TRIPPED CIRCUIT BREAKERS / SAFETY SWITCHES
A common call for the A1 Sparky staff is ‘our safety switch has tripped can you come and check it please’
First things first identify the following – there are TWO safety switch installation types in most homes:
TYPE 1. individual safety switches on each circuit
TYPE 2. one OR two safety switch protecting several circuits
TYPE 1.
A quick and easy way to try and solve the issue yourself is to ensure all electrical appliances plugged into the circuit not working have been unplugged (not just switched off at the power point).
Go from room to room and unplug everything, nine times out of ten our clients have missed one appliance in the rush to reset the power and it is usually the ONE!
Common culprits are kettles, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, tank pumps, underfloor fans and fridges.
When you are 100% sure that everything has been unplugged, then try resetting the safety switch. If it instantly clicks off again, do another check in case there is an appliance you forgot. Think about your stove rangehoods, insinkerators, and gas cooktop igniters.
The other thing to remember is that with some newer types of safety switches you need to switch them all the way “off” before switching them back on. The reason is they go into an intermediate state when they trip and then need to be clicked off properly before they can be reset. We have had some embarrassed, and in some cases annoyed, people when we turn up and reset the breaker in 30 sec.
If the safety switch still clicks off, then give us a call as there may be a problem with your wiring. If it clicks off with a “pop” or a “flash,” don’t touch it anymore! This is an indicator of a “hard fault” which could cause the breaker or the appliance to explode if you keep trying to close the breaker.
If after you have unplugged everything the circuit breaker stays on – excellent! Now you can go through the house plugging back one item at a time and check when the circuit breaker trips to identify the problem appliance.
TYPE 2.
Turn off all the circuit breakers protected from that one safety switch in the switchboard, now try to reset the safety switch – if it stays on, turn on one circuit breaker at a time to identify the problem circuit. Once you have identified the problem circuit go from room to room and unplug everything (not just switched off at the power point), nine times out of ten our clients have missed one appliance in the rush to reset the power and it is usually the ONE!
If it trips straight away go from room to room and unplug everything (not just switched off at the power point), nine times out of ten our clients have missed one appliance in the rush to reset the power and it is usually the ONE!
Common culprits are kettles, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, tank pumps, underfloor fans and fridges.
When you are 100% sure that everything has been unplugged, then try resetting the safety switch. If it instantly clicks off again, do another check in case there is an appliance you forgot. Think about your stove rangehoods, insinkerators, and gas cooktop igniters.
The other thing to remember is that with some newer types of safety switches you need to switch them all the way “off” before switching them back on. The reason is they go into an intermediate state when they trip and then need to be clicked off properly before they can be reset. We have had some embarrassed, and in some cases annoyed, people when we turn up and reset the breaker in 30 sec.
If the safety switch still clicks off, then give us a call as there may be a problem with your wiring. If it clicks off with a “pop” or a “flash,” don’t touch it anymore! This is an indicator of a “dead short” which could cause the breaker or the appliance to explode if you keep trying to reset the breaker.
If after you have unplugged everything the circuit breaker stays on – excellent! Now you can go through the house plugging back one item at a time and check when the circuit breaker trips to identify the problem appliance.
REMEMBER…….safety switches turn off for a reason, they are doing their job and indicating some sort of a fault!
SUMMARY
Unplug EVERYTHING and see if your circuit breaker stays on.
If you hear a pop or see a flash when you try to reset STOP and call a licenced Electrician 1300 60 60 90
Plug appliances back in one at a time to identify the problem.
