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Why does your inside 4 outlet circuit randomly go off under no load only to come on again at random without tripping the breaker while outside lights on the same circuit stay on?
Wiki User
∙ 17y ago
When your house was wired the outlets were probably wired using the stab in terminals on the back of the outlets, these tend to cause trouble over time.Turn off the power and rewire the outlets using the binding screw terminals.By chance if the outlets are wired on the binding screws, inspect all for loose joints.You may have to inspect every box and outlet on this circuit to find the problem. I once had a customer who was having a similar problem and it only showed up while playing the stereo very loud.We determined that the vibration was causing the stab in terminals to loose contact,we removed every outlet and switch and reconnected all by using the binding screws and the problem went away.Hope this helps.
Wiki User
∙ 17y ago
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Circuit breaker trip cause smoke will homeowner insurance pay for it?
A circuit breaker does not "cause" smoke. A circuit breaker "breaks" a circuit when there is too much current, creating a hazardous condition for the wires that are connected to the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker PROTECTS you from electrical fire. Find the source of the smoke; what burned? If a circuit breaker tripped during the incident, it is usually caused by melting/burning wire insulation, either inside or outside of an appliance. If the insulation inside the walls of your house has burned/melted, it could be that the circuit breaker was too large for the wire or that the circuit breaker failed to shut off at the appropriate current load. If the circuit breaker failed, your insurance should help you. If an appliance overloaded the circuit, your insurance should help you. If someone connected an oversized circuit breaker, causing the wire to overheat, your insurance company may refuse to help you.
Can strong winds outside can trip the circuit breakers?
Strong winds can not trip a circuit breaker unless there is incorrect or loose wiring in your structure.
Why won't the switch on my breaker box stay on?
This is properly understood when Ohm's Law is applied: Voltage, Amperege and Resistance are correctly applied to a circuit for it's correct function. The circuit breaker acts as a protective device and trips when a correct electrical circuit does not exist. The wrong breaker may have been installed. the wrong gauge of wire may have been used, the pumps and heaters may be drawing more amps then planned for or a short circuit or loose connection are all possible faults. Contact the electrician that installed the system for resolution of the problem or an outside electrician if the problem isn't corrected. Caution: Water and Electricity should not be trusted when in close proximity.
Is it safe to have the circuit breaker located outside of the home?
If its contained within a suitable enclosure , eg ip65 which does not allow the ingress of water or dust externally .
What are disadvantages of gfci circuit breakers?
One possible disadvantage is that they are susceptible to false triggering by radio frequency energy. If your GFI is tripping intermittently, you may need to shield it from outside interference.
What causes electrical overloads?
Electrical overloads are caused by the load amperage increasing above what it should normally be. On a motor load this could be a request for the motor to do more work than the motor is capable of, working outside of its HP rating. In a house circuit an overload is created by plugging more devices into the circuit than the circuit breaker can handle. Again the load current will be higher than the circuit will allow and the circuit will open by the tripping of the breaker.
How do you increase the power output in your home?
The "power" or amperage can only be increased by changing the service entrance. This includes the service cable outside, the meter socket, the cable coming into the house, and the circuit breaker panel. By example you could go from a 100 amp service to a 200 amp service. But you need to understand the reason why you think you need to upgrade. If your main breaker is tripping you may be pulling too many amps for the entire household. This can be determined by using an amprobe. But more likely you would have an individual circuit breaker tripping. Increasing your service amperage would not help this situation. This is an overload on a single circuit. You would need to lighten the load on that circuit itself.
Circuit breaker trip cause smoke will homeowner insurance pay for it?
A circuit breaker does not "cause" smoke. A circuit breaker "breaks" a circuit when there is too much current, creating a hazardous condition for the wires that are connected to the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker PROTECTS you from electrical fire. Find the source of the smoke; what burned? If a circuit breaker tripped during the incident, it is usually caused by melting/burning wire insulation, either inside or outside of an appliance. If the insulation inside the walls of your house has burned/melted, it could be that the circuit breaker was too large for the wire or that the circuit breaker failed to shut off at the appropriate current load. If the circuit breaker failed, your insurance should help you. If an appliance overloaded the circuit, your insurance should help you. If someone connected an oversized circuit breaker, causing the wire to overheat, your insurance company may refuse to help you.
Can you replace an ungrounded circuit breaker with a GFCI circuit breaker?
Yes but it's redundant and may cause unnecessary "tripping" of the circuit. The GFCI circuit breaker is intended to protect an entire receptacle circuit whereas a GFCI receptacle is designed to protect only that receptacle and any which are provided power from its load side. (downstream)
Can strong winds outside can trip the circuit breakers?
Strong winds can not trip a circuit breaker unless there is incorrect or loose wiring in your structure.
Why won't the switch on my breaker box stay on?
This is properly understood when Ohm's Law is applied: Voltage, Amperege and Resistance are correctly applied to a circuit for it's correct function. The circuit breaker acts as a protective device and trips when a correct electrical circuit does not exist. The wrong breaker may have been installed. the wrong gauge of wire may have been used, the pumps and heaters may be drawing more amps then planned for or a short circuit or loose connection are all possible faults. Contact the electrician that installed the system for resolution of the problem or an outside electrician if the problem isn't corrected. Caution: Water and Electricity should not be trusted when in close proximity.
What is use of bushing in transformer?
A bushing is a hollow insulator, used with transformers and circuit breakers. It provides a means by which an energised conductor can pass from the outside to the inside of the transformer or circuit breaker.
How do you know if the AC breaker matches the AC unit starting demand load?
Read the literature for the ac condensing unit, or the tag on the outside of the unit. Minimum circuit ampacity= minimum breaker, wire and fuse size. Maximum circuit ampacity= the maximum size. Your circuit breaker, wire size and disconnect fuses should all be at or between those 2 numbers.
Why does a new AC in a new house throw the outside circuit breaker once a week?
If the breaker only trips once a week you may have a bad breaker or the breaker may not be large enough for your A/C unit. You should also have an electrician look for any loose connections from the unit to the breaker panel. (It is not uncommon to have a bad breaker)
Will turning off the main breaker turn off all the power to the circuit breaker box?
No. Power to all the circuit breakers will be cut off except for the Main power breaker. The Main power breaker (which supplies power to all other breakers and will say 100, or whatever your max breaker box power is, on it )will have power going to it all the time, unless power is turned off outside the house.
What are disadvantages of gfci circuit breakers?
One possible disadvantage is that they are susceptible to false triggering by radio frequency energy. If your GFI is tripping intermittently, you may need to shield it from outside interference.
Is it safe to have the circuit breaker located outside of the home?
If its contained within a suitable enclosure , eg ip65 which does not allow the ingress of water or dust externally .
