Why does my breaker keep tripping?
Tifanny Liu · 2026-01-14 · 3 min read
A breaker that trips once is doing its job. A breaker that trips every weeknight at 6 pm is trying to tell you something. It only knows one word, click, so the pattern of the clicks is the message. There are four reasons a breaker opens: an overload, a short circuit, a ground fault, or a breaker that is simply worn out. The pattern usually points to the cause, and an electrician confirms it with a few tests at the panel.
Does it trip when one particular appliance runs?
That is an overload: the circuit is being asked to carry more current than its wire is rated for. The classic case is an older kitchen where one 15 amp circuit feeds the microwave, the toaster oven and the coffee maker, and breakfast turns into a negotiation. Space heaters, hair dryers and window air conditioners play the same game in bedrooms.
The fix is a dedicated circuit for the appliance that keeps winning, not a bigger breaker. The breaker is sized to protect the wire in the wall, not the appliance on the counter (NEC 240.4). Put a 30 amp breaker on wire built for 15 amps and the wire becomes the fuse. That is how electrical fires start.
Does it trip the moment you reset it?
That points to a short circuit or a ground fault: current is taking a path it should not, through a damaged cord, a failing appliance, or a wire, device or junction box inside the wall. A breaker that trips the instant it is reset is doing exactly what it should, and resetting it again only sends more current into the fault. Leave it off and have an electrician trace the circuit; isolating a short safely takes a meter and a method, not trial and error.
Does it trip at random, with no pattern?
Breakers wear out. Heat and age weaken the trip mechanism, so an old breaker can start tripping below its rating. It can also do the opposite and stop tripping at all, which is the quieter and more dangerous failure. An electrician can test a suspect breaker in a few minutes and replace it for a modest cost. If your panel brand is no longer made, the replacement breaker may cost more than you expect, and that is a good moment to ask about the panel itself.
Is it a GFCI or AFCI breaker?
These breakers trip on things a standard breaker ignores. A GFCI (ground fault) breaker trips when a few thousandths of an amp leak where they should not: a wet extension cord, an old garage fridge, a tired pool pump. An AFCI (arc fault) breaker trips on the electrical signature of an arc, and some older motors, treadmills and bargain phone chargers do a convincing impression of one. The code requires both on most new circuits in a home (NEC 210.8 and 210.12, adopted in the California Electrical Code). Nuisance trips happen, but so do the faults these breakers exist to catch. The answer is to find the cause, not to swap in a plain breaker.
What happens when you call us about a tripping breaker?
We ask about the pattern first, because it tells us where to start.
We test at the panel and at the device to find the actual fault, not just the symptom.
You approve the repair before we start.
We make the repair and test every affected circuit before we leave.
Most breaker calls end with a dedicated circuit, a new breaker or a tightened connection. If we find heat damage at the bus bar or a panel brand with a known failure history, we tell you and price that separately. You decide.
A trip that comes with a burning smell, a hot breaker or scorch marks: leave it off and call. If there are flames or smoke, call 911 first.
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