3 Reasons Your Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping

There are really only 3 underlining reasons that your circuit breaker keeps tripping - Overloaded circuits, short circuits, and a ground fault.

[@westernman7032]

This video is exactly what I needed. You saved me a lot of time and money. Thank you!

[@jackarnold3062]

You bet!

[@derrickwilliams8716]

Thank God for this man. Fixed a ground fault caused by a dumb ol outlet.

[@icreatemyowngoodluck]

This video was very helpful. I replaced a breaker but that wasn't the problem. After watching your video I changed the socket where i had an electric chain saw plugged in and everything was fixed. Just like you said , wires were moved because that's where I plug in my electric weed wackers too. Pulling on that socket over the years and it was and old socket .

[@Steven-rp8zo]

Great info! Straight to the point, love it!

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you!

[@jeffbrett8160]

Thanks so much Jack, made it very easy to understand.

[@adim4927]

Thank you for sharing this valuable knowledge!!

[@jackarnold3062]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@bookieyadigg]

2022 video still helping us. Thanks

[@kennethreynolds1532]

Thank you for not dragging the video out with a bunch of bull an being very informative and informational. I have had this issue for a week now an was not sure what I needed to look for an now I do.

[@jamescorfield534]

Right!? Keeping it simple in the video is easier for me too

[@ej8688]

Nice! A 4 min video just saved me . Problem solved. Thanks for doing these

[@jackarnold3062]

Oh man! Glad to have helped out!

[@yenle5408]

Hi Arnold, I live in Canada. Could you tell me the reason why my outlet didn’t have power when I plug into the car to keep it warm ( -20’C). I changed the outlet but the Circuit Breaker keeps tripping. Do I need to change the Circuit Breaker or Fuse? Thank you very much.

[@G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Very clear explanation. Thank you.

[@Komander8236]

Thank you. Helped me fix an issue

[@DaxEmerson2]

This video nailed all my question. The one about the outlet you should explain how to fix that problem . Thanks for the video

[@piotrfolczyk8589]

Open it, see what is shorting, unshort it. Replace outlet if not in perfect condition.

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you!

[@vivienne192]

This is such a informative video. Thank you for making this

[@jackarnold3062]

Thanks for watching

[@markbowles2382]

I always wanted to go to Chicago (for the infrastructure and the U505).... thanks for the free info sir....im on the univ of utube working on a dead dishwasher after a lightning strike.... so thanks for the basics, every little bit helps.

[@MOUSEBOWEN]

Awesome video. I’m a new handyman on some apartments complex for 2 years. I got a called last night Tennants says smells like burning and only half of the house has power. Many outlets wasn’t working. The breaker was tripped . I put the breaker back to on and tripped right away. I couldn’t find was outlet was tripping the breaker. So I had to called a experienced electrician

[@MOUSEBOWEN]

@The Mythology was a burned outlet was making contact hot to neutral . Electrician replaced it and got fixed

[@jackarnold3062]

Thanks for the positive feedback

[@Peterpiperofthes]

I went and changed out my breaker switch, then it would still not flip on. You saved my butt bc it was a screw, touching the side of on of my boxes, thank you for the great video

[@jackarnold3062]

Glad it helped!

[@maureenreeder]

Can an overload or other issue you mentioned trip a circuit breaker other than the one causing the problem? My kitchen remodel is happening and electrical work done, but the garage door circuit breaker keeps tripping. It doesn't look tripped because the position shows on but when I flip it, it works.. for one use, maybe 2.

[@lisanjohnny1]

Sending you Aloha from Oahu, this helped me tremendously

[@chefbambu9382]

Thanks. You solved the isse, it was a new device I had plugged into an outlet causing the circuit to switch off.

[@jackarnold3062]

AWESOME! Glad it helped!

[@evelynlebron6824]

I am in Arizona so calling you would be out of the scope of work but I do have a question I hope you can answer for me. I changed all of the wall sockets in my master bedroom about 2 months ago and the breaker will trip sometimes but I can reset it and I am good to go for days and/or even weeks. Any idea on what would cause this issue? I changed the sockets because I plugged a vacuum into a wall and lost power to the room so I figured maybe the wall sockets were old and should be replaced. The house was built in 2002.

[@speed_rider362]

In our country we no longer use metal mounting brackets to install wall sockets. You can find them in very old installations (about 60 years or more). It is nowadays expressly forbidden. Electricians use in-the-wall-brackets and boxes made from a fire-retardant and heat resistant plastic material. It is for those exact reasons you just mentioned.

[@crand20033]

My house in the US is 20 years old. I have plastic socket boxes. I have a bedroom where I have a dorm fridge and a table microwave plugged into different sockets in the room with a 15 amp breaker in the garage. The breaker will just mysteriously trip every 3 or so days and on the last occasion we turned on the microwave and the breaker tripped. Because of the problem, I went and bought a new fridge, microwave and breaker. We still have the problem so we unplugged the microwave and that solved the problem but we shouldn't have to do that because we have three other bedrooms all having fridges and microwaves and we don't have the problem in those other rooms. What should I do so that I can leave the microwave plugged in?

[@speed_rider362]

@@crand20033 I am sure an electrician would help you. It might be so that a 15 Amp breaker is just so-so and these two appliances sometimes overload it. You will probably need to add at least one more breaker to supply power for the oven.

[@jackarnold3062]

@@crand20033 If you haven't solved the issue yet, we do see microwaves that go bad internally from time to time. Recently had a similar issue at a clients home we had just rewired. The client was pissed and thought we messed something up after a year of everything working properly. We were able to determine the microwave was the issue and they were able to get a new one and were happy at the end of the day!

[@dlouis1830]

Thank you this is so good for homeowners who want to be conscious of their Houses inner workings. Would these scenarios change if the breaker only trips when I unplug my microwave? As long as I keep the microwave plugged in it’s fine it’s the darndest thing.

[@jackarnold3062]

Hey Louis, sounds like you have a short somewhere. Hope you were able to solve your issue!

[@oscarcolindres1051]

Great video.

[@JB-rt1ig]

Nice video. My breaker has recently tripped when I plug the fridge or a saw but there is only a Dyson charger on the circuit. Until now the fridge was plugged in the outlet and I never had any problem. Without the fridge Or the saw plugged in the outline the circuit works fine. any idea where it can come from ?

[@raymondgarafano8604]

If a neutral screw touches a grounded box, would that trip a gfi brkr? the idea that the neutral must carry exactly same as ungrounded wire?

[@GmGarlo]

my tester read my hot and neutral was reversed, so to fix this do you just switch them over or is it more complicated than that?

[@PDTH12]

This was perfect. Thanks.

[@zapataalonzo9177]

I have a question sir,I have an outside outlet being powered by an inside outlet . I have the boxes secure to wall, I put silicon on the outline of the boxes to protect it from water and and all I don’t have wires crossing, I made sure the outlet does not touch the metal box, I taped all possible loos cables, inside the house , I don’t have an overload, I made sure the box is not energized by a loose cables, I even used the Klein tool that gets connected to the outlet and lets you know what’s wrong and the breaker still trips every other week or every two weeks. What could it be?

[@stevenalexander5367]

What about the breaker tripping when you add a load to the ckt...any load like turning on a light, plugging something into the receptacle, etc? that's my issue. i have several light switches, smoke detectors, and two receptacles on that ckt. they all worked for years until the weather caused a neighborhood blackout. when the blackout was over the ckt started tripping. it doesn't matter which switch or receptacle in that ckt. i disconnected the smoke detectors, unplugged everything, and tuned off all the lights. the breaker stays energized until i either turn on a light, plug something in, or connect a smoke detector, then the ckt trips.

[@MrCashmerethoughts]

Thank you, great information

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you!

[@gamingtrading7119]

One ? So i turn the fan in the kitchen on it will still work it will turn on but it will flip a separate breaker on panel? And its on a separate braker?

[@RicoDjMigo]

Very informative💪🏾💪🏾

[@guysawka818]

My problem is all of a sudden it started tripping out of nowhere?? 4 lights are on the circuit and all others work n stay on; but only the garage lights trip it. I changed both switches (the one in garage n the one in the house) , but it still trips. I unplugged the 3 fluorescent lights in the ceiling that the tripping switches go to, but it still trips. Ugh Any suggestions?

[@heroknaderi]

Thamk you for your time.

[@KENNETHEMorse]

Very,very helpful

[@lisamcglothin5424]

What if it's a water heater, 240 . We noticed no hot water,tried resetting breaker but it immediately trips. There is only water tank running off that breaker,no outlets. Does that matter?

[@majormagics5571]

How about when the GFCI in the bathroom (also wired to the lights) goes out after a couple hours (trips). then We can reset it and we might be good for 10 minutes or a day..? Do you think the 15 amp breaker could be going bad!?

[@robertfaldetta6560]

Hi, loved the video. I have a breaker that I cannot reset, it arcs when I try. There are several outlets but nothing is plugged in. A visual inspection does not reveal anything, but maybe I am not thorough enough. I was looking for some kind of tester, but are there any testers which can test the outlets with no power from the panel? Thanks

[@arnoldelectricservices8235]

Hi, Thank you! There are outlet testers you can buy, but they won't tell you where the issues is.

[@Rivanni1]

thanks for the info very helpful

[@gregbeaudion7781]

thank you from New Orleans

[@jackarnold3062]

You bet! From Chicago

[@AimGobalWorldBibleSchool]

Thanks man...Fantastic! and Outstanding!

[@rohanwestcarth4876]

Question, When my A/C is running and I'm taking a shower my power cuts off to the house, FYI, I have a tankless water heater.

[@LRon-ef7ni]

I have a breaker that won’t reset. It’s a breaker in my Solar panels’ subunit. There’s a buzzing and it trips. The electrician for the solar company couldn’t figure it out and now I’m waiting for another electrician to come check. Any thoughts on what the issue is?

[@user-kg1ff2bj5u]

Hi my name is Jackie I have a problem breaker trips immediately I disconnected the outlets where the rooms had no power and hallway I checked they weren't touching so I took them off meaning I disconnected them and I put in a new breaker it tripped again so idk what it could be

[@groundtenpro]

Great info! Thanks!

[@bennylynn6211]

Thank you for the info

[@javiloc]

Can the breaker trip just 'cause or is there always an underlying issue?

[@wahinenuiloa]

Thank you!

[@kathyr5278]

Awesome thank you so much for the info. 👍🏻

[@jackarnold3062]

You bet!

[@josephgrierjgrier11]

This was very helpful.

[@jackarnold3062]

Sweet! Glad it helped out!

[@dasledogg64]

My washing machine keeps tripping the GFCI outlet during the spin cycle. I reset the outlet and it trips it again. Is this a problem with my washing machine or do I need to replace my GFCI outlet?

[@johnmcdonald5998]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@shananarocks]

Great wise advice. Can i check if my aunt's office MCB that keep tripping. According to her staff, it is the old UPS that is causing the problem and asking her to replace those with new UPS. Appreciate your advice.

[@arnoldelectricservices8235]

Might be best to hire an electrical to test the load of the UPS and also do a load calculation for you to determine if your system is sized properly. Thank you for the kind words!

[@shananarocks]

@@arnoldelectricservices8235 Thanks Arnold.

[@Tecalitlan1943]

I have an older Sears Craftsman 30 gallon air compressor, runs on 110 (15 amp circuit) in my garage. My compressor works fine, but than after a few minutes it pops the breaker. I re-set the breaker and then it pops again. Been doing it for years, but now it has gotten worse. Before I could fill it all up, now it fills just a little. Do you think it’s the capacitors (run or start capacitors) on the compressor and if so which ones? Or do I need to increase it to 20 amp?

[@user-ds9fg8ru4z]

If you pull more than 80% on a 15 amp breaker it will heat up and eventually trip! Check your nameplate rating. You may have to dedicate a 20 amp circuit for your air compressor!

[@tatersacs85]

Great video... I have a welder that keeps popping the breaker. Is it ridiculous to change out the breaker?

[@jackarnold3062]

Hey Harry. Thanks for the feedback! Changing out the breaker may not be a bad idea, but it depends on the conditions of your system. The wire needs to be rated to handle the current of the larger breaker. Your welder should have a "name plate" on the device telling you what the FLC or Full Load Current of the unit is. Check that out. Hit me back up if you have more questions and that does not solve your issue!

[@rogerdsilva3889]

Hi sir there is nothing plugged in my sockets but as soon as I turn on the switch my RCD trips. Can u help

[@juliacross9414]

Why does my light come on in the off position then the breaker immediately trips when I flip the switch into the on position to shut it off. This switch has been in my home for several years. I took a light out and it started doing this.

[@EscoPicoTrane]

Excellent video brother, I have a 50a that I'm using for my EV, It won't trip while in use but I'll leave drive around all day and come back and the circuit has tripped. It's dedicated with nothing else on it. It's a 6 gauge. Any idea why it trips when not in use? Thanks.

[@arnoldelectricservices8235]

No idea! There could be a loose connection by one of the breakers that's causing heat to build up. If its not a loose connection an electrician can put a recording electrical tester on your panel overnight to read any spikes in voltage or amperage. Thank you!

[@jramirez8057able]

Thank you.

[@MendezVictor3]

Hi Arnold, I'm having an electrical issue at home, I was wondering if you could guide me. I have a cable that runs from the oven directly to the main breaker, passing through a socket purposely fitted for the oven. When I turn the socket on the breaker switches off, but when I turn the socket off then I can turn the breaker on and it will work. However I tried changing the socket with a socket that I know for sure it works, but the same thing happens. The oven is not yet connected. What could it be??

[@studiotutorial]

Weird. Could it be a short-circuit? And by "then I can turn the breaker on and it will work.", what did you mean by "it"? The breaker?

[@monaxiinc.6542]

Thanks for this video. I was able to fix the simple issue where an electrician would have charged fortune.

[@robertehlers4330]

I need your advice

[@reginagrimes3873]

Thank you for explaining this in English.

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you for the feed back!

[@topdawg3359]

One trick seems to be turn off lights or other things while you use the thing you are trying to use. Circuit breaking often = fire hazard = get a professional involved before you place burns down.

[@jackarnold3062]

Is that a trick or a work around? hahaha. You should not have to turn lights off to use the circuit you are using.

[@J_WheelerDoll30]

@@jackarnold3062 exactly. Our property manager and I have been going back and forth on our breaker and dishwasher going out. I do t have “too many” things using lower at once. I put renters insurance on our policy because every time that dishwasher is cycling after I switch the breaker back to working, it smells like burning plastic or burnt metal. This has been going on for over a year and each maintenance guy replaced something in the breaker and it doesn’t resolve the issue. The dishwasher fills up, and the breaker is tripping.. now my new smart tv is crackling and having issues, also the sockets rarely have power. Can’t even use my electrical sockets most of the time. I’m over it. I hope if the apt burns, that myself, babies and dogs , and hubby aren’t there. It’s a scary feeling :(

[@jglaboratory]

I kept smelling burnt fishy smell. Manager said its not the electric. Turns out I had an outlet melting in the wall. Crazy how much we can learn from Google nowdays.told em it was bad

[@doveboyz857]

Thanks so much 👍

[@jackarnold3062]

Thanks for watching the video!

[@mzzzkla887]

I have a 1984 condo in Louisiana. With high ceilings. I have a ceiling fan that trips my breaker. Company disconnected the light switch. $500. To much to fix a ceiling fan. Hangs 14ft high ceiling 28ft. And my furnace trips my main breaker. Thx for a few ideas and tips to try.

[@leslieadams1965]

Thinking I may have a grounding issue or may need to install additional dedicated outlets in the garage. I can’t run a shop vac and an air pump at the same time. Or smoker and a shop vac.

[@prorescuer1]

Great info

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you!

[@MrElcangri009]

What could it be when the tester reads “ open hot”? Loose wire?

[@losmoore3358]

Thank u for the video.

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@nhattuygiaithiensaunguyen9885]

thank you so much

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you for watching!

[@beebob1279]

Here’s my situation. I built an addition. Everything including the electric was inspected and passed. I have four outlets on the circuit. If I use the first outlet I’m fine. But when I use the vacuum cleaner on any circuit gouging away from the breaker it trips. I’m going to be pulling the outlets this week and then try the vacuum. If it doesn’t trip then I know I’m touching something in the box. It only goes when a load on put on. I was told it could be a bad breaker in the panel or a screw is touching it. But when it’s left alone the breaker doesn’t trip. Suggestions?

[@NickieSzontagh]

Most inspectors wouldn't catch bad splices,loose screws, or missed wired devices. Assuming it is not an arc-fault or gfci breaker. #1 Get your Electrician back that did the work. #2 Start by checking for proper voltages (120v) at each outlet #2 remove panel cover to check circuit connections. #3 pull out receptacles affected an look for any discoloring or burn marks ,loose screws,or bad splices.

[@mig3872]

Thank you. Electrician coming this week. But my breaker is now tripping without anything plugged in. My outlets for main tv, cable box, surround sound. The outlets seem to be culprit and maybe it’s the ground fault you said. But breaker stays on for like a min now then trips. Not instantly. Any thoughts?

[@cristinar5535]

Hey what was it ? Same problem

[@mig3872]

@@cristinar5535 Electrician said it was breaker and replaced breaker. When took panel off, it was also discolored a little.

[@ariellebloomfield1871]

Did that fix it

[@donnag4786]

What about if you put the wires to the wrong side of the bolts even if grounded don’t you have to match brass to brass and silver to silver? I think mine may be backwards causing a short now after a year it was fine all of a sudden keeps tripping.. I’m going to try replacing it.. thank you

[@jackarnold3062]

The hot wire should be on the brass screw and the neutral wire should be on the silver screw. However if you wired it backwards it would not cause a short.

[@roheezy25]

Thank you

[@jackarnold3062]

Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@isithotmama]

I have a new home (let's than 5 yrs) when i run my space heater it trips everytime i reset and start the heater again after about 15 minutes. I only have my TV on with it which is not going out. Why does this keep happening. I'm getting soooo tired of having to go to the breaker box every 20 minutes

[@josh.kaptur]

I have an outdoor ceiling fan driving me crazy... I can turn it on and it's fine... at some point in the day, it is guaranteed to trip the breaker... almost never happens right away and could be hours later. Any thoughts?

[@ariellebloomfield1871]

Did you ever figure it out

[@2JobsStillPoorUSA]

My older mh i had issues with my hot water heater. The breaker would trip. Turn it on get maybe tepid washer. Had stuff replaced in water heater but still had breakers trip. Turns out the breaker switch was damaged and burnt and brittle. Replaced that and bam hot water and no more trips.

[@cthao559]

Nice video

[@arungopalan1413]

Thanks.

[@ruyaal]

What is the solution if your breaker keeps tripping and you cannot use a 20 amp in a 15 amp breaker. Do u need to re-wire?

[@jackarnold3062]

You should never take out a 15 amp breaker that is tripping and install a higher amperage breaker. You need to fix the issue. The wire that is terminated at each breaker is rated only to carry the current associated with the breaker. The breaker is actually designed to protect the wire and keep it from overheating. So if you have a smaller wire on a larger amperage breaker you will ruin the wire causing a larger and much more costly repair in the long run. It is best to fix the root of the problem.

[@judymcneal8519]

My 20 amp breaker 220 going to my well keeps tripping, I disconnected the wires from the well and turn on the breaker and it still trips, how do I find where the wires in the wall or how do I find the short? Thank you so much Sir

[@RcPlayer-tt2vw]

Same we’re screwed lol

[@dsmith5832]

Great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@odiswilliams3391]

Thank God for your expertise....fixed my problem!!

[@arnoldelectricservices8235]

Glad it helped!

[@raymondgarafano8604]

used to be 2 20 amp kitchen circuits. Thanks!

[@jackarnold3062]

2 - 20amp Small Appliance Circuits as a minimum just for the countertop outlets. You should also have an individual circuit for: Fridge, Dishwasher, Microwave, Disposal, Stove and Exhaust Hood. Sometimes you can combine the stove if it's gas or propane with the exhaust hood.

[@aaronburnett6932]

So how do you reroute certain electrical outlets to another breaker? Or is that something that someone can't do themselves?

[@arnoldelectricservices8235]

You can reroute electrical outlets by pulling a new circuit from the panel to the outlet that need to be there own breaker. If you have conduit you can use the existing conduit and pull the wire through it, if you have Romex you need to get creative and get the wiring to the outlets through drywall. Its probably best to call a professional as it causes you less headache.

[@Sparki883]

What about the 4th reason why a breaker trips, it's old and is failing? You can still reset it but it trips under normal load.

[@gillart99]

Good stuff. I’m living in a 1937 home with this exact problem and no idea how to attack it.

[@jackarnold3062]

Glad it helped!

[@ajayr8781]

Thanks for the wonderful video. Quick question. What could be the reason if the wire attached to the 15amp breaker is melting inside the panel?

[@VRtechman]

LIKE HE SAID! The dang thing is too hot! Unplug something! Or your house is gonna burn down! 😬

[@VRtechman]

Or place it with a 20 amp breaker! 🤔

[@piotrfolczyk8589]

@@VRtechman ... along with that ciruit wiring. It is not allowed to have 20A breaker on 15A wire circuit.

[@jayeshgreat]

How we can fix it if hot wire touch the metal

[@jdrs4214]

One question: I have a brand new 230V Toshiba window unit. It’s a big one. You pull this baby out through the inside of the house, and wheel it outside to clean it. It’s on a dedicated circuit, or receptacle (nothing else is on this circuit). ….and she keeps tripping the breaker. Is there a recommended amp rating for these units, Or a certain household receptacle wiring size for a 230V???? Oh, and here are some bits of info from this Toshiba unit’s data tag: Volts: 230/208V single phase. RLA: 5.8/6.25A LRA: 40A FLA: 0.8A Amps: 7.2/7.6 Please forgive my ignorance. All I know is that wire size, and amp ratings have a lot to do with each other, and very important to get this right, and not burn your house down.

[@Ms_marshall]

So how do you resolve the issue with the ground wiring?

[@arnoldelectricservices8235]

You would have to find where the ground fault is and clear it. You'd have to make sure your hot conductor is not touching the ground.

[@raymondgarafano8604]

But an old breaker might not carry its rated load anymore?

[@kellysater3562]

Question: our pool pump was working fine all summer, today while the vac was hooded up I disconnected the power, opened the basket and cleaned the pool debris then replaced the basket, and plugged in the pump. It immediately trips the (damn) GFCI outlet it’s plugged into. The outlet won’t reset, and the pump seemed to be working fine. Best guess? Pump is a Hayward, 115v, 12.0amp on a 15 amp dedicated GFCI circuit. The pump is about 6 years old, outlet is at least 10 years old. It’s got me completely stumped. I am a welder, not an electrician. (Or pool guy)

[@aPheonixRises]

Gfci plugs don't last forever. If it wont set either the breaker tripped and there isn't power to the gfci, or it's just worn out and needs to be replaced.

[@firehorse66elaine]

Thank you ;)

[@jackarnold3062]

Thanks for watching it!

[@beewim4601]

Hi! I know this video is a year old already and I live in a different state. But I seem to be having this issue in my apartment. The last two reasons you explained seem to be what's going on. Every time the breaker trips, I can't reset it. It's the breaker to my water heater so it's difficult to wash dishes or take a shower. My landlord has had people come in and out of my apartment to find the problem but they don't seem to be able to figure it out. I think one person did mention that something was loose. Similar to what you explained in the second reason. But, I'm guessing it wasn't taken care of if the breaker tripped again.

[@jackarnold3062]

Hope you have gotten the issue resolved

[@johnrodriguez5706]

Heating element

[@selvestre]

Got an estimate last week. They also said they wanted to re-wire from 14 to 12 Gauge into three separate rooms. He didn’t even look at the wiring. He just gave me an estimate of around 2400. Not including the possibility of opening up the wall. I started questioning him, cause he told me my laptop can trip it as well? My parents been living in the house since the 60s. This always happened over the last 30 years cause of a hairdryer and heater on at the same time or a combination of toe high wattage items. This only happens on one side of the house.

[@shacaramalone]

Could a bad circuit breaker cause the same thing

[@battlestar1788]

So if your outlets never had a problem and all of a sudden year or two goes by and these problem pops up for example… would a screw holding the wires on the outlets comes lose over time … question how is that possible ?

[@mrindependent1]

Electricity causes heat which causes expansion which can loosen connections Also electricity can create vibrations