Quick fix for circuit breaker?

[SSSnail]

Grrrr... So there I was in the middle of my usual WOW last night when POOP, the power went out. The weird thing about it is that it only goes out in half of the house, and the sockets that I connect my thingymarigs to.

I went to check the breakers, and sure enough, one of them was tripped. I tried resetting, nothing works, it won't stay in the ON position. Called the electrical company and they said that it's not their problems.

Other than summoning an electrician, is there any quick fix that I can perform myself?

 

[Kirby]

Don't use a penny.

 

[MrPickins]

Either the breaker is toast, or you still have an overload on the circuit, both of which are bad.

If you don't know what you're doing, call an electrician.

 

[skyking]

make a list of all the things that go out with that breaker. Unplug most of them. Reset the breaker and add some of the load back, but not all.

 

[TuxDave]

Did you turn off any major draining appliances before trying to flip it back on?

 

[SSSnail]

Thanks guys, I'll try unplugging. But, I didn't add anything else to the circuit that could produce that much load....

 

[Rumpltzer]

Options:
1) Unplug everything in the house that's not working and turn off all the lights. Turn the circuit breaker OFF and then back ON and see if stuff works again.

2) Stick a penny in it.

3) Call your boyfriend and ask him to help you out.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
Options:
1) Unplug everything in the house that's not working and turn off all the lights. Turn the circuit breaker OFF and then back ON and see if stuff works again.

2) Stick a penny in it.

3) Enjoy increased risk of a house fire.

Corrected.



Other option: wait until a hardware store opens, and get a new breaker. You might want to switch off the main breaker before working on anything else - there's a helluva lot of power in that breaker box. Touch the wrong thing, and you'll be ZZZnail instead.

 

[Arcex]

Use a .22, that urban legend always turns out ok...

 

[Shawn]

Jam it in the on position.

 

[catellus]

A circuit breaker is a three-state device - on, off, and tripped.

to reset a tripped breaker, you need to flip it to OFF first.

Make sure (as others have said) to unplug or shut off the appliances that lost power.

If it still won't stay on, you may need a new breaker (they do tend to get more "sensitive" over time). They aren't hard to replace (shut off the main breaker or fuse first), but if you're at all uncertain, get an electrician.

Edit: And there are several brands and models of breakers. You need one that matches your circuit breaker panel. Best bet is to take the old breaker to the store with you.
And DO NOT replace the breaker with a larger one (as in replace a 15 Amp with 20 Amp). The breaker is there to protect the wiring from too much current (more heat -> fire). 14 gauge wire uses 15 Amp breakers, 12 gauge uses 20 Amp. Allowing more current on the wires is asking for trouble.

 

[brandonbull]

1) Replace with a bigger breaker
2) If new breaker trips, repeat step 1
3) ???????
4) Profit


shutoff/unplug everything on that circuit and then restart each one at a time until it trips.

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: catellus
A circuit breaker is a three-state device - on, off, and tripped.

to reset a tripped breaker, you need to flip it to OFF first.

Make sure (as others have said) to unplug or shut off the appliances that lost power.

If it still won't stay on, you may need a new breaker (they do tend to get more "sensitive" over time). They aren't hard to replace (shut off the main breaker or fuse first), but if you're at all uncertain, get an electrician.

Bingo!
Nine answers before you came up with the right one.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: MrPickins


If you don't know what you're doing, call an electrician.

this is the best advice you will get. I work for an electrical contractor (im an industrial programmer, not an electrician) and i can tell you for sure that if youre tripping it regularly, you have too much of a load on it for the rating. if the breaker is rated at 50A and youre popping it with a few things on it then your breaker is failing and needs to be replaced. DO NOT open that box unless you know what youre doing.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: brandonbull
1) Replace with a bigger breaker
2) If new breaker trips, repeat step 1
3) ???????
4) Profit


shutoff/unplug everything on that circuit and then restart each one at a time until it trips.

Bad idea. The wiring may not be suited for the amount of current a larger breaker would allow to pass through.

 

[funboy6942]

Buy assnother breaker they are only a few bucks, and make sure to buy the same size that came out. If it works and goes back on your golden, if not and it pops right away you have a short and trying to "Quick fix" will make the short start a fire and burn your house down for it is tripping now with the new one for a reason

They are easy to replace. Most just pull right out and push the new one in, some you have to remove one screw and then pull out, just make sure you turn off the mail power breaker first before swapping them out in case your hand slips and touches the metal rod in there. If it does your gonna get one hell of a bed head look

 

[SSSnail]

Thanks guys, it's fixed. I just needed to shut the breakers down in a sequence and started up in the right sequence.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: SSSnail
Thanks guys, it's fixed. I just needed to shut the breakers down in a sequence and started up in the right sequence.

that shouldn't have anything to do with it. It likely has some sort of fault and will trip again.

This can be a sign of
1)too much load and wiring is overheating
2)broken or arcing wiring causing a fault
3)bad breaker

Keep an eye on it.

 

[funboy6942]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: SSSnail
Thanks guys, it's fixed. I just needed to shut the breakers down in a sequence and started up in the right sequence.

that shouldn't have anything to do with it. It likely has some sort of fault and will trip again.

This can be a sign of
1)too much load and wiring is overheating
2)broken or arcing wiring causing a fault
3)bad breaker

Keep an eye on it.

Agreed, I have never heard of such a thing, that you need to turn them off in such a way and restart them in such a way. You at the Jurassic Park Facility posting?

 

[PottedMeat]

Originally posted by: funboy42
Buy assnother breaker they are only a few bucks, and make sure to buy the same size that came out.

Thats the strangest typo I've seen in a while.

 

[jmolayal]

Originally posted by: funboy42

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: SSSnail
Thanks guys, it's fixed. I just needed to shut the breakers down in a sequence and started up in the right sequence.

that shouldn't have anything to do with it. It likely has some sort of fault and will trip again.

This can be a sign of
1)too much load and wiring is overheating
2)broken or arcing wiring causing a fault
3)bad breaker

Keep an eye on it.

Agreed, I have never heard of such a thing, that you need to turn them off in such a way and restart them in such a way. You at the Jurassic Park Facility posting?

No No No... Its the Apollo 13 Testing facility.. If they don't power up in the right sequence, those boys may never get home!

- Jaison