Why Your Breaker Keeps Tripping
A breaker that trips is a safety device doing its job: it cuts power before a wire overheats. In Show Low, breakers tend to trip most on cold winter mornings, when space heaters, electric blankets and the furnace blower all draw power at once, and in older homes and manufactured homes whose panels were sized for lighter loads. A breaker that trips once in a while is a hint; one that trips again and again is a warning. If you need help, call (928) 251-2924. Our team is fully committed to reliable breaker repair in Show Low.
Three reasons breakers trip
An overload happens when too much is plugged into one circuit, such as a space heater and a hair dryer on the same bathroom circuit; the breaker usually trips after a few seconds or minutes. A short circuit happens when a hot wire touches a neutral or another hot wire, and the breaker trips instantly, often with a pop or a scorch mark. A ground fault happens when current leaks to ground, often through water, and trips a GFCI or a GFCI breaker. We will ensure that your tripping breaker in Show Low is diagnosed by professionals.
Safe checks
Unplug or switch off everything on the circuit, then reset the breaker by pushing it fully to off and back to on. Plug things back in one at a time. If it trips when one appliance is turned on, that appliance or its cord may be the problem. If it trips with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the wiring and needs an electrician. Never open the panel cover, and never replace a breaker with a larger one, because the breaker is sized to protect the wire, not the appliance. A space heater on a shared circuit is the most common culprit on a cold Show Low morning, so try moving it to a circuit that carries less. We are committed to making breaker troubleshooting in Show Low simple and reliable.
When to stop resetting
Stop resetting and call a professional if the breaker trips immediately with nothing connected, if you hear buzzing or smell burning at the panel or an outlet, if the breaker or panel is hot, if the main breaker trips, or if a GFCI trips after rain. Repeated resets can damage the breaker and the wire it protects, and some older breakers, such as Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, have a record of failing to trip at all. Switch the breaker off and leave it off, then call (928) 251-2924. When you need a tripping breaker fixed in Show Low, our team is ready to help.