Circuit breaker tripping


  #1  
Old 12-14-05, 05:00 PM
skipbarb
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skipbarb

don't know how to start a post, but I have a similar problem, but as far as I can tell I have nothing on this breaker.
 
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Old 12-14-05, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by skipbarb
don't know how to start a post, but I have a similar problem, but as far as I can tell I have nothing on this breaker.
If you have nothing on it, how did you notice it tripped? Or did you just see a breaker that was OFF in the panelbox? Sometimes there are extra breakers in a breaker box...Perhaps a circuit was removed, perhaps the electrician just left a spare, perhaps it was put in to fill an extra space since the electrician didn't have any blanks.
 
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Old 12-15-05, 04:35 AM
skipbarb
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Breaker

Kind of stupid on my part. What I meant was, that there is nothing on that breaker now. It is one of those with a test button on it, and it basically has all the outlets for the master bath. I have unplugged everything, and it still will not hold for more than 10 seconds.
 
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Old 12-15-05, 05:01 AM
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You have a GFCI breaker.

The breaker is most likely tripping because of a ground fault, not an over current fault. GFCI breakers can trip because of moisture inside the receptacle. The moisture allows a small amount of current to leak, which the GFCI catches when a normal breaker would not.

Try using a hair dryer to dry the receptacles on the circuit. Take the cover off the receptacle and blow the hot air into the box. You may even want to unscrew the receptacle from the box and physically pull it out of the box. Do this with any and all receptacles on the circuit.

If that does not work, test the GFCI breaker by removing the circuit wires from it. If it won't stay on with no wires attached, then the breaker is bad. if it will, then the problem is in the circuit.
 
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Old 12-15-05, 03:26 PM
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The FIRST thing that I would do is to disconnect the circuit neutral wire at the circuit breaker and see if the breaker still trips. If it does, it is defective and must be replaced.
If it does not trip, then reconnect the neutral wire to it.
Assuming that there is nothing that you have changed on the circuit, I think that a bad GFCI breaker is the most likely reason that it will not reset.
In my experience, moisture in the air alone is rarely a cause for a GFCI to trip and not reset. I have seen crowded and/or sloppy wiring jobs causing a trip (such as when a ground is pushed against the neutral screw). I have seen joint compound sqeezed into the box, causing shorts to ground. It could also be a loose wire in a wire nut that has finally gotten loose enough to be a problem.
I would also assume that you have considered whether there have been any recent adds/changes to any electricals that may be associated with this circuit (changing or adding an outlet or switch, etc.)
Are you sure that it supplies only the outlets in the master bath?
 
 

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