it is protecting you by flipping off so that you don't have something like a fire in the wall happen from overheating, etc.

So you might check what else on that circuit breaker is off when the a/c flipped off. Do you have something else on the same breaker which you can move to another switch, lamp, computer, microwave, etc...so definitely move those other items to another wall switch. You can test this by leaving the breaker off and trying the other items while it is off, if it also doesn't work then move that item to another wall switch, then test it to make sure it works there. That might be a quick fix.

Remember, the circuit breaker is a safety feature, so you still may want to have a professional check it for you to be safe.

Answer 5

When a circuit overloads there is too much power being drawn by the device, or a short exists. Your AC when it starts and cycles draws the most at those times. A circuit breaker is there to protect the wire. Call a pro to check your AC unit out as this may only be a small issueright now, but reseting and running your AC could cause additional damage if there are other issues. Hope this helps and Good Luck

Answer 6

If this is the first time it happened, reset the breaker.
A breaker trips because there is an overload.
Sometimes an AC compressor can be stalled by a 'slug` of liquid refrigerant causing an overload.
That condition is self correcting.
If the breaker trips again, there is a problem requiring
attention either from the AC tech. or an electrician.

Answer 7

It sound like you need a higher amp breaker for the a/c, have a tech check it out. Yes, it could be dangerous if your a/c is overloading the circuit and causes a fire.



Good Luck,

Answer 8

something could be shorting out. Is that circuit running something else on top of the AC? and it could be as simple as a bad breaker. Get an electrician to look at it and give you a real answer.

Answer 9

the most common cause for a tripped breaker on a/c is caused from a short cyle, quick off and on sequence. usually always caused by moving the tstat up and down quickly. dont play with the tstat. set it and leave it alone. also can be caused from storms when the power goes off and back on quickly.

Answer 10

There are a few things that could cause it. Check to make sure the outdoor unit is clean. For other information check out www.hvac-for-beginners.com