There’s a reason circuit breakers are designed to shut off. A circuit breaker stops electrical current from running to your home and protects appliances, outlets and electrical devices from overheating. Before you rush to switch the breaker back on when it trips, it’s helpful to investigate a few contributing factors that could be causing a broken circuit breaker — especially if it happens over and over.
- Damaged breaker: The first thing to do is to look inside the circuit breaker panel. Inspect the breaker that corresponds to the area of your home that has lost power. Check its condition. Does it looked burned? Do you see any corrosion on the ends of the breaker? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you’ll need to call a licensed electrician to assess the problem and swap out the breaker if necessary.
- Circuit overload: It’s possible for a circuit to trip or break if it’s overloaded. A circuit is designed to hold a specific load, and if you plug too many devices into an outlet, for example, it will trip to protect the electrical lines. Before you attempt to reset the circuit, check the outlets in the corresponding area, and unplug extra appliances or electronics. If this doesn’t work, get professional assistance because it’s possible for loose connections inside the receptacle to cause problems. It’s also possible that you may need to install additional circuits if you can’t rearrange where you plug appliances in.
- A short: Inside electrical receptacles, there is order to the madness of the wires that lead to the home’s main electricity supply. If a wire comes loose or is frayed, however, and a hot wire touches a neutral one, it will short. To remedy the problem, first check the cords of appliances and other devices plugged into outlets. See if they look damaged or frayed. Inspect the appliance plugs and outlets for evidence of burning. If the wires are burning, you’ll smell it or the devices will appear discolored. Finally, the insulation on the actual wires could also be damaged. If you’re not comfortable inspecting these components or you don’t see any evidence of a short, contact a pro for help.
- A ground fault: Like a short, a ground fault occurs when the ground wire comes in contact with a hot wire.
Because of the risk of shock in all of these cases, it’s important to proceed with caution when checking the causes of a broken circuit breaker. Only do so if you have adequate electrical knowledge and experience. Otherwise, if you’re out of your league or need help to fix the problem, contact a licensed electrician for help.
At Reliable Heating & Air, we’re happy to help our neighbors with electrical services. We can even help you identify the cause behind your broken circuit breaker. We also offer ceiling fan installations and basement electrical services as well as home maintenance plans for your electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems. Give us a call to speak to one of our trained technicians.
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