Circuit breaker panels are installed in homes and workplaces to protect the circuit from overloading and causing any major damage, Circuit breaker panel consist of multiple Circuit breakers dedicated for each circuit and the is the main breaker for all circuit. Whenever any power surge or any electrical failure occurs the circuit breaker gets tripped to sav other circuits and appliances. 

But what do you do when the circuit breaker keeps tripping? And what if the circuit won’t even reset properly? Here are a few things you can do before calling an electrician:  

Don’t Ignore the Signs

The Breaker box is a safety device to protect you from electrical risks and its function is to trip every time there is an access load. So, if your breaker trips, don’t ignore it; it’s trying to tell you something. You may probably be overloading the outlets by plugging in multiple electrical devices. And just flipping the breaker back on won’t fix the problem.

People often ignore such signs at first which is one of the major causes of over 50,000 electrical fires in US homes every year. Therefore, taking notice of the problem and actually doing something to fix it should be your first step.

Do the Unplug Test

If you are not able to turn your circuit breaker panel back on, you are probably overloading the circuit breaker panel entirely. Let’s say that you have 3 to 4 devices plugged into a single outlet simultaneously. Turn the breaker off, unplug all the devices, and then turn it back on.  After that, start plugging the same devices one by one and between each, check the breaker for problems. This way you will be able to find out which device is causing the breaker to trip. You will know how many appliances the outlet can handle. 

Test the Breaker if it Doesn’t Reset

If the breaker keeps tripping even when no appliances are plugged in, there might be a problem with the breaker itself. To know if that’s the case, check the voltage levels in the circuit. The problem could either be the faulty wires or the circuit itself. But you can be sure about it only by removing the entire circuit breaker panel which requires several safety measures to be followed. So, it’s better to call an electrician to run a multimeter test.

Check for Ghost Trips in GFCI-protected Circuits

Worn out GFCI outlet wiring, conductive dust, or soft grounds can cause ground faults or leakage current which is also the reason for circuits being tripped. On circuits protected by GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter), leakage current can cause frequent intermittent tripping known as “ghost tripping”.

To diagnose the problem, start by measuring the leakage current through clamp meters. Single-phase circuits can be tested by clamping the neutral and phase conductors. 3-phase circuits can be tested by clamping all the phase conductors and the neutral conductor. The value measured will be the amount of current flowing to the ground. Measure each leg to identify which one has more leakage than others.

This will help you understand if the problem is due to faulty wiring. If not, you need not get the wiring replaced unnecessarily.

Circuit trips may look harmless, after all, how long does it take to reset it? But carelessness after seeing the initial signs can lead to serious electrical accidents. So, here are a few things you can do to prevent them:

Being careful in the beginning will protect you from potential accidents.