Arc Fault Circuit Breaker Tripping

Arc fault circuit interrupters are prone to nuisance tripping which is probably what you re experiencing.

Arc fault circuit breaker tripping.

It can be identified by the special colored test button near its handle. Afcis are designed to sense an arc which is an electrical leak caused when a hot wire touches a neutral or ground but doesn t trigger the circuit breaker. If this same device trips a different afci circuit breaker it s the result of incompatibility between the electronic device and the afci breaker or possibly a major problem with the device. Afci circuit breaker troubleshooting.

Afci breakers tripping for no obvious reason is known as nuisance tripping. If using this same device on a different afci breaker does not produce the same nuisance tripping try having an electrician replace the afci breaker that was experiencing the nuisance tripping. An arc fault circuit interrupter afci is a circuit breaker located in your electrical panel that serves the functions of a normal breaker but also senses hazardous arcing on its circuit and will trip off for this. Another wiring problem is more of an incompatibility issue than a wiring issue and it has to do with multi wire.

Because afci s are designed to detect an arc fault they can be very sensitive and easily tripped for a few common reasons including.