How to Tell if a Breaker is Bad

There will undoubtedly come a time in your electrical career where you will need to troubleshoot a bad breaker. How do you go about diagnosing whether or not a breaker is bad?
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Over the course of a circuit-breaker's life it can become damaged. It is a simple mechanical object that always has a certain level of heat it's experiencing, when current is flowing through it. So excessive heat can cause the components inside to weaken over time. Moisture and extreme fluctuations in temperature can also cause breakers to fail over time.
For non-general-use breakers such as smart-breakers, AFCI, GFCI, Dual Function, and shunt-trip breakers, they may have additional internal computer boards and components that can fail too. Many times these utilize more intricate/weaker secondary components that fail more often than the primary components of the breaker.
There are several ways to diagnose a bad breaker, including a simple visual inspection of the handle, the terminal, and the back side of the breaker where it attaches to the panel's busbar. Often times you'll see signs of melted plastic where excess heating occurs, and it's usually where there's a termination or a point where two things are making contact. Other things to watch out for are a breaker not tripping when it is intentionally short circuited. Lastly, if there are no physical signs of damage to the breaker, you can test the internal circuitry of the breaker by testing the terminals with a multimeter. The breaker should have voltage from the output terminal to ground and/or neutral. If it is a 2-pole or 3-pole breaker there should be voltage between each of the terminals of the breaker - typically around 208-240volts from terminal to terminal.
#breakers #circuitbreaker #shortcircuit

[@monicadorian2135]

I'm a 57 yr young widow and I just bought a 1931 house . I have a 15 amp single breaker in my home that runs several rooms someone crosswired it which I cannot afford to have fixed yet but anyway it only tripped once in a while and now it trips every 10 minutes and I have no idea why until I watched your video I learned a lot I now know how to test the breaker. And everything was simply explained so well that I joined thank you so much no longer afraid to check the breakers.

[@bearb1asting]

I feel you. I do a lot of helping for people in your situation. You might be able to find someone to take a look for not the going rate.

[@jimmcallister2287]

If the breaker if flipping every ten minutes I’d worry something might be overloading the circuit. Approach your project with caution, but if in doubt calling a licensed professional may still be wise. Either way, best of luck!! 🙂

[@Leopold284]

I can fix your problem if you're in buffalo ny.

[@bearb1asting]

@@Leopold284 wow. That’s cool. That’s where I’m from

[@1MaximusDecimusMeridius1]

Sounds like lots of resistance, Loose neutral at one of the terminals - wherever they’re wired to. Shut it down and double check them all, look for burnt wires and be safe. Good luck!

[@arlingtonguy54]

For those of us that do our own electrical work this kind of video is very helpful. I call an electrician when I don’t understand what the problem is but generally reliable info on electrical systems is hard to come by. Forums are the worst. Keep em coming.

[@jonathansands9341]

Thank you, all of your videos are such a help. I've been an apprentice for almost 6 months and my anxiety is at ease with your help lol.

[@TampaMaximumMike]

If you have a voltage drop across the breaker, it is usually bad. Usually, anything above .1 volts across the breaker means you have resistance, and resistance means you have heat. Pull the breaker and it will usually be heat damaged on the sides or where it connects to the buss bar. When the contacts are closed, there should be no resistance, no voltage drop, and no heat. It always worked for me.

[@jfbeam]

True, but keep in mind _breakers ARE resistors._ (that's how they work. unless you have a fancy inductive sensing, magnetic trip breaker.)

[@jeffreystroman2811]

Good information but only with respect to the current flowing through said breaker. A totally faulty breaker on a live circuit not passing any or little current would pass your test. Too much resistance is a good indicator and voltage drop more reliable than resistance tests but only with a known percentage of load.

[@trope5105]

voltage drop is not usually bad, it is 100% always bad , 100%

[@charlesford157]

@@trope5105 I had no choice but to run 200' of drop cord to make a repair a couple of weeks ago. I had 126 VAC at the panel and 125 VAC at the female end of the plug. Not bad. Not bad at all.

[@trope5105]

@@charlesford157 well ur talking about across a resistor, which is when u would expect it. u should never expect it across a connection like a breaker. ya gotta listen to what ppl mean when they say n write things, not take it at literal value, after all it was a conversation not just a statement

[@marctalucci7776]

Have to give a shout out to you for making this video. Watched this last month, last week had a service call for problems with power suddenly went out. Customer had a ge panel, and showed no signs of triped beakers. I took your advice in this video of how to check ge breakers and boom found the tripped one! Love your channel and these types of videos you put out.

[@Bullfrog0382]

😂 39 seconds into your video and I'm rolling. I'm going into my 4th month of working for myself and after doing everything but carpet for the last 20 years and I'm learning alot about electrical from your channel. Keep up the good work man. One of the most rewarding things I've done, next to watching my daughters grow, was teaching (like, they were actually listening and not on their phones) two guys everything I could think to teach them in the time I had. In the beginning, one guy went from handing me a caulking gun when I asked for a torpedo level to doing level 5 smooth finish drywall. The fact that I turned him loose with his capabilities is such a cool feeling and I did that for him and another higher skilled laborer, but you guys are doing it for thousands! My hats off to you brother! Keep it wierd. Lmao. 😂

[@krisschanz1412]

Do more troubleshooting videos!! Love this! As a Tech who troubleshoots everyday Its great to hear different perspectives from knowledgeable people. Great job bro 👍🏻

[@JoeJ-8282]

A lot of times, if the wire connected to the breaker's output terminal is melted it's simply because of arcing happening under the screw, simply because whoever installed it didn't tighten the screw enough to hold with a good connection over time, so taking the wire out and cutting it back slightly to fresh copper and restripping it and reinserting it into the breaker output terminal and *properly* tightening the screw will totally fix the problem... This problem is even worse and more common with aluminum wire, because it expands and contracts more than copper with a load vs. no load, so over time it will loosen an insufficiently tightened screw on a breaker (or device like an outlet, etc.), causing a loose connection and therefore arcing and overheating of the wire insulation and/or possibly the device terminal itself. If you ever see and fix this problem then you have to be sure to also check to see if the device's or breaker's terminal(s) are still good too and they haven't been overheated also. You can't just ONLY check the wire itself, you have to check both the wire AND the device's terminal(s) for any heat damage, and if the device or breaker's terminal itself has also been overheated from the loose connection, then the device or breaker must be replaced... But if after careful and thorough inspection, you find that it's ONLY the wire end that got overheated from that loose connection, then you can just cut it back and restrip and remount it and *properly* tighten the screw with sufficient torque, as mentioned previously.

[@ottoroth3066]

Joe...when I see what you described, makes me to a "tightening test" on the rest of the connections. I also look for discolored neutrals which is a dead giveaway of overloads and possibly a bad breaker!

[@JoeJ-8282]

@@ottoroth3066 Yep. 💯

[@DaDaDo661]

I think I'm dealing with that now with some aluminum circuits. Wish me luck

[@hankkline7300]

@@ottoroth3066 Discolored neutrals are also a sign that someone tried to split two circuits with one neutral and end up with both circuits on the same phase thereby doubling the amps on the neutral. Not allowed anymore.

[@keithvannote729]

Dustin, keep these videos coming! I had a problem with a breaker hissing caused by warm moist air from the house traveling up the service conduit and condensing back into water. The water then dripped down and into the first breaker. The resolve was seal off the conduit at the box and replace the breaker.

[@PierreKerbage]

Thank you for all the content. You explain things in a way I can understand. Love the way that you explain the theory and then you go do it, and in many cases, you cross reference it with code. Cheers.

[@pumarodriguez3964]

I love your enthusiasm about the electrical field!!! keep up the great videos man!

[@davidpenner3826]

Love Your videos man recently started working on irrigation store don’t know too much about electrical so it helps a lot to learn and because of what I can learn from your videos I can help the customers in the store better so thank you you

[@FSAUDIOGUY]

This is the BEST electrician channel on KZbin! Thank you for filling gaps in my knowledge. Making me a better electrician every day!

[@willryan1632]

Your point about "mushy" handles helped me to figure out why my hot water heater stopped working. I had replaced the heater elements and thermostats and spent a couple hours pulling my hair out. Was on the verge of buying a new $600 water heater when i came across this video and i investigated the breaker to find the handle issue. Thanks for your knowledge and great video!!

[@yousefqawasmeh1989]

You talking about the electric water heater correct?

[@mrtechie6810]

Next time, use a voltmeter or a neon tester to check for power reaching the appliance.

[@lgoamity]

Similar concern. Had been inside a Service Panel working on a different Circuit/Project and "thought" I had been very careful and didn't touch any of the other wires... After completely the work, the Water Heater was "Dead". It's 240V Digital Timer wasn't turning on/off automatically or manually. Very Odd Coincidence but seemed the "only" reasonable explanation. Thankfully as I had had a bad breaker before that wouldn't reliably switch ON (It seemed OK (mechanical sounded/felt OK) but didn't actually pass current... Figured I'd have to check if the Breaker was bad only to find somehow 1 of the wires had pulled out of the Breaker. Didn't seem to be damaged or cause any, so was able to carefully reinstall and tighten up the wires. Now almost a year later, realizing/suspecting that a significant "buzzing" noise when the Water Heater kicks in "might" be from a bad/weak breaker? Best just to just have the replacement ready, regardless if it "looks" OK. Why take a risk?

[@dennislock3415]

Just found this situation on my water heater 4hrs ago at 3am.

[@dennislock3415]

@@yousefqawasmeh1989 👍😂

[@glossyfpv1155]

You nailed it with the GE breakers known for the mushy handles. Literally replaced one after 4 months of low load.

[@EyeMWing]

had some breakers go bad in a shop - popping at ridiculously low loads, etc. Square D QO, so I was curious WTF happened because the entire panel was brand new, so I drilled out the rivets... Stink bugs had crawled in through the vent holes, and martyred themselves across the contacts.

[@ONYX1207]

Wtf lmao

[@EyeMWing]

Yeah, that was about my response, too. Until that point, I didn't even realize there WERE vent holes.

[@MrMaxyield]

😵😵🤯 🤣🤣

[@peternotarfrancesco2614]

Had that problem in my AC. bugs got into the contact area and stopped the contacts from closing.

[@tsogrady200]

I enjoyed your video, except for the part where you said a breaker will only trip at 130% load. Thermal Breakers have inverse time curves. A 20 amp breaker will trip at 21 amps but it will take a long time. It will trip more quickly at 25, 30 or 40 amps. At 200% load it's not necessarily a short circuit, someone could just be having three hair dryers going at the same time, on the same circuit. Clients are often confused by this time delay. I often ask him what happened just before the breaker tripped and they will say nothing, but 15 minutes before then added an additional load to the circuit that had overloaded it but they didn't make the connection between that action and the breaker tripping

[@michaelrice500]

We had an operator at a stamp mill tell us a breaker had failed for the motor control center. This was the feed for several 1600 amp disconnects for various production motors. The electrician came back and said the breaker had failed. The supervisor asked him how he was sure . . . "Because the building exploded". Yup. There's your problem RIGHT THERE!

[@videotreck]

Mushy handles, never heard about it, but wow had the same issue today. All the breaker visibly on but appliance was not working, after watching your video went back to breaker and tested softly as you said and boom found the culprit, reset it and now working even the handle is at off position. Will surely change it next week. So grateful to you, God bless you.

[@KevinCoop1]

Dustin, another excellent video! For your viewers information, the manufacturers of breakers state in writing that circuit breakers should be turned off and on six times in a row annually. Almost nobody does it. But, doing this helps find bad breakers before you see the result of a bad one. Also, i don’t think you mentioned it but sometimes breakers just get weak. Example, there is nothing visually wrong, but with only a few amps of load on them, they trip every so often. This is usually a breaker that the owner keeps turning back on numerous times after tripping. Nuisance! Change nuisance tripping breakers rather than resetting, please. Also, NEVER test a breaker by touching live conductors together. Dangerous, and circuit breakers are only guaranteed by manufacturer to trip one time from short circuit. Respectfully, Kevin

[@imark7777777]

Yah touching the wires together is the best way to find out if you have Federal fire Pacific panels as in you just arc-welded the wires together.

[@fosterwayne6684]

After many years of service, at least 18 years, the 20A breaker that I used on my table saw and dust collection outlet started to be a Nuisance breaker, so I replaced it with a new 20A breaker, I'm still having the same problem, just a bad replacement breaker? or is there something else afoot.

[@KevinCoop1]

@@fosterwayne6684 I would doubt that the new breaker is bad if it is doing the same exact thing. Can you explain what is turned on and running and if it takes a certain amount of time before it pops or is it just random? I’m going to suggest that you take a clamp on ammeter and see what the amp draw is for the dust collector compared to the motor nameplate. Should be less than the plate for FLA. Then put it on your saw and run a board through it to see it’s amps. Again, should be less that FLA on the motor nameplate. Also, get voltage readings before and after startup. Was there any electrical changes made just before the issue started? With that info and description, we may be able to come up with an answer for you. Respectfully, Kevin

[@imark7777777]

@@fosterwayne6684 if you're comfortable doing it I would suggest checking any replacement cord ends to make sure they are still secure connection within. After that I would check for loose connections on the outlets as well. It's also worth checking any cords for damage. Then I would suspect something internal on one of the pieces of equipment.

[@fosterwayne6684]

@@KevinCoop1 I have 4 outlets on that breaker and it doesn't happen all the time, but more times than I would like, I had both the table saw and the dust collector rigged to come on at the same time, but that tripped the breaker more often, now I switch them on separately and the breaker does trip, but not as often. I also run a 12" table top disk sander on that breaker with my shop vac turned on and that sometimes trips the breaker, but rarely. I have had all four machines running at the same time without tripping the breaker, but that is a very rare occasion to have them running at the same time. I'm hoping that it's just a bad breaker, I've had no problems with any of the other circuits.

[@paulrozinski1488]

Very simple ( but thorough ) explanation . Great video 👍

[@moo3993]

Came across your video tonight because I had a breaker fail in my panel. Had to cross reference a Murray MP-T over to a Siemens QD type, and wanted to figure out how they can just stop working. Mine had that mushy feeling you described about one of the failures, so I guess the spring fatigues over time, and then mechanically it can't hold anymore? Super interesting, mine just stopped working out of the blue, no high load, nothing event wise that caused it. Replaced it and we're good to go. First time ever replacing a breaker. Super easy! Thank you for the info, I didn't know they were working loaded in the closed position

[@4GSR]

Had a VFD blow up on me from a mis-wired control circuit. The 20-amp fuses did not blow at the machine, Nore the 30-amp breaker in the sub panel, which was a GE. The 50-amp breaker in the main panel protecting the sub-panel tripped! It was a Semons brand breaker. This was in my home shop fed by single phase current. All my machines run on VFD's to power 3-phase motors on the machine tools. I am deeply knowledgeable of machine tool wiring and circuitry. My dumb mistake in wiring up the control circuit killed the VFD. I guess it's true you learn from your mistakes, even if they are costly! You're not too far me, I'm south by about 140 miles! Enjoy your videos, keep up the nice work you do!

[@patrickbowman1485]

I'm a retired ired fire alarm tech. We had a customer who had multiple expensive digital amplifier panels smoke because they had a 20A breaker opening for a 4A load. After I finally convinced them to replace the breaker they no longer have low current trigger problems nor several thousand dollar networked digital fire alarm panels bring damaged. Digital equipment do not like to be hard cycled, especially multiple times. I enjoy your presentations and am still learning so I can help others.

[@71160000]

You can try a non contact thermometer to see if you have a single hot breaker or multiple ones before doing anything. If the wire insulation melts then you had a bad connection or way too much load and the breaker didn't trip. I've had breakers actually melt the shunts on the bus bars but most of the time the issue is where the wire screws down on the breaker. You know you're in trouble when the breakers are stab in and when you try to pry it out all the breakers on that phase lift outward. The worse cases of melted bus bars I've seen were in critical power panels in hospitals.

[@la-downoah5199]

Transitioning from the military your channel is so Great for me and all the knowledge I’m trying to soak up before starying my apprenticeship! Thanks!

[@normseguin2240]

Hey buddy! Probably the best video I've seen regarding electrical problems... clear, concise, informative! Keep up the great work!

[@stevelichliter7008]

Thanks for the information. I thought I had a bad breaker, and your video helped me understand what is going on with the breaker. I was getting pissed off at myself, so the energy (your upbeat energy) helped me move forward.

[@howtodoitdude1662]

You are one of the few KZbinrs that I admire and trust in the electrical field. Thanks for sharing!

[@atomicdmt8763]

love your vids, style. super important for me to fill in all these details. (ive been a PV and ESS designer for 20 years). Cheers!

[@DreadWingKnight]

There is one assumption you can make in electrical that is safe. You have to test EVERYTHING.

[@user-jj3nh5nc8t]

This video was very helpful. I've been retired for 18yrs,. as an appliance repair tech, this helped clear some of the cobwebs.

[@network_king]

I had a 20A 120V breaker at work that would trip if plugged a small pancake air compressor into, plug into a different circuit was fine. I asked the electrician at work to look at it and he said sometimes the breakers get old and weak and trip at less than they are rated. He swapped it out and was then fine just like the other circuits.

[@dtvjho]

I remember a 20A breaker that had a window A/C on it, and would regularly trip with it running for a while. Electrician came out, found it was tripping at 13A. He replaced it.

[@joewest1972]

As an Italian American for 70 yrs. (If you're not italian) I would like to nominate you as an honorary pisano. I've never seen anyone other than an Italian talk with their arms and hands as much as you without being Italian.🙂👍

[@NikonFM2n]

I thought he was Cuban. 😂

[@clarkkent1227]

Swap the load wire to another breaker of the same ampacity, on the same panel, and if the 2nd one trips off then you know the first one was good and detecting a valid overload!

[@whitetiger8652]

Thank you for the lesson on Breakers, all of your videos are educational. What is your opinion on Arc Fault Breakers? Thanks again!

[@GuntherVonB]

In many circuit breaker manufacturing facilities, 135% of handle rating is used to determine an overcurrent trip time. (It's actually a very comprehensive thermal trip/time curve)This is mostly done in a series configuration for multi-pole pole breakers, or line to load for single pole breakers. The breaker must thermally trip within a specified time to pass this test. The 200% thermal testing is for single pole testing. Any one pole (including in a single pole, or multi-pole breaker) must trip within a specified time when 200% of rated handle current is applied to one pole only. (Isolated from any other pole in the breaker, if applicable) This is an extension of the 135% thermal test. "Short Circuit" (or short circuit current rating) interruption is typically the energy the breaker must dissipate in a specified amount of time, as advertised by the manufacturer, and still remain functional. It is generally designated as kilo-amps. AKA...a single pole 20A breaker has multiple levels at which a short circuit is dissipated, depending on the application: 10 kA 120/240 V AC 50/60 Hz, 10 kA 120 V AC 50/60 Hz, 5 kA 48 V DC.

[@ericw4329]

I work as an electrician for a Refrigeration company and there are many manufacturing company that have put large refrigeration racks on the roofs of buildings. A main feeder is brought up and branch circuits are distributed from there. During the summer season I have had 15 amp breakers trip with a 5 amp load. From what I have found is the steel box enclosure that sits in direct sun light all day, heats up breaker a derates the handle value of a breaker and wont let it rest because the thermals are hot. One simple test is I pull/replace that breaker, allow it to cool and it would then be able to rest. I've even taken a thermal camera and have seen the breaker reading 140°+. We would then add vent fans to help cool the enclosure... a little.

[@gastonfam3113]

I’m a tool junkie and almost bought myself a thermal camera the other day. I bought a socket set instead. I will be getting one though.

[@bizhanhooman9729]

Great start to this topic. It would be interesting to see you do a collaboration with a full service testing shop. There's a wide spectrum of tools and methods for testing breakers depending on the situation. Then there's all the other contributing factors, like bad loads, bad busbars, bad wiring, etc. You could easily turn this into a separate series and highlight the need for licensed professionals and help educate owners as well.

[@Kda2456]

Hard to tell from the Photo but it could be 14 AWG wire on that 20 Amp Breaker as well.

[@lauravergeront6009]

using it in my apprenticeship classes here in the inland empire in Southern California. Keep up the good work!

[@vlanza1999]

That's great you answered a question for me! My circuits keep tripping in the garage but when I go to the panel everything is in the on position. I thought maybe I didn't understand how they worked, but now I think my old panel isn't working right.

[@schatzemanly6749]

Thanks for more troubleshooting information. Always wanting to learn!

[@victormalagon5172]

Can't thank you enough for putting out your videos and for sharing your knowledge

[@nickm9102]

I had to deal with a similar situation recently. Certain sections of the building had either low voltage or no voltage and it fluxuated. our AC fan would power on but the unit would not cool. when I could not figure out which breaker/breakers were bad I noticed they were on the same side of the breaker box. I suspected a problem in the breaker box with a leg being down. As it turns out I was partially correct. A power leg was out but it wasn't in the house it was in the feeding transformer. so the power company temporary fix was what appears to be a portable transformer that, since I did not watch them install it, I am guessing that it is connected to the working leg and feed it to the transformer and run it to the meter contacts of the house.

[@christophereaton4694]

I love it when the suspect breaker comes out in pieces and leaves the contact on the buss.

[@alexflores8293]

Really good video thanks for sharing your knowledge really helps a lot of us that may not have much experience with electrical brakers.

[@littlenugs9942]

Glad you said that about the older ge breakers. I have a single 20 amp ge breaker that won't trip, but the power goes out for a period of time there's no resetting the breaker (until it cools off?) It's a high humidity basement. And in only trying to run 4 - 100 watt light bars on this single line. Your thoughts please! Oh and there is no panel shut off so I would have to do this live. Is that possible? I do have some experience with electricity so I will be comfortable doing the work. Just trying to find other options ty

[@evabogdanovich433]

I watched this video and the helpful tips and got my inside garage lights back on. Thank you!😆

[@wpetercollins5519]

Great video. I like the tip about weak spring mechanism internally. Didn't know about that one. Thanks

[@jakesully5402]

And you flip the breaker around and you’re like “whoa !! That things melted on the back !!“. It’s funny what we electricians get excited about 😏😏. It’s kind of like when your partner blows up his pliers. They make for funny stories with the boys at beer o’clock on Friday.

[@71160000]

I can remember a buddy getting a new pair of kleins and the first pair of wires he cut, bam, two #12 holes in the cutting edge.

[@realityhurts8697]

I've done that, as an aircraft mechanic, my motto is the smoke stays in the box.

[@dragonfireproductions790]

We used to slam the breakers at the table and see if it trips. If it trips the mechanism inside is okay 😂

[@Eric-pt2id]

I'll never forget seeing a guy I was working with blow a hole in his linesman's pliers. The tick tester needed a new battery and was acting funny and he was like I'm sure it's off. Lmao!!!!! Luckily he was ok but bro!? 😆😂🤣

[@71160000]

@@Eric-pt2id When I was first starting out the shop owner came out to the job. He was a retired electrician and there was a question about working on a circuit that had a light socket hanging from the ceiling. This older electrician walked up and put his finger in the socket. Said nothing. Licked his finger and shoved it back into the socket and said it's dead. I pulled out a tester and checked. Nope, it was hot. He couldn't feel it even after wetting his finger. Know and use your tools. I always checked with a tester and then gave it the touch test. Simplest is to take a screwdriver and touch the dead wire and glancingly touch the screwdriver shaft or simply touch the back of a finger to the hot. That's after it testing as dead.

[@joshgeorge83]

Hi Justin, good info. Great examples. Was hoping to see if you would bring my issue. First time ever I've seen this happen: late 90's house. had to replace breaker because it would move slowly to off. thought I did something wrong. Replaced it and fixed issue. Now I have a 2nd breaker with the same problem. 15 amp breakers just had to turn off when changing out light fixtures. I'll update with brand . Surprised this keeps happening.

[@ladyt2987]

Thank you for saving my hundreds of dollars today. One little thing you explained was the exact information I needed to fix the problem.

[@blitzbiker2001]

On one of our jobs we lost a phase on a 3 phase breaker supplying an air handler, fried 2 variable frequency drivers. Over $10,000 to replace.

[@realTlMBOSLlCE]

VFD wasn't set to fault on a phase loss?

[@Nidkidful]

@@realTlMBOSLlCE May have been too large of a load for the VFD to gracefully brake on a loss of phase condition without frying. Also, some OEM's will shut off various features to reduce faults on the delivered equipment.

[@natehess7663]

Needed a phase loss detector/control to cut power when the equipment is that expensive. The manufacturer should have had that component added. Someday it's bound to loose 1 phase.

[@robprice8913]

Thanks man. My best friend Mike passed a cpl years ago. He was a master electrician. I'm in construction and always been very interested. He was a great teacher. I picked up what I could from him. But there is SO much more. I may hv found my new electrical mentor in you. No small thing. I'll be seeing you often. To Mike , and to you. Thank you both, Rob price

[@aspitofmud6257]

I had a old zinsco breaker explode in a great ball of fire 🔥 on my panel when I reset it. Highly motivated. To learn how to do things right now.

[@debbiehempele3536]

Thanks I was terrified to touch anything in breaker box but I did as you said turn off and then back to on position it worked 💙

[@MCMXI1]

Solid vid as always! No topic is too menial...keep em coming

[@fdMT_EnGy]

Mmm so refreshing to see jush a neat organized panel. I moved into a house that my wifes stepfather owned. I started having electrical issues so I started poking around. Aside from having one half of the house on one 15amp breaker, thos box was a complete and total disaster. It looked like one of those hurricane path maps the weatherman uses. I went thru and organized a little bit with out making too many changes, but I sure would love to rewire this house correctly some day. Maybe step up the juice too.

[@Musthi834]

Thanks very much about tapping. All mine looked ok, except the lights over the oven went out. So I am going to lightly tap and find the errant one. I hope it works. Thanks .

[@phillippatten6233]

I would like to thank this channel I been doing this type of work for 2 yrs now and i have learned a lot from yall. Thank you

[@ElectricianU]

That's great to hear! Thank you for watching!

[@freightshayker]

Right. Visually inspect everything. Thanks

[@duganfr]

I found a breaker that was bad by simply turning it off. Soon as I did that it popped off the bus bar. It was so loose it was causing it to trip. Put a new one in and no more problems

[@hankkline7300]

I have had to replace many electric panels with aluminum bus bars (the energized part that the breaker plugs on to.) Many times a breaker will burn up and it is because the aluminum bus is corroded and not making good contact. There is no good fix for a damaged bus bar. If you try to clean or sand it IT WILL FAIL very soon and burn up the new breaker too. ALWAYS check the bus bar before replacing a breaker for signs of arcing. Zinsco panels are notorious for this. I have seen holes burned completely through a Zinsco bus. Replace any zinsco panel at the first sign of trouble, or better yet before any sign of trouble. They are the second worst panel behind FPE.

[@sambromley7394]

Lordy thank you I needed this one. I’ve had some problem customers I’ve had to visit several times and I thought I was stupid.

[@nathanpautler691]

I installed all new DF GE breakers and had one that was faulty out of the package. The circuit only had three receptacles on it. And we rarely use them (garage). Of course me being a novice, it was the last thing I checked. It didn’t even occur to me that the breaker could be faulty. It was somewhat of a relief, as I thought that my run was damaged by the drywallers and I was going to have a fish a new run.

[@theodoreroberts3407]

About a year ago, I installed a replacement Leviton (GFTR1-KT) GFCI only to find out it was bad, from the store. Question: how can you test them before you install? I did test once it was in circuit two ways: GFCI tester and the reaction of other connected circuits. It never reset or pop (button). I did finally install a good one.

[@alexmontes3000]

Great video very informative. So what would cause my lights to not get power, and outlets do get power. We have the dual breakers square D brand 15amp.

[@jeromewilliams7758]

Great video ! I’m a DIY’er this info has helped me immensely thank you

[@sculptor210]

Valuable info - thank you so much!

[@noelv1976]

Man... Thank you for that tapping tip. Everything looked good on the device, circuit breaker looked like it was intact. I tried that tapping tip and sure enough, it started moving until it tripped.. other breakers didn't move.

[@donaldbingham8990]

I used to have a house that was wired with aluminum and had a Zinsco breaker box. I had many problems with the Zinsco breakers going bad. The failures included welded contacts so that the breaker was actually on when the handle was in the off position. I also had breakers that would get so hot that the plastic case melted. We were in a large subdivision that was built with aluminum wiring so the local hardware store carried Zinsco breakers.

[@360alaska6]

I had a breaker tripping at random, even with nothing on in the circuit, it would also trip if I lightly tapped it. I ended up swapping it's position with another breaker since I did not have a spare, but honestly I think that tightening the connection fixed it. I have not had a problem since.

[@peetcee635]

Great video! Great explanation and very helpful info. 👍👍 Thank you Sir.

[@vince6829]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@mr.lourod6175]

Thank You for saving me a few hundreds as well. Great video and lots of great info. Thank you again!!!!!

[@forgottenfoes12]

G.E. breakers ... in my area we call them GE for good enough :) Square D are really solid it seems, and Eaton makes some good stuff too

[@B5Blue1968]

GE the last two letters in garbage!

[@adammcfarren5214]

Siemans and square D always the way to go

[@oddjobz9858]

@@B5Blue1968 absolutely garbage

[@oddjobz9858]

QO panel the only way to go

[@CC-kc5lb]

Hey nobody said Schneider

[@briancarlisi2224]

Thank you. As an HVAC apprentice this video taught me a few things.

[@cward1954]

In HVAC, an ammeter is one of your best friends. A compressor on a 4 ton unit is not supposed to draw 70 amps. Lol.

[@howardlaunius7484]

Thanks for this vid. I lost a circuit in my garage and the breaker didn't seem to be tripped. Multi meter at the outlet showed no voltage. Went back to the panel and reset every 120 volt breaker, finally found the one breaker that had tripped but didn't show tripped. Now I know why, time to replace. Thumbs up!!

[@PracticalOutdoorist]

Thanks for explaining in simple terms. I liked this video.

[@Audey]

3:33 Many years of playing crocodile dentist has prepared me for this moment. I'm ready.

[@heroknaderi]

Thank you for this video. It;s so helpful. one issue i ran into at a friends house is lights and outlets are not working on one part of the house the breakers all are ok i tested them. and was wondering what the issre is the person said he reset the breaker two times after tripping and the second time it stayed on i tesed it snd it is putting out power. Im guessing a wire might have melted in the line somewhere.

[@edwardathanasaw5771]

Its the extra info. You add from your experiences that gives us the edge and i appreciate ya for it. These simple videos you call em are bread and butter knowledge love and respect

[@davidh.8513]

Thank you! That was an informative video.

[@ZSchrink]

Good info, thanks for sharing!

[@jaglover]

I just spent a week troubleshooting my GFCI circuit. The GFCI outlet was tripping and the breaker was tripping. I replaced the outside 23 year old outlet with a WR outlet. (It wasn't before) The circuit would work for a few hours than mysteriously trip again. I then replaced the GFCI outlet thinking it was bad from tripping so many times over the years. That improved it a little but the breaker was still tripping as well as the GFCI. Well I never opened up a panel and I was hesitant to replace the breaker but after doing a lot of online research and watching a lot of Electrician U videos I decided I could do this myself and save. I have a CH panel so I needed to get an Eaton CH 15 amp breaker at Home Depot. It was easy to replace the breaker as long as you follow proper safety procedures. I did all the testing that he suggested and nothing stood out. Voltage ok, resistance ok, no physical or thermal damage was evident. Popped in the new breaker and tested it fully along with the GFCI and it is holding fine after 24 hours. Morale of the story, breakers do go bad. Who'd thought. This is the first time in my 60 years of living on this earth I have ever needed to replace a bad breaker. I guess the fact that it was on a troubled GFCI branch circuit that has been a pain in the ass over the years kind of helped it to go bad in a way that was not obvious. No shorts, no overloads, it just tripped because I guess it was just getting tired. Thanks Electrician U for helping me to figure this out and saving me money as well.

[@joenegrete7522]

Very understandable like how you explain everything so clearly

[@dannyhartco1656]

Dustin ..You are very well trained tech ..impressed...

[@raymond3722]

Very informative as always.

[@terryenyart5838]

I've had brand new breakers fail, buzz on/off with a voltage drop, trip if someone looks at it wrong, continue tripping when the circuit is 100% ok. You must always verify good brakes with zero VD. Great info! Thank you

[@normferguson2769]

I had a 1974 breaker panel in my house. We got a smell of dead animals when the steamer shower was being used. One day I happened to see a red dot next to a breaker in the panel. I took the cover off and found red hot leg on a breaker feeding the shower steamer. The screw holding it to the buss bar had snapped and made the connection glow red hot, melting the back of the breaker. The smell was the plastic on the breaker melting/ burning.

[@rjlinnovations1516]

Excellent troubleshooting. Nice to know to prevent fire 👍

[@dracula3811]

Another way to tell if a breaker is bad is if it's letting voltage through in the off position. I've seen this happen. A guy got zapped installing a receptacle. The breaker was off but was letting 60v through. Yes it got replaced.

[@y_zass]

Breakers go bad?!? I don't want to hear that! Take it back! I have a Cutler Hammer box full of tan handles that I would not want to replace lol... I cleaned it up nicely, every circuit now has its own breaker, 14ga on 15a and 12ga on 20a. The neutral bus bar is now single tapped the whole way down. No corrosion or melted wires to be seen. All I can do now is pray 🙏

[@darknesssword2358]

Thank you very much, i have 1 side of my room no power and only 1 side is working ,and my basement no power. You explain very good , now i will try. Thanks 👍💯

[@etiennelouw9244]

I have had a lot going bad on me even what we call Earth leakage breakers in South Africa. I am a Millwright, a mix of mechanical and electrical trade.

[@aldoogie824]

Can you do a follow up video on why Arc Fault breakers, while code, are not liked by electricians / trip too often and how to avoid.

[@WildManDanWMD]

Wow! So much asditional info. Subscribed 😮

[@michaelmassetti4068]

Excellent video.. one other thing to mention in a residential panel. ... if you smell burnt plastic( abs casing ) you have a serious problem.

[@ottoroth9377]

I've actually had more trouble on GE Slimline breakers. This was on my house...I accidentally shorted a circuit and went to the breaker to cut it off and none were tripped....decided to replace all the breakefs...but for the same price of breakers just went out and bought a nice Square D panel.

[@350kirk]

Great video! I got a question for you though... In a house I just bought, when I try to run my treadmill, it trips the breaker every time. It seems like the breaker is not able to carry the proper load. How would I check that (aside from the things you mentioned)?