How to Trace a Circuit Overload or Short

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Electrical circuits in your home can be affected by a variety of problems, such as defective plugs and cords, faulty wiring, circuit overloads, and defective wall switches. Short-circuiting usually interrupts the flow of electricity, which can interfere with electrical devices in your home. Some of the signs of short-circuiting include flickering lights, tripping circuit breakers, or blowing fuses. However, while you may be able to detect the presence of a short circuit in your home, finding the exact location where there is a short circuit can be very challenging. If you can find the exact problem causing a short circuit, then an electrician won't have to look for it, which can help reduce labour costs. Besides, you can easily fix some of the problems on your own. Therefore, here are a few steps you can use to trace a short circuit in your home.

Step #1

Start by turning off all the electrical switches in your home. With all the switches off, reset the circuit breaker, or if your home uses fuses, replace the blown fuses.

Step #2

Watch the fuse and circuit breaker keenly. If the fuse blows or the circuit breaker trips immediately after resetting it, the short circuit could be in a switch or a receptacle. Therefore, check your switches and receptacles, and replace them if necessary.

Step #3

If your fuse doesn't blow immediately or if the circuit breaker doesn't trip just after resetting it, you will have to narrow down the problem to individual switches in order to locate the short circuiting. To do this, turn on every switch one at a time, and be keen to identify when the circuit breaker trips. If your circuit breaker trips when you turn on a given switch, the short circuit is in a receptacle, fixture, or appliance that's controlled by the switch. Have an electrician from a company like Home Cabling Solutions check those receptacles and fixtures.

Step #4

If your circuit breaker does not trip even after all your switches have been turned on, a particular electrical appliance could be causing the short. Therefore, start plugging in your electrical appliances one at a time and check when the circuit breaker trips. Apart from the appliance itself being the problem, the cord or plug may be at fault. Isolate the problematic appliance as soon as it is identified. If the breaker trips immediately when you plug in your appliance and turn it on, then you know that the problem is with the cord or plug. In such a case, you should have the plug or cord checked and fixed.

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28 March 2016

Resources About Electrical Work, Hiring Electritions and More

If you are working on a big project for your home, your business or an investment property, you may need to do some electrical work or hire an electrician during that process. If so, I want to help you with my blog full of tips and ideas. Hi, my name is Katie, and I was briefly an electrician before I left to start a design company. However, I still harbour an interest in electrical work, and because of that, I was inspired to create this blog. If you have questions about electricity, please explore my blog posts. If they help you, share them with your friends. Thank you!