Breaker not going back on


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Old 04-03-06, 06:32 AM
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Breaker not going back on

We have a newer electrical panel (year old) 200 amp and we had an addition put on the house. Everything worked fine. Last night the breaker went and I tried to flip it back and it would catch. I flipped it back and it would click back a 1/8 of an inch, not fully resetting itself and not restoring power to that room.

Any thoughts?
 
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Old 04-03-06, 06:34 AM
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Either the breaker is bad or you have a short on the circuit.
 
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Old 04-03-06, 06:46 AM
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Are they difficult in terms of time? Could they just hook it up to a different breaker in the box? What would be the short circuit? Endless is it?

Thanks.
 
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Old 04-03-06, 07:04 AM
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You need to flip the breaker OFF before it can be reset. It's not clear to me that when you say "back", you mean on or off.
 
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Old 04-03-06, 07:04 AM
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You may remove the cover of the panel, unscrew the hot wire (black) attaching to the breaker. Pull the wire out (make sure its end not to touch any thing metal.)
Try to turn on the breaker. If it can be turned on, meaning there is a short on the circuit. The break is fine.

Otherwise, pull it out towards the edge of the box. Go to buy a new breaker.
 
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Old 04-03-06, 07:09 AM
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Originally Posted by telecom guy
You need to flip the breaker OFF before it can be reset. It's not clear to me that when you say "back", you mean on or off.
I did flip it back and forth a number of times. Each time a turned it off, flipped it back over to turn it on it wouldn't stay, it would pull back a tiny bit and leaving no power to the room.
 
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Old 04-03-06, 09:48 AM
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Something on the circuit which this breaker protects has failed or the breaker itself has failed. Step one is to unplug all of the appliances on this circuit and try to reset it. If it resets, then one of the appliances you unplugged has malfunctioned. If it does not reset, then either the breaker is bad or (rare) a wire is bad in the wall. Have you driven any nails or screws into the walls lately? New siding? Hanging pictures?

Does the breaker have a "TEST" button on it or just a switch lever?
 
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Old 04-03-06, 10:44 AM
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I did just frig around with the outside light. I was putting up clapboard around it and installing a plate to put it on. The wires aren't hooked up from the inside of the house - exterior wall fixture to the light.
 
 

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