A breaker that keeps tripping: what to do first, and what it is telling you

First, look for heat, smoke or a burning smell at the panel or any outlet. If you find any, leave the breaker off, switch off the main if you can reach it safely, and call. Otherwise, find the tripped breaker: its handle sits in the middle or in the off position. Push it fully off, then back on.

If it holds, think about what was running. A space heater, a hair dryer and a vacuum on one bedroom circuit is a classic overload. Move one of them to another circuit and see if the trips stop. If it trips again right away, unplug everything you can on that circuit and try once more. A breaker that trips with nothing connected is pointing at the wiring or the breaker itself.

A short happens when a hot wire touches a neutral or another hot, and it trips the breaker instantly, sometimes with a pop or a spark. Damaged cords, a nail through a cable in the wall, a failed appliance or a loose wire in a box are the usual causes. A ground fault is similar but the current finds a path to ground, often through water in an outdoor outlet or a failing appliance.

Both need finding before the circuit is used again. Unplugging appliances one by one tells you whether the fault is in something plugged in. If the breaker still trips with everything unplugged, the fault is in the fixed wiring, and that is a job for an electrician with a meter.

Breakers wear out, especially after many trips or years of carrying heavy loads. A worn breaker may trip below its rating, feel warm, or refuse to reset. Heat at the breaker can also come from a loose connection where it clips onto the panel bus, which is more serious because it can damage the panel.

An electrician tests the breaker with the circuit disconnected. If it still misbehaves, it is replaced with one listed for the panel. In Federal Pacific or Zinsco panels, a failing breaker is often a reason to replace the panel rather than keep swapping breakers.

A breaker or GFCI that trips during rain, heavy dew or a freeze is pointing at moisture. Outdoor outlets without in-use covers, landscape lighting connections, heat tape, pool and hot tub equipment and buried outdoor wiring are the common culprits.

These trips are ground faults: current leaking through water to ground. Resetting and waiting for the weather to dry is not a fix, because the same moisture is corroding the connection. Find the outdoor circuit involved, open the box, and repair or reseal it.

Call if the breaker trips with nothing connected, trips immediately every time, feels warm, or if you smell burning or see scorch marks. Call if several breakers trip at once, or if lights dim and flicker when it happens. And call if you have reset the same breaker more than a couple of times in a day. Each reset on a real fault heats the wire and the breaker a little more.