Why does my breaker keep tripping, and when should I stop resetting it?

Overload: the most common cause

An overload happens when the devices on one circuit together draw more current than the circuit is rated for. The classic example is a kitchen circuit tripping when the microwave, toaster and kettle run at once, or a bedroom circuit tripping when a space heater joins a window air conditioner. The breaker waits a moment before tripping, which is why overload trips tend to happen a few seconds or minutes after the extra load starts.

The fix is less load or more circuits: moving an appliance to another circuit, or adding a dedicated circuit. Replacing the breaker with a larger one is never the fix, because the wire, not the breaker, sets the limit.

Short circuit and ground fault

A short circuit trips the breaker immediately, often with a pop or a flash. It means current has found a path it should not, such as a pinched cable, a nail through a wire, a damaged cord or a failed device. A ground fault is similar but flows to ground, and is the kind of fault GFCI protection catches in kitchens, bathrooms, garages and outside.

These trips are the ones not to keep resetting. Each reset sends fault current through the damaged spot again. An electrician isolates the circuit and tests it in sections until the fault is found.

A worn or failing breaker

Breakers wear. One that has tripped many times, sits in a warm panel or has a loose connection to the bus can start tripping below its rating, feel hot, or refuse to reset firmly. In older homes, some panel brands also have known breaker problems.

The only way to know is to test: measure the actual load on the circuit and compare it with the breaker's behavior. If the load is normal and the breaker still trips, it is replaced with the type listed for your panel, and the bus connection behind it is checked. Regional ranges for a breaker replacement run $100 to $200 installed.

What you can safely check yourself

Note what was running when it tripped. Unplug the heavy appliances on that circuit and reset the breaker once. If it holds, add the appliances back one at a time; the one that trips it points to an overload or a faulty appliance. For GFCI trips, unplug everything on the circuit and reset the GFCI outlet.

Do not open the panel cover, do not tape a breaker on, and do not keep resetting a breaker that trips instantly. Those are the situations where the fault is still there and heating up.

When a tripping breaker is urgent

Call right away if the breaker trips the instant it is reset, if there is a burning or fishy smell, if the breaker or panel feels warm or buzzes, or if the circuit feeds the furnace, sump pump or medical equipment. In Grand Rapids, where many homes still run on circuits sized decades ago, most trips are overloads, but the urgent ones should never be treated as routine. Our tripping breaker repair page explains how we trace the cause.