Tripped Breaker

Today I was called out to a home for a tripped breaker. Now the guy knew the breaker was tripped and he had tried to put it back on. I was actually referred to this job by another electrician who was too busy, so I didn't talk to the client on the phone, if I had, I probably wouldn't have come out there.

This is a common story, the breaker is tripped, the person tries to turn it back on, it won't go back on. If it the attempt to turn it on is done right, and it still won't go one, it normally means one thing, a short circuit. In that case, it is worth calling an electrician to come find the short. This wasn't such a case.

What I discovered when I went out there was something I get called out for about 2-3 times a year, the last time it was a general contractor that needed help. The circuit appeared to be fine, perhaps it had gotten overloaded by too many amps, I turned on the breaker and left, that was all I had to do (for now at least, if it trips again, there could be a bigger problem).

With all breakers, when it gets overloaded and trips, the switch goes to the middle. To attempt to turn it to the "on" position from the middle position, is futile. This is where people get tripped out, no pun intended. The breaker must first be turned to the "OFF" position first, this resets the tripping mechanism, and then it will easily go back to "on" and stay there, if everything is working properly.

So if your breaker trips for a reason that isn't faulty wiring. Turn it "off" then turn it "on". This might save you a lot of hassle to have an electrician come out. He could very well charge you a service fee of $100+ dollars for the house call and fix everything in 30 seconds.

I find this happens especially with Cutler Hammer and Challenger brand breakers.