Tripping Circuit Breaker Problem, what would you do in this situation #electrician

[BenjaminAguirre-zz]

You have a direct short. Unhook from breaker and test line to ground. Find midway point on circuit and separate it. If it hold on line side it downstream from that point

[erikroberts]

This happened to me once. So, I asked the homeowner what happened just before the power went out. They said they were hanging a picture on the wall. Once they hammered the nail into the wall, the power went out. They couldn't figure out what had just happened. What happened was they drove the nail through the cable, shorting out both wire carrying electricity. They showed me the picture. I removed the picture and cut out a hole in the wall. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. I took me some time to complete the repairs. Then afterward, I recommended to them to use self-adhesive hooks when hanging their pictures in the future.

[hannibalZA]

Legend has it he’s still at that house reading comments and looking for a solution, such dedication ✊👊

[_JerryLopez_]

I had a similar issue at a customer home. Couldn’t figure it out, I checked breakers & plugs with testers. Looked for any unhooked light fixtures. I ended up taking the plate covers to all outlets and switches. And with that I found 2 outlets were broken and making contact with the old work metal 2x4 1 gang boxes. That was the fix. The man I helped was calling me after 3 licensed electricians couldn’t find a solution. Oh me, I’m just friendly neighbor that enjoys helping people and I love challenges. Worked for an electrical distributor for 25 + years doing switchgear quotes from starting in a warehouse. Good day everyone be safe . PPE always PPE

[rhocco]

All these guys are correct. It’s all about isolating the problem, so start in the middle and work your way back if the short is still present, or work your way forward if the short is not present.

[nimrodbarnes]

You said “a half of his house on 15A”, there goes the biggest problem.

[FoilMO]

This happened to me once and the problem was my wife hung a picture on the wall and the screw went past the drywall and into the wire behind it. Check if they drove any screws or nails lately into their walls.

[matthewbroyles]

Id disconnect everything from the circuit switches/outlets then hit the breaker and go from there if it doesn't kick it then connect everything back one by one until you get to what was causing it to automatically kick. Ive had that happen with stoves when they weren't wired right and wires ended up touching, and even with 15 and 20amp circuits caused by things being plugged in or loose wires in a basement light fixture's junction box

[wesleygreene]

I’ve had wire nuts that are hidden in the walls that have came apart because of heat and touched a neutral or ground. The best and simplest thing I found was undoing every single plug and light switch and running continuity from one to another until finding the line that has the short

[chris-]

You're an electrician, you should know how to do everything 😂

[bullboss]

First thing is to ask home owner exactly when it first tripped and what happened when it first tripped.

[edgarlg]

The light kit in my ceiling fan shorted 7 outlets after I tried to replace a light bulb that blew as soon as screwed it in. The breaker was automatically tripping because 2 wires from the light kit were touching somehow. So after I removed the light kit from the fan, my electrician friend looked at it and cut the black and white wires still coming out where the light kit was and my lights came back on! Thanks a million Bill!

[rumruumm]

I had one of these calls. Asked customer what was the last outlet they used before it happened.
Cleaning lady used that outlet to vacuum.
Opened said outlet, wires were crossed and on tension eventually led to short.
Was lucky. Fixed in 2 min.
Didn’t replace breaker at all. Worked fine

[G-lz]

This might sound pretty crazy. But it sounds like someone put a screw or a nail.Through a wire happens all the time ask the homeowner if they had recently hung cabinets.
Or any pictures

[Hohmies]

I always stick a meter on the dead circuit and check continuity from hot to neutral and hot to ground. That’ll tell you at the panel if you have a direct short or not. Then you can dig further. Also make sure you turn lights off so you can easily dial in where the short is

[johnmendez]

It's a good trade man, always gonna keep you guessing.... And everyone does stuff differently all over the world. It is so cool to see and hear ppl share ideas & techniques for everyone who's interested. Gotta love the U.S.A.✌️🤟🙏

[j-cam]

Put a drop light in series with the breaker . Put it on an extension cord so you can put it where you want . Go to the middle of the circuit . Open up .and walk it around from there . When the bulb goes dim or off you know which side of the circuit you have to go to . Always ask if anyone touched anything . Sometimes it's quick, sometimes you pull your hair out .

[michaeldriscoll-np]

Disconnect the circuit breaker. Open up all the switches and recepticals. Once all the devices are disconnected and the line is cleared; power up one device at a time. By reconnecting one device at a time (power up; looking for any part of the circuit to trip the breaker). You should be able to isolate the problem area. Then you can figure out what needs to be done to fix the problem. It's time consuming. I hope this helps you out.

[travishamilton]

Hang in there young buck this is how you learn and get experience. These calls suck when you're there, but when you figure it out and makes you a better person for it, don't give up and don't be afraid to ask other people for suggestions

[gregroche]

Detach wires all throughout the house so they aren’t attached to anything, measure resistance to ground. One of your hots got cut or fell out of a wire nut somewhere