How to Reset a Tripped Breaker

November 11, 2020 11:31 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Circuit breakers maintain the safety of your home’s electrical system by cutting off power to a circuit if it gets overloaded. A tripped breaker will prevent any electricity from getting to the connected outlets, fixtures or switches. Resetting the breaker and performing circuit breaker repair in North Scottsdale, AZ will restore that power.

In some cases, you may have a faulty breaker that needs to be replaced, but in most situations, you can reset the breaker simply by switching it back into position. Here’s an overview of what you need to know.

Resetting a breaker

Before you go to reset the breaker, make sure you turn off switches and unplug lights or appliances on the circuit that lost power. If the breaker flipped because the circuit was overloaded, flipping the breaker right back on again could just make it overload right away, meaning it’ll flip itself off again almost immediately.

In addition, before touching the breaker, make sure it is safe to do so. You should be standing on a dry floor and have completely dry hands. Make sure there’s sufficient light for you to be able to see what you doing so you flip the proper breaker.

Your electrical panel is probably located in a basement, utility room, garage or hallway. Open up the panel door and you should see an index that provides a sort of menu or overview of which area of the home every breaker connects to. It should be easy for you to figure out which breaker flipped off even without looking at this index, though, because it’s likely the only breaker to not be in the “on” position.

When you’ve found the breaker that corresponds to the circuit that went out in your home, check and see where it’s located. A tripped breaker will probably be somewhere between the “on” and “off” positions. To reset the breaker, turn the switch all the way to the off position first. Then, after a couple seconds, switch it fully to the “on” position.

Check and make sure you’ve restored power to the circuit, and plug your items back in to make sure everything is working as normal. If you have reason to believe the problem was an overloaded circuit, you should make sure you do not plug as many appliances or items back into that circuit.

What happens if the problem persists?

If the issue with the tripped breaker was a one-off occurrence, then you probably don’t need to take any further action after resetting the breaker. But if you have persistent problems with breakers flipping in your home, it’s a good idea to speak to an electrician.

You can do some basic troubleshooting yourself, such as turning off lights and unplugging appliances and then looking for signs of scorching or overheating. You can also try to see if it’s a particular appliance that’s causing the breaker to trip.

But if you can’t determine the source of the problem and it’s happening with regularity, there is probably a more significant electrical issue you’ll need to address, and the services of a pro will be required.

For more information about circuit breaker repair in North Scottsdale, AZ, contact Eavenson Electric Co. today.

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