Why does my panel breaker keep kicking off. Breakers #2
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- A description of a problem with the wires coming out of the panel breaker. If the terminal screws are loose, the bad connection will overheat the breaker and cause it to kick off. If the breaker kicks off immediately, this is not the problem. The breaker will shut off after 15 min to several days of operation. Tightening the wires may solve the problem.
Caution: the voltage in the panel can kill you. If you dont understand, call a professional.
This video is part of the heating and cooling series of training videos made to accompany my websites: www.graycoolingman.com and www.grayfurnaceman.com to pass on what I have learned in many years of service and repair. If you have suggestions or comments they are welcome.
If you are a homeowner looking to repair your own appliance, understand that the voltages can be lethal, the fuels are highly flammable and high pressures are used. Know your limits.
I know this is an old upload, but I want to thank you for making this video and putting it on RUclips. Excellent job. Live long and in good Health.
Thanks for the support.
GFM
Thanks to this video it saved me a lot of money. I was having a problem with my air conditioner which kept tripping the breaker. It was tripping every 15-30 minutes as you had described it, so I went to check the circuit breaker and indeed there was a lose connection. Now I get to enjoy my house without worrying to spend a lot of money for a simple fix. Thank you so much!!
Welcome
GFM
This was exactly my issue and I couldn’t find this solution anywhere else. Thank you so much! 🙏
This is EXACTLY what was causing one of my breakers to trip. Thank you!
Welcome
GFM
Thanks for taking the time to explain how these things work. This was very helpful.
Excellent recommendation of checking loose connection. Fixed the immediate problem. Will replace breaker also. Thanks for your contribution! :-)
Thanks for making this video. I'm a complete novice, and this gave me some much needed background on circuit breakers.
Welcome
GFM
Excellent, maybe I found the problem I have with the lights going weak when I use other electrical devices!
Thank you so much!
Had a for 30 years ago taught me this, AC is moving all the time so it will loosen a threaded screw , I miss him for a lot of reasons but he was a great.
Eddie Reynolds what the hell are u saying
This was an interesting video. I went thru this situation with my big 5 HP 2 stage Quincy air compressor. The only difference was that it would take out one of the two fuses in the disconnect switch but leave the breaker untouched, completely at random. It would always blow the fuse on start up obviously, but it was completely at random and only do it occasionally. I checked voltage and amperage, and it was all normal. I then went thru all the connections starting at the circuit breaker all the way to the connections in the motor's junction box and didn't find anything. The only thing I could possible think of is that one of the forks in the disconnect switch wasn't making good contact. I had actually replaced the the fused disconnect with a non-fused disconnect because the compressor was on its own 30 amp circuit with its own breaker. The problem went away after doing this, and the breaker has never tripped.
Thanks for sharing. Scott
thanks ...breaker tripping after 5-20 min of heat....found loose screw on breaker....tighten (only about 8-10 % )........ fixed the problem....love your channel,,.......bob
Great info thanks . You made me kinda nervous poking around with the screw driver without throwing the main breaker though.
You solved the tripping problem I have been having. Thanks!
Welcome
GFM
I would check the amperage draw of the appliances you are using. Amp draw can be found on the model plate of the appliance. If it exceeds the amperage, the breaker will trip. If the amp draw is below the rating of the appliances, Replace the breaker. Breakers do sometimes fail inside and will trip under normal operating conditions.
GFM
Watched video, had it fixed in 3 min. Thanks 😊
Welcome
GFM
Have you been able to reset the breaker? Sometimes breakers fail inside. You will need a test meter to go further and the ability to use it. Remember you are dealing with high voltages and need to take precautions.
GFM
Funny, but I did residential and commercial electrical work for over fifty years, and I never had to replace a bus as you mentioned. Also, I never ran across a replacement bus for one of those panels. Usually when burned terminals occurred like you described, the damage was so severe that the entire panel had to be replaced.
Tightening the terminal screws was exactly the problem. One was a few turns loose on a two- pole 40 amp breaker for the oven that kept tripping.
Thanks for the support.
GFM
That's what happened with my AC breaker a week ago. Aluminum wires and one of the leads had no paste. He re pasted leads and re tightened and the breaker has not kicked off since. He used a thermal gun and said it was 170 degrees when it should have been 125-130. Coupled with dirty compressor fins causing my AC to work harder.
I'm not an electrician, but can tell you that I have used GFC circuits on ungrounded outlets and the GFC works normally and will shut off if there is an unbalance in power. If still unsure, talk to an electrician.
GFM
Two of electric outlets are having issues in my kitchen. They kept disconnecting the power after a few weeks of use. Each time i opened up the panel, circuit breakers were tripped to middle, so i reset them, then they start to run for a week sometimes for weeks then tripped again. The thing is that i dont use too much power on those outlets(both in kitchen) at the same time. Mostly used for one water boiling kettle or one rice cooker at a time.
It’s so helpful to know. Thanks for sharing. Good job sir!
Welcome
GFM
Torque to specs as displayed on placard, this eliminates any guess work. If available, use infrared thermometer to see hot spots where connections are lose, this will be a higher than ambient temp due to a high resistance. That is the one that is causing the problem. Hope this helps.
I gave a free 2nd opinion on big company in Ca, that charged $900 for a dual capacitor when it was actually loose breaker wires. 1-hour ht & Ac also said they needed all new Ac & furnace!
Idk know if you can give me any advice at all on this mess....But I'm living in a family owned single wide. The wiring is so crazy, that it has to be written down as to what breaker goes to what! Ex...A breaker may control the whole house. A breaker may control half the house. A breaker will work the left side of the living room, but not the right. A breaker runs the washer and dryer. Another one runs the fridge, stove, and a couple plug ins on that side of the kitchen. Another one runs the kitchen light and another plug in on opposite wall. The bedrooms are on separate breakers. The bathroom is as well. We keep getting a thrown breaker #3 when #8 is on. So we are keeping 8 off for now. But if we plug certain things in (say microwave) it still kicks 3 off. My cousin came (construction worker) and looked things over. He took breakers out, and showed me that the prongs were burnt on multiple breakers. Almost all of them really. Idk what to do. I know it's not safe, but is there a way of fixing this?? Would higher breakers make a difference?? Do I need to replace the box, or can the prongs be fixed?? I'm not remotely keen on this stuff at ALL!!!! 🤷♀️ Any advice is very appreciated. Ty. 🥺
First, if it is a Zinsco brand, replace the panel. If not, you probably have a bad buss bar. In no case replace the breakers with a higher amperage. Dangerous!
GFM
Great explanation. Thanks.
Bus bars get build up sometimes. Which i just heard you speak about. You can use sand paper on a pencil and clean it juat had the problem fixed and heolding ovwr a month.
Eric, Please go back and check the buss every couple month minimum. Typically this will work for a little while and get worse over time. They start arcing and heat builds up without tripping the breaker. Then the breaker starts melting. You can imagine the possible next problem.
Uses insulated screwdrivers to terminate a dead circuit, cool.Uses a steel awl to point out wires while circuit is on,smart.
wheres your DIY tutorial video so that we can critique it? Did RUclips assign you as the safety rep.??
Thanks, that answered a couple questions I was mulling over.....cool tutorial, thanks...
Welcome
GFM
Hank hill I tell you what
you nail the the that been with my breaker! so am going to change out the breaker asap
thanks alot
That 20-amp double pole breaker is actually a Westinghouse brand, therefore is not listed to be used in that GE panel in the first place. That may be part (or all) of the problem. I would have replaced the breaker with a GE brand, and see if that resolves the issue.
Wow, this subject has a lot of areas for discussion. I had a Federal Pacific Panel (FPE) with STAB LOK Breakers. The Air Conditioning 240V breaker kept tripping out--summer use(1993). Found the breaker blades to be burned and companion bar mount ruined. Replaced the whole panel a year later. FPE panels with STAB LOKS are potentially hazardous. Google it. If you have an older FPE panel, watch out!!! Especially the 240V breakers in it. The internet has a lot of info on this. These breakers have caused house fires. If you hear buzzing sounds or can smell slight burning inside the panel, check the breakers like so stated in the video!
+DOLRED Lots of good info here. Especially the burning smell. Thanks
GFM
Federal Breaker panels are junk. i remember working with a couple of Sparkys on a job and he tried to get the circuit off in the basement. He said, he would just short the plug out to kick it out instead of going downstairs to find it. guess what after trying he gave up and went down to the breaker panel to find it. the Federal Breaker would not kick out. Federal panels =dangerous fire breakers.
@@zerosparky9510 I was shopping for a breaker locator. Bought a Klein for $50...but they had a Ryobi one you would plug in and it would kick off the breaker. Heh. That was $30
Federal pacific are junk. They were sued out of business forever ago. They were found to not trip. They were built wrong and found to be more like a switch than a breaker
Just a note to Kris
It all depends on the utility company's transformer outputs... some are 110.220 wye or 120 240 delta.
Louis Rain
Lou I hope that you have learned that this is incorrect by now. There is no wye or delta in residential services from the utility. Those are 3 phase terminology. The numbers are nominal and can be from 110/220 to 125/250 volts. It's all the same thing. Utility company is plus or minus 10%.
Just trying to figure out why I no longer have ceiling fans and kitchen lights....but everything else is fine in the second house. Not sure if being in Florida close to the coast and lots of heavy rain has to do with it...but thanks for the directions. BTW...2nd house was built in 1959...Methinks the contractors skipped a few steps when it was restored 2 months ago....
+Blaine Morrow Latent high heat and humidity did it, so the electricians told me...had the tankless water heater repaired 4 times since I moved down here to the Tampa Bay area 8 years ago...high tropical humidity will do that. As I oft tell others, live near the gulf (or on the other side, near the Atlantic), there are just 2 seasons...Hotter than h$%*, and Nice....that's it....LOL!...but it might be age...just my views. talk to the local (trustable) electrician...
If the disposal will not run and only hums, it has probably been jammed with debris. Hope this helps.
GFM
Thank you very much it was loose screws
My dryer breaker was tripping after a few minutes of use. I tightened the screws to the breaker and it seems to have solved the problem. Thank you so much for producing this video. What causes the screws to get loose - heat build-up?
Mostly it was not tight when installed.
GFM
For those watching, if you are going to take a panel cover off and tighten the screw on one tripping circuit breaker, do yourself a favor. Get a flashlight, turn off the main breaker, test to make sure no voltage, and tighten ALL screws. This means all breakers and the neutral and ground bar screws. Infrared scans of panels done by the company I retired from number one issue was hot neutrals due to loose screw connections. Be safe, the life you save may be your own!
Good thoughts.
GFM
grayfurnaceman Just trying to keep people safe!
your video was very helpful. If the buss bar is the problem, would moving the breaker to an open slot help?
If you have open slots, it could if the bar is not damaged in the new slot.
GFM
You are the first video I found that even mentioned the bus bar . while doing laundry the clothes dryer breaker kept tripping. I went to the panel and it was very hot. I reset the main and it happened a few more times. Now I only have power to half of my house. Any ideas/ Suggestions? what do i need to replace? I asked this of others but forgot to mention after tripping the main a couple of times power came back to the house but not to certain areas in the kitchen. I hit the test button on my gfci and it knocked the power to the entire house again so now only half the house is powered. Any suggestions??
You should do a video on hissing breakers caused by condensation coming down the service entrance.
Good idea.
GFM
So idk if my issue will be resolved or not today, but everywhere in my apartment the power is working. The Living Room however, it has been going out for no reason. Lived here for quite sometime and its never done this, i would assume its a building thing or something but unsure. I had to reset the breaker for the Living Room 6 times within 1-2hrs not even. Its like 10mins later it switches off for some reason. Now at this time, its been ok. Why would this occur? We dont over load our outlets to need the breaker to break.
I don't think you got my joke. BUT, thanks for the vid, very informative. :-)
Thanks for the help.
Welcome
GFM
Good point.
GFM
panel looks like a spider web
Question: Why are you not measuring to ensure that the circuit you're working on is safe? (and after that measuring a live wire to see if the measuring device is working correctly)
What if the breaker is broken or someone wired it into another breaker circuit inside the house?
Thank you sir!!! You just made my day. 😃😃😃
Welcome
GFM
I have a 200 amp breaker on the outside of my house under the meter. I attempted to shut it off and it will not stay in the down position it springs right back up. It’s a cutler Hammer breaker. Have you experience this before?!
hi thanks for the video very helpful, i have my front load samsung washer and for the past 2 years no issues just today turned off by itself and breaker went red in the middle went off, so i reset the breaker and unplugged the washer reset everything and it worked for 15 min turn off again idk if i should call an appliance repair or electrician.. please advice.. thank you...
I had a transformer for a doorbell go bad. It would pop the breaker once in a while. I thought my kids were plugging in too much stuff. I disconnected everything from the first receptacle to kill everything downstream and it kept tripping. Since the initial piece came from the garage to the house I thought a mouse might have chewed wires. I traced the wires and found a junction box in the attic where the transformer was mounted. I took it out.. no more problems.
obsolete sp9 Zoe professor
Thanks, very informative!
While a lose connection at the breaker is a possibility, and good advice to look for, in. 15 years I've seen that possibly once. I've seen a bad breaker maybe 25 times (other than garbage Siemens afci breakers). Typically breakers do their jobs and that's why they are tripping. ( The obvious exception being fire starter panels; Fp, pushmatic, sylvania etc.)
More often it's backstab outlets, and people plugging space heaters into ancient lighting circuits. I always tell my customers that space heaters are the devil. Lighting circuits are designed for lighting. Not heating.
Agreed on all that.
My experience started out working exclusively on electric furnaces. Loose breaker wires and burned up fuses are pretty common with the high loads with electric furnaces. It does not take much in the dead of winter with the long cycling times and 80 to 100 amps draw.
GFM
I have seen these loose wire at the meter connections too. Thanks
mine is doing exactly like you say. However, the loose screws weren't the problem. Bad breaker??
Yes, bad breaker.
\GFM
very helpful, thanks
so its the wires being loose to that breaker , correct ? i purchased a building erected in 1954 , theres a small room in the back that has lights ( fluorescent ) and its just those lights that go off even if all the lights are off ...question so i wont get electrocuted do i use an insulated screw driver to tighten screws or switch off all breakers and use a regular screw driver ?
Check your kettle hasn't got a fault,mine did and kept tripping g the breaker. I bought a new kettle and now all is okay!
NEC 2017 Lighting fixtures above a pool must be installed at a minimum height of?
25 year electrician here you might also have said something about the double taps on circuits 7and 9.
I have a bathroom and 2 bedrooms that the lights keep turning off I went to replace the fuse in the breaker box and it does the same thing keeps tripping off right away so you think I could be the fuse or something on the panel
+Daniel Barajas My thoughts here are that you have an overload connected if the fuse blows immediately. Unplug all loads then see if the fuse blows. If it does, you have problem in the wiring. If it does not blow, plug one load in at a time until it blows, and you have found the problem. Hope this helps.
GFM
thank u very much your the man
The Load has been the same for 12 years. My breaker won’t come on. It went off tonight and won’t come back.
I turn it off and turn it on it makes a noise and still no lights or ceiling fan for tonight no plugs in this section either.
Sounds like a dead short. You can try disconnecting any appliances on that circuit to isolate.
GFM
I will thank you it’s my tv my ceiling fan and all the plugs in that room so I cannot get anything to come on. A fellow came to help me with some tile today and His long life friend is an electrician. He is coming next week to help me,
Thank You I really need him I think
@@kathyfann Good choice.
GFM
I’m having this issue with my electric tankless water heater. I’ll have to get an insulated screw driver and try this out.
I have a breaker that has kicked off 3 times in the last month. 2 times in the last 2 days. Should I try tightening the leads first?
All this fight about gloves, I wear them when testing 575 high voltage industrial equipment, but when residential, shut the whole house off, tighten the connection, or if changing a breaker, shut off the main power to the house, use a flashlight. It not hard,
mychoclabwinston Agreed.
GFM
Amen brother.
Why in US you use a 20 ampers breaker to protect a 2,5 mm cable,while in europe they uses 16 amper breaker to protect 2,5 mm cable.the same gauge cable but different breaker.
Great video and very informative. I'm having a problem when I flip on my switch for the furnace it immediately pops the breaker. No loose wires, and I swapped from the 15 amp to another 20 amp on the panel and it still popped as soon as the switch is flipped for the power to the furnace. Any ideas? Thanks
You have a dead short in the furnace.
You need to look for shorted wires in the furnace. A wire touching the chassis of the furnace may be the issue.
Let me know what you find.
GFM
Yes check the furnace wiring .. I had a situation where our guy replacing our door moved the light switch over but for some reason it was never enclosed in a box .. it was just in the wall and the guy screwed the switch back in but the screw was long enough to touch one of the wires and it kept tripping the breaker
That is probably best.
GFM
good info, terrible panel to show people. terrible wiring job, wrong breakers etc..
Thanks
I was waiting for you to give the cause of a fuze blowing rapidly.
Anyway in my garage I have a circuit that keeps blowing. It appears to only
effect the one ceiling light bulb an plug on the ceiling for a shop light
The outside lights are on the same circuit as well. i have taken the light fixtures of outside completely. The problem starts when I flip the light switch on. It blows the fuze immediately. The wall outlets are on a different circuit
with the garage door opener. I know there must be a short somewhere, I've changed out the wall light switch but still same problem
About all you can do is remove all loads from the circuit. One at a time. If all loads are out of the circuit and it still blows, you will have to check all electric boxes for shorted wires. The voltage is lethal so do not proceed if you are not confident of your abilities. Hope this helps.
GFM
Thanks this helped me out
Welcome
GFM
It looks like the AC breaker has two sets of wires going to it... what's that about?
Its 240 volts so its a double breaker.
GFM
grayfurnaceman with 4 wires going to it... two whites on the top terminals, two blacks on the bottom. Look when he zooms in. I said two sets of wires not two wires.
Some breakers (such as Square D QO ... but NOT Square D Homeline) are designed to take up to 2 conductors on the breaker. For those that are not you can pigtail 2 conductors together to get the same result. You might want to double up if you need the space and you know the two you are doubling up won't exceed the breaker rating. You can NOT change the breaker size .... it must protect either circuit, not the total of both.
The ac not working over here maybe the parasite got it
Thanks...
A) Breaker is defective, B) There is a short somewhere in the circuit. Next. Check both in that order.
I would differ on that one. The most common reason for a breaker to open is loose wires at the terminal. This is especially true for breakers used in high draw circuits.
GFM
What kind of panel is this? My grandmother has the same panel in her old home. It dose have a panel cover whoever wired the home made a panel cover from a sheet of plywood.
Its a GE 20-40 from about 30 years ago.
GFM
I always meter it after I kick the breaker.. jussst in case. Breaker called skinny's or twins are known to get hot quick and trip..
Yeah, this panel looks like its full of similar breakers. Too many on one buss.
if you have a bad ohmns reading , can the breaker still read 120 volts, would it fail only when you put a load on it or if you had a bad ohmns reading , would it just read 0 volts?
If you have an open reading (OL) on an appliance, when connected to power, voltage at the appliance will read 120 volts but the appliance will not operate. Hope this helps.
GFM
sir, i have a question. my circuit breaker c20 only this one always tripping due to heavy load put on it (example: 3pc's, air conditioner, electronic stuff and etc). can i change it to c32? with higher current value.
What is your opinion on using a torque screwdriver to tighten electrical terminals? I don't think it is at all required, for most things anyways. I have always just tightened the screws pretty much as tight as I could and I never broke the terminals or had a problem, but some people say to always use a torque screwdriver and torque to spec. What's your opinion on this? Thanks
I like your way.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman LOL thanks. Great video by the way!
Right at 3:40 he points out another great common issue
"Bi-metallic"? I had the understanding Breakers depend on Magnetic force to release the contact and break the circuit, as in Too much Current = excess magnetite force, hence contact will open", instead of "Opens because the heat of a bi-metallic joint that causes the bimetallic part to BEND and dislodges its position", causing break in the contact. Bi-metallic are used in over heating due to excess Amperes in the winding, and take considerable more time than electromagnetic force due to over current. They respond to HEAT, not directly to MAGNETIC FIELD due to over Current. Can you corroborate this, please?
There are overloads and breakers that use magnetic force. The ones used in most residential panels are bimetal. I know it seems that bimetal would be slow, but it works well as both a n immediate break due to a short (very high amperage equals a lot of heat very fast). Think 400 to 800 amps in a dead short. Delayed trip would be from an amperage above the rated but not excessively. Think 40 amp draw in a 30 amp breaker. The breaker would not trip with that overload unless the overload was to continue for a number of minutes. Slow warm up of the bimetal. Hope this helps.
GFM
grayfurnaceman Breakers are dual rated with very few exceptions. They have overload protection as you said and magnetic protection, as in the question, for short circuit. The exception is called mag only, or magnetic only.
Nice video bug, does anyone see any problem with poking around a HOT panel with a metal tool? Of course I've never dropped a tool, myself.
my problem was the breaker going off with no blown fuses every time you turn on the unit. turns out it was a bad compressor.
+Bobby Sparling Often times the breakers are quicker to open than fuses.
GFM
I live in a older apartment. My breaker makes a small like crackling buzzing sounds. Is that dangerous? Also does it cause it to waist more electricity? My bill seems higher than normal.
You are literally playing with fire here. Get it fixed.
GFM
6 brakers trip at the same time when i turn on the braker, i already unplug all the apparatus from the outlets but keeps tripping, the outside outlet is burn i disconnected is an GFC
You probably have a short in an electrical box.
GFM
i bought a new breaker and noticed the toggle switch won't stay on. does this mean the breaker is defective? Im not even trying to install it to the panel, its from out of the box/packaging of the breaker.
Have you tried switching all the way off, then back on?
GFM
... and, if the main breaker switch is burned & crumbly, must a professional be called to rectify the problem?
Unless you are confident enough to call the power company to shut down the power to the house so you can replace it and any burned wires, yes you should.
GFM
So what about direct kick?
Will the one breaker that's bad affect the entire box/system....My entire electrical system fails! But when I turn off the bad breaker and turn on the main breaker everything works again. You think that one breaker will disrupt the entire power?
Many times, when there is a dead short, the main breaker will open before the breaker on the circuit will. The reason for that is the main panel breaker is of higher quality and is more sensitive.
GFM
Thank you~
Do you know Dr. Nick?
1 Plumber disliked this video.
Not enough butt cracks. LOL That's why.
for dry eyes.......
200 amp fuse? was that a mistake or confusion ? or did he say that intentionally
It is 200 amp breaker.
GFM
WOW what a mess.
Danke!Super....
herzlich willkommen
GFM
I know this video is old but my HVAC breaker keeps tripping and emitting a fish smell. I'm calling an electrician bc I read the wires might be burning.
I have a 20 amp breaker that goes off after two or three days...There is only a small window a/c unit, and TV , and one small fan on this line...I checked all the wires to make sure there was no cracks/cuts ..everything seem to be ok...I purchased a new 20 amp Square D breaker and everything seem to be ok...but three days later the breaker trip again. I am drawing no more than 18 amps on all the units ...there is no burn marks in the panel box ...I just don't understand what the problem is...Can you help me with this problem ??? thank U.
A/C units draw 2 to 3 times their rated amps upon startup. This could be when the breaker sometimes kicks off. Also be sure the bus bars are not burned and the wires are tight. Hope this helps.
GFM
I’m currently having this issue. Electrician came out and replaced the breaker. Still having random trips in the breaker. All the wiring checks out and all connections are tight. Still can’t find what is causing the breaker to trip.
What is the load on the breaker?
GFM
Electrician said all the leads had .1 load on the meter. He said I have a very light load across all the connections. He can’t figure out why it randomly trips.
It’s either .1 or 1
@@grayfurnaceman he’s used a thermal gun all the breakers are at 75 degrees. He also tried to trip it with another meter. It never happens while he’s there. He’ll leave and 30 minutes to 5 hours later it start tripping again.
@@waynebrown9877 Is the breaker a single or double?
GFM
Gary, why are there "white" neutral wires on the breakers?
They are 240 volt breakers that have 2 hot lines.
GFM
So wouldnt the wires be black and red? Whute is a little confusing for a hot wire.