My house is 9 years old, I have been having a problem with a 20 amp breaker that keeps kicking. There is nine outlets on the cicurt, one of them is on an outside outlet that is in a waterproof medal box with a plastic cover, it has been there for the nine years that we have lived here. About 5 weeks ago we were on vacation and came home and noticed that the fountian was not running after do an inspection I noticed that one fo the outlets inside was very rusted and had tripped the breaker, I replaced the outlet and all seemed to be OK. The breaker kept kicking so I replaced it this past Saturday. We have been having a lot of rain and the breaker tripped three more times over the past 24 hours. I have checked both out side boxes and they are dry, I then replaced both outside outlets, checked all the wiring and thought that I had the problem fixed. No rain in the last 6 hours and it just tipped again. There is nothing plugged in at the current time, I reset the breaker and it just tripped again, can you help please?
Already Tried: New outlets on the outside and the one that had all the rust on it that I replaced once several weeks ago and then again today.
You are corresponding with JOSEPH (The Electrical Doctor) - Your "Personal On-Line Electrical Professional Consultant".Hi, do you have access to a digital volt Meter with a continuity setting on it? Also does this affect any lights in the home, or just the outlets? **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 6:39:39 PM
Not a digital volt meter but a standard dial one, it does not affect any other lights in the house or the dinning room. Dave
Can you give me the make and model number of the meter so I can look it up? That way I can tell you how to test the circuit with it. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 6:44:00 PM
Commercial Electric M1015B 300V CAT II
Take the meter and set it to OHMS x10. Then put the probes into the Outlet and let me know if you get any resistance in the circuit. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 6:59:36 PM
Should the breaker be off or on?
Leave the breaker off. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 7:04:19 PM
The meter went all the way to the right to "0"
Touch the leads together and tell me what the needle does....
The meter went all the way to the right to zero, I adjusted the dial on the side to go to true zero
Went to zero, are yiou still there
Ok, what you will be looking for is zero each time you do this test. Now take the meter and test hot to neutral and hot to ground. Let me know if you read any resistance on the line. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 7:18:27 PM
are you talking about at the Panel?
yes getting a zero reading at all outlets ,are you talking about at the panel?
No you can do it at any of the affected outlets. What we are trying to determine here is if you actually you have a short in the line. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 7:24:15 PM
All the 8 outlets check out a zero ohm reading is that what they are suppose to be reading?
Let me ask you this question. What kind of breaker is in the panel. When the breaker trips, does it simply turn off, or do you hear a popping or small boom sound? **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 7:32:26 PM
Simens, it just turns off, no popping sound or short sounds.
Ok, then its entirely possible that you have a bad breaker. You should replace it with a new one from Lowes or Home Depot. It will cost you about $5 or $6 for a new breaker. I have made a video that shows you how to do this safely. Watch the vido and if you have any further questions, please ask me before you render any kind of rating. Watch Video {Click Here}**********Please Read Before ProceedingRemember: Please do not rate my answer until all of your questions have been answered to your full understanding. If you still need further assistance or clarification, click on "Reply To Expert"Monday, June 25, 2012 7:40:28 PM
I just replaced it Saturday, still doing the same thing
Ok disconnect the wire from the breaker. Reset it and let me know if it trips again. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 7:57:25 PM
yes it just tripped again , ,I just replaced it Saturday, still doing the same thing
Did you disconnect the wire from the breaker and reset it? I need to know if the breaker trips while there is no wire connected to it. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Monday, June 25, 2012 8:36:08 PM
let me try it again
ok
Disconected the wire last night at 8:45 breaker tripped some time during the evening
Just so I am clear, when the breaker tripped - the wire was not connected to it right? **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Tuesday, June 26, 2012 8:59:06 AM
That is correct
What kind of breaker is it? A regular breaker or a gfci / afci breaker? Is the breaker brand new, or is it from another location in your panel? **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Tuesday, June 26, 2012 9:10:43 AM
A regular 20 amp breaker, brand new, I bought it from Home Depot Saturday. I think I might have isolated the problem. I buried out door romex a two years ago, about a 15' run to an outdoor box and plug. I had a 10 x 15 foot section of pavers installed over the wire. I have disconnected the wire from that box and the breaker is not tripping.. Could be that when they installed the pavers that they nicked the wire and it has rusted and causing the breaker to trip. Does that make sense?
It does make sense and could definately be the problem. But you said the breaker tripped with no wires connected to it, or did I miss something in your statement? **********Please Read Before ProceedingRemember: Please do not rate my answer until all of your questions have been answered to your full understanding. If you still need further assistance or clarification, click on "Reply To Expert"Tuesday, June 26, 2012 9:20:13 AM
I took the wire off the plug and not the breaker, so I did not do as our reqeusted, I misunderstood your request. Is there a way to check and see if the wire in question has a nick in it or is rusted with an ohm meter test?
If the short is that small, you may not be able to pick it up with an ohm test, only a true continuity tester will be alble to do that. Those are only on digital meters. **********Please Read Before ProceedingRemember: Please do not rate my answer until all of your questions have been answered to your full understanding. If you still need further assistance or clarification, click on "Reply To Expert"Tuesday, June 26, 2012 9:37:28 AM
What will one of those meters cost at home depot?
$15 to $25 depending on which one is available at the time you go over. **********Please Read Before ProceedingRemember: Please do not rate my answer until all of your questions have been answered to your full understanding. If you still need further assistance or clarification, click on "Reply To Expert"Tuesday, June 26, 2012 9:53:06 AM
can you please recomend one that would be the best for that type of test, I don't mind spending a few more bucks to get one that will last and work the best
Lowes carries an electrical kit that consists of a digital meter, plug tester and touch tester. It costs $29.-- and would be a huge asset in helping us trouble shoot this issue your having. Here is a link to the item on lowes website:http://www.lowes.com/pd_205783-72068-TK-30_0__?catalogId=10051&productId=1058561&UserSearch=205783&Ntt=205783&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24Here is what comes in the kit:Let me know how you would like to proceed.
I have the meter in hand
Ok now set it to the continuity setting. Is where the symbol looks like a bell. Then test it by touching the meter leads together. It will beep when you do this. Then you can go to the wire outside and touch the black to white, then black to ground. If you hear any beeping, you have contact in the line that will cause the intermittent breaker tripping you speak of. **********Please Read Before ProceedingRemember: Please do not rate my answer until all of your questions have been answered to your full understanding. If you still need further assistance or clarification, click on "Reply To Expert"Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:37:29 PM
What ohm setting please it goes from 200 to 2000 and then has a setting for tone. When you say touch the black wire to the white and then to the ground do you mean the black lead from the meter? Do you need to touch the red lead any where when you preform this text?
,What ohm setting please it goes from 200 to 2000 and then has a setting for tone. When you say touch the black wire to the white and then to the ground do you mean the black lead from the meter? Do you need to touch the red lead any where when you preform this test. Should the power be off to the circut?
You want to select tone, that is the continuity setting. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:50:44 PM
I've got it, do I need to touch the red probe to any thing when I touch the black lead to the white wire and ground?
IN any order you like, touch the red probe to the black wire, then the black probe to the white wire, then to the groudning wire. **********Please be patient as I continue to ask questions. Its the only way for me to understand your situation, and offer you the best solution possible.Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:55:44 PM
no tone when I do the test, just so I understand, I have a black wire white wire and ground these are attached to the plug, I have no power going to that set of wires right now.
Yes those are the wires you would test. Now keep in mind here that since the problem is intermittent, you wont get a tone unless the circumstances of the short were just right and happening at the time you were testing. From your prevous posts, I would suggest leaving that wire going out under your pavers disconnected and see if the breaker holds. If it does, I would suggest replacing that wire regardless just to be sure you dont have any further issues. **********Please Read Before ProceedingRemember: Please do not rate my answer until all of your questions have been answered to your full understanding. If you still need further assistance or clarification, click on "Reply To Expert"Tuesday, June 26, 2012 1:12:55 PM
Experience: Electrical Contractor
The breaker has held since I disconected the wire under the pavers aournd 8:00 pm last night, I think that when it rains and it goes into the pavers is when it is causing the breaker to trip. Plan to run a complete new service through the garage and eliminate going under the pavers, thanks for your help have a good day.
You to, and if you need anything further please be sure to let me know. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to help you with your electrical question. If you ever need anything further, please dont hesitate to ask. Please remember to BookMark my profile for your next electrical question. Tuesday, June 26, 2012 1:19:19 PM