I have one Breaker that keeps tripping.I replaced the breaker and it
still does it.I have a problem trying to pinpoint the problem.It will
trip whether I have things turned on or off on the breaker.I had
everything in the house turned off and it still tripped.I called the
electric company and they said it was a problem in the house,because it
was only tripping one breaker.

In article .com,
jozep7075 wrote:
I have one Breaker that keeps tripping.I replaced the breaker and it
still does it.I have a problem trying to pinpoint the problem.It will
trip whether I have things turned on or off on the breaker.I had
everything in the house turned off and it still tripped.I called the
electric company and they said it was a problem in the house,because it
was only tripping one breaker.

They are probably right, and unless you are comfortable working with
electricity, its time to call an electrician.

If you know which lights and outlets are controlled by that breaker,
open them up one at a time. Most will have 4 (or possibly more) wires,
2 white and 2 colored (usually black). Disconnect one black and the
corresponding white and see if the breaker still blows.

If yes, the problem is between this box and the breaker.
If no, the problem is past this box.

In either case, reconnect and repeat the experiment at a box that is
closer or furthur from the breaker. You have a short which could be in
one of the outlet/fixture boxes or it could be failed insulation between
boxes.

--
Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

(Rich Greenberg) writes:
If you know which lights and outlets are controlled by that breaker,
open them up one at a time. Most will have 4 (or possibly more) wires,
2 white and 2 colored (usually black). Disconnect one black and the
corresponding white and see if the breaker still blows.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but.... Turn off the breaker
while you are messing with any of the wires wired to it. And
if you're not 100% certain that the wires you're messing with
are on that particular breaker, turn off the master breaker
for the whole house.

On 14 Jan 2005 07:08:52 -0800, someone wrote:

.....I had
everything in the house turned off and it still tripped.I called the
electric company and they said it was a problem in the house,

Well yeah it is a problem "in the house" and not outside on the
electric company's poles.

And the problem in your house may very well be just a bad breaker.

You don't even need to buy a breaker to test this. Switch it with the
one next to it See which one keeps tripping. Is it that breaker or
that circuit? Rather than keep posting to no effect, switch it and
then report back when there is actually some useful info.

You are wasting a lot of time and effort, and also other people's
time, when you could just test and find out at no out of pocket cost
in a few minutes.



Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

(v) wrote:
On 14 Jan 2005 07:08:52 -0800, someone wrote:

.....I had
everything in the house turned off and it still tripped.I called the
electric company and they said it was a problem in the house,

Well yeah it is a problem "in the house" and not outside on the
electric company's poles.

And the problem in your house may very well be just a bad breaker.

You don't even need to buy a breaker to test this. Switch it with the
one next to it See which one keeps tripping. Is it that breaker or
that circuit? Rather than keep posting to no effect, switch it and
then report back when there is actually some useful info.

You are wasting a lot of time and effort, and also other people's
time, when you could just test and find out at no out of pocket cost
in a few minutes.

Read the post. The OP already replaced the breaker.

"jozep7075" wrote:
I have one Breaker that keeps tripping.I replaced the breaker and it
still does it.I have a problem trying to pinpoint the problem.It will
trip whether I have things turned on or off on the breaker.I had
everything in the house turned off and it still tripped.I called the
electric company and they said it was a problem in the house,because it
was only tripping one breaker.

Does it trip immediately, or after a predictable / unpredictable amount of time?

Are you lucky enough to know what outlets are serviced by the breaker? If
you're lucky enough that there is nothing hard-wired into the circuit, then make
sure *nothing* is plugged into the outlets on that circuit, and work from there.
Might be a bad extension cord or electrical cord.

If you're comfortable around electricity, then pulling the breaker and measuring
the resistance between neutral and hot (downstream of the breaker) with
everything disconnected might give useful info.