On 12/22/2015 08:17 PM, John G wrote:

A family member's house was completely rewired in 2011 and has arc-fault
breakers for the bedrooms. One of those breakers will not hold in at
all, even with nothing plugged into any of the outlets.

Is substituting a replacement breaker the most appropriate first step,
or is there something else to try first?

The AFCI is probably just doing its job. Swapping a new AFCI is a simple step, but you will probably still have the same problem. In addition to offering arc fault protection, the AFCI also has 30ma ground fault protection.

I had an AFCI problem this past summer in a basement wired by the the homeowners. In addition to multiple code violations, they used barb wire staples on the wiring instead of cable staples. One circuit I could not clear. I disconnected all of the wiring from devices and splices and pulled out as many staples as I could, but it still would not clear. I started cutting the line back until it cleared about 6' from the main electrical panel. I refed the circuit from that 6' mark and prayed. The AFCI held and continue to stay on with everything reconnected.

When an AFCI trips it blinks a number of times to indicate what caused it to trip. Do you have the AFCI instructions to interpret the blinks?

I think that you need to open up the outlets, lights, and switches on that particular circuit and check for loose connections as your first step in troubleshooting this problem.

I haven't yet set eyes on the breaker in question: I've seen only a
cell-phone photograph of it. It's a CH breaker with a "Test" button but
no indicator light. Looking on line, I see some CH AFCI breakers that
appear to have an indicator light and some that do not.

I am hoping I can set up a time to go there tomorrow and see what I can
find out. I'll start by disconnecting the black from the breaker and see
whether it still refuses to hold in.

Perce