Arc Fault Breaker Keeps Tripping! How To Fix It!

In this video we go through the process of how to find the cause of tripping on an arc fault (AFCI) breaker.

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Blessings,

Ben

[joshg]

We just had a bunch of renovations and our electrician installed the Commercial electric brand and they seem good so far. He said he trusts them and have been reliable for him.

[KiwiMaker]

Nice video! I like when people actually look for the problem, rather than just throwing the broken item in the bin.

[noelwhyte]

You just helped me trun an 8 hour job into 3 hours 👍🏾🙏🏾 customer is very happy

[DriverDude]

I’ve had good luck with Halo (Cooper) recessed LED trims. I like Feit, but I’ve had many of their bare LED bulbs (not trims) die prematurely. Feit’s warranty replacement has been excellent, so I don’t hesitate to buy their product.

[lizkelly]

My rented dryer was the item that caused my cb to trip so I have contacted the Rental Company. Although recently an Electrician came to work on our Stove last week but nothing has gone wrong until today & it was the dryer as I connected it to two different plug outlet & it went POOF and the cb tripped again. In your video my NZ cb looked just like your one in the video. Thanks 😊

[karlvondrak]

Good video, After unplugging the 2nd light, I would have just left the light switch on and see if it would have tripped right away, saving maybe an extra trip up and down. Nice neat wiring in that house, what are the red/orange things holding wires together on joist. I like how the wires were run and staples staggered to give nice appearance. I understand time is money and on a job stie they would take time like that, just get the wire ran. several code violation on the panel easily noticeable right away, surprised no one else has mentioned it.

[DS-mzdy]

Good troubleshooting and I really like the coffee cup on top of the panel!

[HGR]

Hello Ben,
Enjoy your videos. I installed two large LED panels in my workshop. The building is fully insulated and I ran all wiring inside the gray watertight conduit. Overkill I know. So, I decided to use an ARCFAULT breaker just for these two overhead lights. Even though my mancave is climate controlled, every once in a while that breaker would trip as soon as I flipped the switch. I called and was passed upchannel to an electrical engineer at the company that makes the QO breakers. We ran some test on the breaker, but all appeared good. So, I running out of answers, I did some further trouble shooting . The roof in my mancave is metal. Same as used in modern pole building. Above, fully R47 blown in insulation. I used plastic gray looking receptical boxes, and locking plugs on the ends of the light cords. Turned off the circuit, and noticed that one of the receptacle tabs (metal), was touching the metal roof. What do you know? ... once I broke off that tab, I haven't had that tripping again. Called back the engineer, and he was dumbfounded! We surmised that there was enough ground current flowing between the receptical and the roof area, that the breaker would trip. * I have put up four JUNO LED flat plated light under the porch of my workshop. They work very nicely, and are extremely easy to install. Additionally, each light has a controller that allows you to set the (k), daylight, more yellow, or wavelength. Great product. Thanks again for all of your videos. Keep it up

[teardowndan]

A faster diagnostic method with fewer trips back to the breaker box is to unplug everything, turn the breaker back on, then see which thing trips the breaker when plugged back in. Only one breaker box trip unless you have multiple faulty devices.

[JayJoJonny]

good explanation of the type of arc faults. I came here because I'm having issues with Eaton brand breakers. They are under warranty so I'm going to replace them.

[briantayes]

I have found Sunco products to be very high quality. I have installed their downlights, led tubes, E26 bulbs and 2 grow lights. I will be relighting my shop with their 4' lights next month. I haven't had one go bad and they also offer 4K versions. They have a 7 year warranty and they are an American company.

[jgc]

Thanks for making this. I caused a ground fault installing a ceiling fan remote.

[gary]

I'm going to ask my wife to watch the last minute of this vid, particularly at 14:45 to 15:20. This will help her understand I’m not the only one with long range plans!

[mmartinez]

I watch your videos all the time I has learned so much thanks for such an amazing teaching.

[sterlingelmasri]

Thanks for the video troubleshooting an archfult braker
My favorite led brand is ensenior their not the cheapest, but their the best .thanks brother

[John-dpln]

Amazed that a secondary arc event (after rectifier, capacitor and regulator) would be detected in feed side enough to trip breaker. Would not have guessed that but evidence indicates that this is true. Nice job.

[JCWise-sfww]

Very well done, troubleshooting the arc fault problem of narrowing it down to what was causing it. It's good that electrical safety codes is a top concern, but all these modern solid state electronics in the breaker panel and cheaply made LED lights can cause a lot of buzz on your AM radio receivers in the house. That is just as important that these devices do not disrupt other electronics in the house. I had the experience of tracing AM radio buzz to arc fault breakers, that were first on the market, manufacturer corrected the issue in later production of them. I have seen LED's causing the buzz noise on AM too.

[joelabramson]

Hey Ben, really enjoy your content. I noticed the fixture that was bad was located in your shower area. I think moisture from the steam in that area could have caused your arcing problem. Try replacing the fixture with one that is rated for damp/moist locations. Keep up the good work. 👍

[drewlichty]

I agree with you about that feit brand. I’ve had similar problems. But yes cheaper when faced with an expensive purpose.

[kennethkaminski]

Good job explaining this type problem, which is fairly new.