Recent wiring tripping breaker


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Old 08-09-17, 05:34 AM
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Recent wiring tripping breaker

Hi all,
New member and posting for the first time. I ran into an issue this past Friday, and have been reading through electrical posts and articles for the past few days, but thought I might be able to get some good advice for my exact situation.

I recently had a basement remodeled, which included the contractor adding additional wiring and LED lighting. Everything was working as expected for about 2 months until Friday evening, when I came home to a tripped breaker that cannot be reset. It was a rainy evening, which may be a factor.

The new wiring included a circuit that runs to 5 indoor recessed LEDs, 2 on one dimmer, 3 on a second dimmer. These are Lutron dimmers, that state something along the lines of "For permanent incand fixtures, 600w max" (ie. incorrect for LED use? The LEDs are dimmable).

There is also one new outdoor LED light fixture on a switch. Additionally, there are 8 outlets not working currently, which I believe are all tied together. 1 or 2 of them are new, the others were existing. The house was built about 20 years ago, I have lived here for 3.

I have checked behind each outlet/switch cover and do not see any glaring issues.

Last item, I initially thought that the circuit breaker was bad. Upon replacing I see that the circuit in question appears to be double tapped. Whether it should be, I do not know. However, the "good" line is fine when hooked up alone. The "bad" will trip immediately when alone.

At this point I am reaching out to have an electrician come by, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice or ideas about may be going on.

I thought maybe water got into the outdoor LED wiring, or if the dimmers aren't intended for LEDs, this may be an issue. However, none of the lights were on when this started, Only 1 outlet was in use for a wifi range extender, which still works fine in working outlets.

Any ideas? Thank you in advance!
 
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Old 08-09-17, 06:17 AM
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It sounds like a dead short in the one line. It will be an Easter egg hunt to find it. You may need to divide the circuit into smaller sections to narrow down the search.
 
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Old 08-09-17, 06:17 AM
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Is the breaker GFCI? (Does it have a test button?)
 
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Old 08-09-17, 06:52 AM
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No test button - GE 15A Type THOL P16526105
 
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Old 08-09-17, 07:14 AM
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Last item, I initially thought that the circuit breaker was bad. Upon replacing I see that the circuit in question appears to be double tapped. Whether it should be, I do not know. However, the "good" line is fine when hooked up alone. The "bad" will trip immediately when alone.
No, GE breakers should not be double lugged. Good line? Bad line? Are these both new or was one line existing? Each and every connection on the bad line needs to be inspected. Then, an additional breaker needs to be added.
 
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Old 08-09-17, 07:17 AM
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One (the one that isn't working) is new, but some of the outlets on it were formerly tied to the original line.
 
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Old 08-09-17, 08:33 AM
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First, thanks for the input so far. This forum is great.

I completely understand that every connection should be checked, and I'll certainly be calling in a pro for that.

For my own curiosity, is water in the outside LED a possibility? The fixture has an opening that I would expect water to possibly enter (now that I'm looking closely), but again, the light was not on.
 
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Old 08-11-17, 05:01 AM
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Have a few more updates after acquiring a multimeter...

I started at an outlet, basically the furthest left in this circuit. Outlets #1-#5 all show continuity readings. Then we get to a section where there are 3 items in line from ceiling to floor...the outdoor light, the switches inside (2 dimmers for indoor LEDs and the switch for the outdoor light), and another outlet towards the floor.

The switches seem fine. The outlet below, does not produce a reading. The final 3 outlets thereafter. also do not show readings.

Lastly, I disconnected the outdoor LED light fixture...no reading on either the wires coming from the house, or the wires for the fixture. Does this confirm the light fixture is a goner (and my problem)?

If so, is it reasonable that the wiring method would then cause the next 4 outlets to show as open?

Thanks again!
 
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Old 08-11-17, 07:08 AM
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Does everything else work with the light fixture disconnected.
 
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Old 08-11-17, 10:57 AM
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Hmmm I did not connect the circuit back to the breaker yet. I guess my thought was that if it is the light, and the light is impacting the 4 outlets, then the light would need to be replaced rather than removed altogether.
 
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Old 08-11-17, 12:31 PM
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Removing is a test to see if it is the problem.
 
 

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