Take These Four Steps to Determine if Your Circuit Breaker is Bad

There are numerous reasons that a circuit breaker can fail. That said, some reasons are more common than others. For example, the most common are overloaded circuits, short circuits, or a breaker that was not properly reset. At the end of the day, circuit breakers are here to protect you from faults and fires, so it is important to know if yours is failing.

Keep reading to learn the steps you can take to determine if your circuit breaker is bad. You can also contact Sonner Electric at 661-728-0126 to talk to a local electrician who can offer solutions and assistance.

1. Determine Which Circuit the Breaker is Protecting

As soon as you notice there is an issue, you should figure out which circuit the breaker is protecting. You can do this by looking at your electrical panel to see either the label next to the breaker that keeps tripping or the diagram on the circuit panel’s door that describes which circuit is which. One of these should tell you what the circuit is, but if there are no labels and no diagram, then you might want to have one created.

2. Unplug Everything from the Circuit

After you have determined which circuit is being tripped by the circuit breaker, you should turn that breaker to the OFF position and then unplug all devices that are plugged into that circuit. This helps prevent electric surges or other potential problems when you move on to step three.

3. Reset Your Circuit Breaker

Once you have everything unplugged, you can reset the breaker by simply switching it back to its ON position. You should hear (and feel) a noticeable click when you flip the breaker switch. If you do not, then there might be a fault.

4. Pay Attention to What Happens Next

Once you have reset the circuit breaker, if it does not immediately trip again, then the original cause is probably that it was overloaded. You can move some plugs to a different circuit and reset the breaker again. However, if the circuit does trip immediately, then the issue is most likely a short circuit or a bad breaker.

It is Wise to Call an Electrician If You Need Help Replacing a Circuit Breaker

If you keep having issues with a circuit breaker, then it is time to call an electrician. While you can handle moving a few cords around, if there is anything more serious, you need help from the professionals. Not only can we do it more quickly and with higher quality, but if you do it yourself it might not be up to code, and this could cause a huge headache if you sell your home. Call Sonner Electric now at 661-728-0126 and we can get started right away.