What to do when your circuit breaker keeps tripping

Overload

Too many things on one circuit. Common in kitchens and bathrooms with hair dryers, space heaters and microwaves. Move some loads to another circuit and reset.

Short circuit

A hot wire touching a neutral or ground. The breaker trips instantly, often with a pop. Do not keep resetting it. Unplug everything on the circuit and try once; if it trips again, the fault is in the wiring.

Ground fault and arc fault

GFCI devices trip when current leaks to ground, often from water or a damaged cord. AFCI breakers trip on arcing, which can come from damaged cords or wiring.

When to call

Call if the breaker trips immediately with nothing plugged in, if it feels warm, if you smell burning, or if it trips more than once a day.

Try the troubleshooter

Our breaker trip troubleshooter walks you through when it trips and what is running, then points to the likely cause and the next step. Open the breaker trip troubleshooter.

A safe order of checks

Turn off or unplug everything on the circuit. Reset the breaker firmly to off, then on. Plug things back in one at a time and wait a minute between each. If the breaker trips when one item is plugged in, that item or its cord is the likely cause. If it trips with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the wiring and it is time to call. Never tape a breaker on or swap it for a larger one.

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