Often, the circuit breaker installed at the entrance to the apartment turns off. A common, but incorrect way to eliminate the frequent shutdown of AB is to replace it with a device of a higher rating. The problem can only get worse, there is a possibility of damage to the wiring or devices.
Circuit breakers - device and how they work
When a machine gun is knocked out in the dashboard, it is turned on manually, but if this happens too often, they begin to think about the causes and ways to eliminate them. To understand more clearly why the current is automatically cut off so often, you should familiarize yourself with the circuit breakers and their operation. Electric current is characterized by current strength and voltage. Power is calculated from these indicators.
With a constant voltage value, the current depends on the connected power. This pattern is used to protect wiring and devices.
The most common type of home network device is a circuit breaker. Each machine:
- designed for a certain number of operations;
- has its own threshold of sensitivity, when exceeded, it turns off consumers;
- has a current limitation.
Many, probably, still use plugs, 6 A, 10 A and so on. The machines are also produced with the expectation of different amperage. Circuit breakers are installed to protect against short circuits and overloads that could cause a fire. So you can't install machines and plugs of a larger value, you can't put bugs, they won't be able to fulfill their protective function.
Another protection device is a differential relay (RCD). When a leakage current occurs, greater than that laid down in the parameters of the device, the relay breaks the circuit. RCDs are designed for a leakage current of 30 mA, but if the room is humid, a 10 mA diffrelay is recommended. Consumers sometimes encounter a leakage current when, having touched, for example, a refrigerator, they feel an electric shock, if there is no RCD on the shield, if it is present, the circuit breaks with a current leak.
The next more advanced device is a differential automatic, which combines the functions of a circuit breaker and a differential relay, that is, it triggers in case of overload and current leakage. It serves to protect devices from overvoltage and power surges. It is regulated by the minimum voltage or maximum, response time in case of violation of the specified voltage range. An irreplaceable thing for a home network if the voltage is unstable.
Why does the machine work - possible reasons
There are many reasons, from the simplest to the most complex. Finding the reason why it knocks out plugs is not a big deal; it is not at all necessary to invite an electrician. The most common disconnection of the circuit in the apartment is when too many consumers are turned on, then the current load exceeds the maximum allowable for AB. The protection device simply does its direct work - it breaks the circuit so that no damage to the wiring occurs.
Each machine is designed for a specific load: 6 A, 10 A, 16 A and more. If several devices of solid power are turned on at the same time, the current can reach a limit greater than the AB can withstand, the protection is triggered. The most common machines are 16 A, but it will not withstand the simultaneous inclusion of a washing machine, boiler, electric kettle, air conditioner. Disconnection occurs, wiring is protected from overload. If the circuit breaker has a thermal release, it will not be possible to turn it on immediately, it must cool down.
It is also possible that the shutdown is due to a malfunction of the protective device itself. Sometimes a defective product is bought: one rated current is indicated on the device, but in reality it can withstand much less. At the same time, the case heats up, which indicates that the thermal release has tripped. When the load current at which the machine is triggered and the nominal do not differ much, the apparatus is in good order. Its operation is influenced by the air temperature, product class.
Frequent operation of the machine occurs if the contact at the input is made poorly. The contact plate heats up, the device itself, the thermal protection is triggered. Often the case is near the input terminals, the conductor insulation is melted, which indicates overheating due to poor contact, and the machine turns off the circuit. It is possible that there are no traces of melting, but the case is hot, which means that the contacts are bad, but have not yet had time to burn.
If the device is connected, and the machine, which was still working normally, instantly disconnected the circuit - the reason is most likely a breakdown of the electrical device. We turn it off, turn on the circuit breaker and another device into the same outlet. If it works, then the reason lies in a malfunction of the household electrical appliance. Repeated shutdown of the machine indicates other reasons.
The reasons for the frequent knocking out of the machine sometimes lie in damage to the wiring, which causes a short circuit. The phase and zero are somewhere in contact with bare sections of wires, the machine reacts to a short circuit and turns off the network. We turn off all consumers, turn on AB. If the machine is triggered, the reason is in the wiring. This is often one of the most difficult faults, it is sometimes very difficult to find a short circuit, especially if the wiring in the wall is damaged.
We eliminate the causes of frequent disconnection of AB - what and how to do
If the light goes out, the sockets do not work, we go to the dashboard and look at the circuit breakers. Most often, you just have to turn on the machine. Modern AB, when triggered, send the on-handle down. To turn on the power, lift it up. In many houses, there are still old Soviet-style automatic machines, in which, when triggered, the handle is in the upper position. If there is a lot of AB in the shield, it is difficult to find the one that worked. Turn off and turn on all the machines one by one.
If the network is overloaded, it will turn off automatically, but not constantly, but after a certain time interval necessary for the protection to operate. Overloading the lighting circuits is the least common occurrence. Usually they are protected by one 10 A circuit breaker, this is sufficient in most cases. But if many additional lamps are installed, especially halogen ones or with the use of incandescent lamps, we install a separate automatic lighting machine.
Overloading the network from household electrical appliances is much more common. If you turn on consumers at 20 A, and the rated operating current of the machine is 16 A, the circuit, of course, will break. In order to have a complete conviction that the machine is triggered by an overload, we calculate the total current consumption of electrical appliances. It is especially good to do this at the time of a power outage with a protective device. We summarize the power of all included devices, divide this number by the mains voltage (220 V), we get the current in Amperes.
We compare the load of the network with the rating of the circuit breaker. In the case of a significant excess of the current load from the rated machine, we simultaneously use a smaller number of household appliances. If the house has old aluminum wiring with a small cross-section, we install an additional device - a priority current relay, which will forcibly turn off the non-priority device. An ammeter and voltmeter in the dashboard will allow you to visually monitor the load and voltage.
Bad contact occurs when a poor-quality connection, can be anywhere - from junction boxes to lamps and sockets. We tighten the weakly tightened contacts, if they did not have time to burn, we change the melted circuit breaker to a similar one. The contacts of the sockets weaken over time, burn out. Depending on the degree of damage, we tighten the contacts or change the outlet. We examine the lighting system - switches, lamps and troubleshoot in the same way as in the sockets. Last of all, we look at the contacts in the junction boxes, we eliminate the problems.
Household appliances can have various malfunctions that can trigger the circuit breaker. If this happens with a certain pattern, there is a high probability of just such a reason. We notice, when you turn on which technique, the machine is triggered, turn it off and see how the AV behaves without this device. If the shutdown does not occur, we look for a malfunction in household appliances or hand it over for repair.
In case of a short circuit, if the plugs are knocked out, we inspect the switches and sockets, check how the wires are connected to the terminals, tighten the screws if the wires are so loose that they can touch and short. Then we go to the junction boxes, check if there are any bare wires that can cause a short circuit when touched. Then we check the quality of connections in lamps, chandeliers. The last one is to check the wiring, which is mostly hidden in the wall. To detect a short circuit, we use a tester or call an electrician who has a thermal imager or other devices that can detect a short circuit in a hidden wiring.
Other reasons for automatic disconnection of the network are rare. The incandescent bulb has burned out, AB has broken the circuit. There is nothing wrong, just a short-term overload, the machine responded. Sometimes it knocks out when the stabilizer is turned on, if at startup it creates a current higher than the nominal in the machine. If the shutdown occurs when the lighting is turned on, we check the lamps with a multimeter. After the apartment is flooded, it happens that the insulation is unstuck, a short circuit occurs. Be sure to check all the wiring after flooding.
Installing a protective device - how to choose the rating
If you want to install a circuit breaker different from the one previously installed, care is required. An incorrectly selected rating can cause a fire in the wiring or a permanent shutdown of the machine. If you use the method when the power of the devices is divided by 220 and do not take into account other factors, you can make a mistake. Be sure to take into account inside the house.
If the plug is knocked out, it is not necessary to change it to a circuit breaker. After all, a cork is the same machine with similar functions.
If the apartment uses old aluminum wiring 2.5 mm 2, the insulation is hardened and cracked, choose only a 16 A machine, no matter what devices are used. A possible option is to conduct one more phase wire and install it on each AB with a rating of 16 A, because such a wiring can only withstand 19 A. We choose a rating of 16 A for the machine so that it works reliably and the wires do not catch fire. At the same time, we turn on electrical appliances with a total power of up to 3.5 kW.
If the wiring is new copper, but the cross section is unknown, you need to determine it. We take a small piece of wire, go to the store, compare it with samples of electrical wiring. After determining the cross-section, we select a circuit breaker:
- we install a 10-amp automatic machine at the entrance of a copper cable 1.5 mm 2;
- with a section of 2.5 mm 2 - 20 A, but better than 16;
- cable 4 mm 2 will withstand a current of 25 A;
- 32 A is suitable for 6 mm 2 cable.
We calculate the load for each line.
When we change the circuit breaker and the wiring at the same time, the maximum rated current of the machine for urban high-rise buildings is 40 A, so that the wiring from the power line to the house does not suffer. We install a shield with separate machines for each line. We look at the power of the devices for each line, select a cable with the appropriate cross-section and only then a circuit breaker of the corresponding rating.
The tripping of a circuit breaker, or, as the people say, an automatic machine, is a reaction of protective equipment to an abnormal situation in the wiring.
It is imperative to find out and eliminate the reasons for the operation of the machine so that the wiring can function in operating mode. If you do not take corrective action by trying to re-turn the circuit breaker after each trip, the problem will only worsen, leading to an emergency, fire and accidents.
Troubleshooting Algorithm
In order to prevent the development of a tragic situation, you need to properly respond to the protection operation and know the algorithm for identifying the cause of the automatic shutdown. You must clearly know the reasons why knocks out a machine gun in the dashboard to respond appropriately.
Without going into the electrical details of the processes at this stage, there are several main reasons for the protection operation:
- Malfunction in the circuit breaker itself;
- Malfunctions in the machine connection system;
- Instantaneous overload in the network (short circuit);
- Long-term network congestion.
It is in this order that it is necessary to find out the reasons for the frequent knocking out of the automatic machine without clear signs of a short circuit (short circuit) or prolonged overload, consistently making sure that there are no factors that induce the reaction of the protection system.
Simple protection system in a conventional apartment panel Potential network and hardware problems related to each item on the list will be described below. Making sure that there are no problems described, you can proceed to the study of the next item.
Identification of a faulty machine
In the case of frequent tripping of the circuit breaker for no apparent reason, you need to start troubleshooting from the switchboard and the protection devices themselves. This check is the least time-consuming, and often problems are identified at this stage.
A malfunction of the circuit breaker can be detected without buying a new device and replacing it - it is enough to have circuit breakers connected with similar parameters in the panel.
Swap machines of the same power without changing the location of jumpers and wires If some machine often knocks out, then to check it, you need to connect the user group served by this device to a neighboring similar machine, and connect the loose wires from the line next door to this circuit breaker (swap lines).
With this switching, a common cause of knocking out machines is automatically eliminated - lost contacts can get very hot, and heat from them will be transferred to the bimetallic plate of the device, causing it to falsely operate. By tightening the contact terminals, this cause of tripping can be eliminated even without the knowledge of the master. This nuance also needs to be borne in mind.
Bad contact is not only the cause of false triggering, but can also completely disable the machine Due to the curvature of the case, a mechanical defect in the machine is possible, and its operation from vibration. When you disconnect the wires and reconnect the defective circuit breaker, mechanical tensions in the case can be removed in it, which will cause bewilderment to the master due to spontaneous elimination of the problem.
Tightening the contacts can remove mechanical stresses in the machine case If another, serviceable machine is triggered on the switched user group, you should look for the cause in the wiring. If on a new line the same machine is often triggered in the same way, then it definitely needs to be replaced or repaired.
Replacing a faulty machine Causes of machine wear
Despite the fact that circuit breakers are not collapsible by definition, craftsmen have learned to disassemble and repair them. Having drilled out the rivets with a drill, the machine body can be disassembled.
To disassemble the machine you need a drill Burned-out contacts have a greater transition resistance, as a result of which they overheat, and the heat passes to the bimetallic plate, causing it to deform and turn off the current.
Disassembled circuit breaker Basic cleaning of burnt contacts of the circuit breaker can extend the life of the machine and prevent further false alarms. It must be remembered that burning of the contacts occurs when the machine is turned on at a time when all electrical appliances are connected to the network, that is, under load.
Burnt contacts increase the overall heating of the circuit breaker Therefore, after the machine has tripped, it is recommended to turn off all electrical appliances, allow the switch to cool down, and then turn it on again. When trying to forcibly turn on the still hot machine under load, its contacts will fail very quickly, which will cause frequent protection trips.
The contact of the bimetallic plate burnt due to the forced switching on of the machine Time-current characteristic of the machine
The function of the circuit breaker is wiring protection from a short circuit, accompanied by a high-temperature electric arc, and from prolonged overload, causing overheating of wires, melting and fire of insulation.
After checking the circuit breaker and wiring in the panel, the reason for the frequent knocking out of the protection should be sought in the wiring and in the connected equipment.
There are two elements in the design of a circuit breaker that respond to overload in the wiring.
Elements that react to current exceeding are marked with frames. Without going into the details of the device and characteristics of the circuit breakers, which can be found in more detail on, two conditions should be highlighted under which the machine is triggered:
You should also check the heating of adjacent circuit breakers. A large heat release from them can shift the time-current characteristic of the problem machine, forcing it to work faster and at a lower current.
By itself, this heat release from neighboring circuit breakers cannot be the reason for frequent knocking out of protection, but it must be taken into account in the general analysis of the operation of the machine and checking the wiring it protects.
Short circuit definition
A short circuit is a contact of a conductor under phase voltage with a surface in contact with ground. It can be a neutral conductor or a grounding conductor PE of an electrical wiring, or a body of grounded equipment.
A short circuit between the phase and neutral wire can occur in the connected equipment itself.
Despite the fact that, as a rule, many household appliances have built-in fuses, they do not have time to trip fast enough, and there will be enough time for the resulting electromagnetic pulse to affect the latch of the circuit breaker.
Short circuit on the electronic board Very often, a short circuit occurs when the appliance is plugged into the network. If at the same time, without delay, the circuit breaker tripped, then we can confidently judge that there is a short circuit in the connected equipment.
Often, the machine knocks out after turning on the incandescent light bulb - at this moment you hear a characteristic sound emanating from the lamp. Sometimes - this is due to the occurrence of an electric arc in the bulb. The electrical characteristics of the arc are close to a short circuit, so the machine reacts in almost the same short time of several tens of milliseconds.
Photo of a light bulb explosion due to the occurrence of an arc between the electrodes Not always, a short circuit can happen when the equipment is turned on. Short circuit can occur due to the fault of rodents or other animals that have damaged the insulation of the wires.
Damage to the cable insulation, which can cause a short circuit
Electrics are good as long as they work properly. Any malfunction in the electrical system baffles most people on the planet. In this article, we will see how to determine the malfunction of a circuit breaker and how to fix it.
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Circuit breaker and short circuit
I'll start over. The circuit breaker or is designed for (cables and wires of the electrical wiring) of the room against short circuit and overload. A short circuit leads to the instantaneous occurrence of overcurrents in the power grid (currents by orders of magnitude higher than the operating currents).
Any overcurrent, and in apartment circuits it is 1.8-12.6 kA, according to the laws of physics, leads to the release of colossal thermal energy. This energy cannot withstand more than one household contact, and a flash or a so-called electric arc occurs at the point of short circuit. If you do not quickly turn off the power supply to the emergency network, then the probability of a fire is very high, and even worse, a person will be hit by short-circuit overcurrents.
For protection against short circuits, namely for instant disconnection of the emergency network, automatic switches (circuit breakers) are used. Note that the disconnection does not occur immediately, but during the safe contact. This is less than 0.1 sec.
Circuit breaker and overload
The second function of the circuit breaker is overload protection. In there is a bimetallic plate (thermal release), overheating of which disconnects the electrical circuit from the power supply. Overheating of the plate occurs when the network is overloaded. It is clear that heating and, accordingly, disconnecting the circuit does not occur instantly, but after a while. Depending on the warm-up of the circuit breaker, this time may be less than a second or several tens of seconds.
We turn to the malfunctions of the apartment electrics.
Malfunction of the circuit breaker in the mains
Your circuit breaker periodically knocks out. The probabilistic reasons for this are as follows:
- Short circuit in the circuit;
- Network congestion;
- Damage to the wires intermittently leading to either a short circuit or overload.
First you need to diagnose the electrical network for overload and short circuit. If these malfunctions are not detected, and the machine is still turned off, then the circuit breaker itself is very likely to malfunction.
Checking the circuit breaker
Do a basic check on the circuit breaker.
- Disconnect the power supply;
- Disable all circuit breakers;
- Flip the circuit breaker cocking lever. It should turn on and off with a characteristic “click” sound.
- If the click is not heard, the machine is faulty and requires replacement.
- If there is a click, use a measuring device to measure the resistance between the terminals of the circuit breaker. When "on" machine resistance should be close to zero. When "off" automaton resistance should be close to infinity.
However, even if the diagnostics of the machine showed that the machine is in good working order, this does not mean that the setting (thermal release) of the circuit breaker is serviceable.
Generally speaking, factory failure of circuit breakers is not uncommon and important. What can we say about the arising malfunctions of machines during operation.
For example, a machine gun worked a couple of times and went out of order. Or "survived" too much overcurrent and failed.
It is impossible to exclude the malfunction of the circuit breaker itself, as the main reason for its periodic shutdown.
Council, change the automatic protection to a new one, do it again first.
The matter is simple, and such a replacement can save you from major work to find other electrical faults in the apartment.
Replacing old plugs with fuses with modern ones is one of the main requirements of the PUE. This is due to the fact that conventional plugs cannot cope with the increased loads and simply burn out. When replacing an electric meter or wiring, plugs are replaced "by default". Also, often residents make such a decision on their own and install an automatic machine, the power of which can be calculated based on the planned load.
But quite often people are faced with the problem that the protective device constantly knocks out, often for no apparent reason. The recommendation of absolutely all specialists, if the machine shuts down, start searching for a breakdown immediately, since later this can lead to more serious, and sometimes even sad consequences.
In this article, we will go over the main factors why this happens, as well as how to find and fix the problem.
Reasons why the circuit breaker knocks out
There may be several such factors, we will deal with each of them in detail.
Permissible load exceeded
Each machine has its own characteristics, which are reflected in its body. One of these indicators is the rated current that the device can pass. If this current is exceeded, after a while the machine knocks out: this was triggered by an automatic thermal release to protect the wiring.
There are two ways to solve this problem:
- The easiest way (and most recommended by electricians) is to alternately plug electrical appliances into the network to avoid overloads. For example, if you have a 16A machine installed, it is able to "withstand" a load of 3.5 KW;
- You can replace the circuit breaker with a more powerful one, for example, install a 25A device. The machine no longer knocks out, since it is designed for a load of 5.5 kW. But this method of solving the problem is used only if the old wiring was changed to a more powerful section (at least 2.5 squares for copper conductors).
Note! If an overload trip has occurred, it will be possible to re-enable the machine only after a while, when the thermal release has cooled down.
A short circuit has occurred
Another common reason the machine knocks out is a short circuit. SC can arise from several factors and in different places. We will understand this issue in detail.
It is very easy to detect a short circuit in electrical appliances. Usually, if a short circuit occurs in any electrical device, it stops working. Blackened housing or melted wires are also indicative. In this case, it is enough to disconnect the device from the network and turn on the machine, it will not knock out.
If there are no obvious signs of a short circuit, all electrical appliances should be turned off. After switching on the voltage, turn on the consumers one by one. When a closed device is connected to the network, the machine will knock out again or it will be found that the consumer is faulty.
If everything is ok, try turning on the lights in each room. It happens that a cartridge or a light bulb closes, so it knocks out the protection.
Short circuit in the wiring
If the above steps did not detect a short circuit, it may have occurred in the wiring. Finding the place of the short circuit in the wiring, especially if it is hidden, will be much more difficult. For this you need. But first, you can check the junction boxes and sockets. It is in these places that a short circuit most often occurs.
When checking junction boxes and sockets, you should first of all pay attention to melted wiring, exposed ends or loose contacts. Such shortcomings must be eliminated: the ends must be securely insulated, and all contacts must be tightened.
The circuit breaker is out of order
Do not exclude the situation when the machine itself is out of order, this also happens. The reason for this may be a factory defect in the structure or mechanical damage to the case. There are times when you just need to tighten the contacts on the device itself, which have wrung out over time. If this does not help, replace the automatic machine with the same rated current. It is quite simple to do it, and will not take much time. If the outages have stopped, then the cause was found and eliminated.
These are, perhaps, all the factors leading to the fact that the circuit breaker knocks out. There are not very many of them, but anyone can cause a shutdown. Recall that if the protection has tripped, in order to avoid more serious consequences, you should not postpone the audit of the electrical network for later.
Differential automaton
Quite often, a difavtomat is installed in the electrical panel of an apartment or private house. With the reasons why he knocks out, things are a little more complicated. The fact is that this device combines two protective devices: an RCD and a circuit breaker. Consequently, the reasons that lead to its operation are more extensive and refer to different factors.
What leads to the disconnection of the automatic breaker, we discussed above. The same reasons affect the difavtomat and cause it to work. But, besides this, the differential device also works as an RCD, therefore, it is triggered by a leakage current, which is somewhat more difficult to find.
Reasons for triggering
Let us analyze the main reasons for the operation of this protective device and the possible places of formation of the leakage current.
First of all, if the difavtomat has worked, it must be inspected, if necessary, tighten the contacts. Also, when examining the protective device, pay attention to the wiring in the electrical panel. Perhaps the phase wire lies on a metal housing that is grounded. This will not cause a short circuit, but it can be the reason why the difavtomat knocks out.
If everything is normal in the electrical panel, then there is a leakage of current in the circuit that the device protects. This can happen in several places:
- Any electrical appliance can be the cause. When it breaks through to the body, the difavtomat is guaranteed to turn off: this is one of its main functions, to protect a person from electric shock.
- Perhaps the consequence was the old electrical wiring, or rather, its worn-out insulation: current leakage gradually occurs through microcracks, to which the difavtomat reacts. If the wiring is new, leakage is possible at the point of poor contact or if the wall is damp, for example, due to flooding.
- A common mistake made by inexperienced electricians is to short-circuit the neutral conductor with protective ground. It is strictly forbidden to do this, since it leads to the operation of protective devices such as an RCD or a differential device.
- Damage to the case or sinking of the test button can also trigger the device. In this case, replace the defective device.
- Weather conditions, namely a strong thunderstorm, often lead to the fact that the difavtomat knocks out. This is due to strong atmospheric discharges that amplify natural leakage currents. In this case, you should wait until the thunderstorm subsides, and then turn on the voltage.
- Unprofessional installation or installation of the wiring in a hurry leads to the fact that the electrical circuit for connecting the differential device is not followed. This leads to the fact that he periodically knocks out for no apparent reason.
The serviceability of the device must be checked periodically. To do this, when the load is removed, press the "test" button. A working difavtomat should shut down. If the device does not turn off, it does not perform protective functions, and it is better to replace it with a working device.
Leak detection methods
To find the place of the leakage current, after the difavtomat has worked, it is required to disconnect all electrical appliances from the sockets. Then the protective device is activated. If there is no repeated shutdown, it means that some device punches the body. You can find it by ringing a multimeter.
If the differential device knocks out further, then the problem is in the wiring. It is best to start the revision of the electrical circuit with the outlet groups and junction boxes. Particular attention should be paid to the places of connections and twisting of wires, the integrity of the insulation and the reliability of contacts.
After checking all contact groups in the electrical network, proceed to the next stage. It is necessary to check each individual line for current leakage. It is recommended to start from an electrical panel, gradually moving deeper into the house or apartment. Having identified the line or junction box, after which the differential current occurs, all twists are disconnected and each wire is ringed.
Thus, there is a circuit where the insulation is damaged. If necessary, change the wiring or insulate the damaged area. Sometimes for this you have to get the wire from the wall if the wiring is hidden. But such cases are quite rare: if the electrical wiring is very old, it is better to replace it during repairs or when installing a diffuser.
A circuit breaker trip can be caused by many different reasons, ranging from a malfunction of the product itself to a short circuit in the wiring. You can independently determine why the power release mechanism is triggered, and even an inexperienced electrician will not be difficult to do this. Next, we will tell the readers of the site why the machine knocks out in the dashboard and what to do to solve the problem!
Network congestion
The most common reason a circuit breaker (AB) turns off is because it just did its job - protecting the wiring from overload and further failure. When we considered, we said that each model has its own rated tripping current: 6, 10, 16, 25 A, etc. Now, if you simultaneously turned on several powerful electrical appliances, the current of which exceeded the setting, do not be surprised why the circuit breaker in the house knocks out. For example, you have a 16A machine on your dashboard (a classic situation for old wiring) and at one point you turned on the washing machine, air conditioner, electric kettle and boiler. The load on the network has increased markedly, as a result of which the AV is turned off, thereby protecting the wiring.
There are several ways to solve the problem. The first and simplest one is to turn on powerful household appliances one by one so that it does not arise. The second is to replace the machine with a 25 amp. This is allowed only if the wiring can withstand the loads (copper, conductor cross-section of at least 2.5 mm 2). The third and most reliable one is for a new one that will be able to withstand powerful household appliances.
The reason why the machine knocks out is clearly explained in the video:
What to do if AB is triggered under load?
We draw your attention to the fact that after the machine knocks out, if it is with a thermal release, it will not work right away. This is due to the principle of operation of the product. When the mechanism has cooled down (the time can reach several minutes), try to re-cock the lever to the "On" position.
Home appliance malfunction
If the machine knocks out frequently and at about the same period of time, it is most likely that one of the electrical appliances is faulty. For example, if you notice that the circuit breaker is triggered when you turn on the washing machine, electric stove or water heater, turn off this technique and see how the device behaves without electrical appliances. Doesn't it trigger? You need to look for a malfunction in one of the connected "culprits". We talked about that in the corresponding section of the site.
You can quickly find faulty equipment using the elimination method. Unplug all plugs and plug them in one at a time. On a device that is short-circuiting, the circuit breaker will trip under load.
If you disconnect all equipment from the network, and the machine turns off, then the matter may be in the wiring. What to do in this case, we will tell you below.
Wiring short-circuits
Another reason why AB often knocks out is. The phase in some place touches zero, as a result of which a short circuit occurs and the machine performs its second protective function - short circuit protection. If all consumers are disconnected from the network, and triggering occurs, it is necessary completely. This process takes quite a long time and, in addition, you need to be careful to find a fault.
First of all, you must disassemble all the sockets and light switches, check the quality of the conductor connections to the terminals. If the wires are loose, tighten the screws. After the sockets, go to the junction boxes. Make sure that it is of high quality, there are no bare areas that can shorten. After the boxes, you need to go to the lamps. Very often, novice electricians forget to check the chandeliers if the machine knocks out without load. The test technology is similar to sockets - you check the reliability of the connections.
Last but not least, you need to check the wiring, which is hidden in most houses and apartments (in the wall). It is best in this case to use a special device that can quickly and accurately find the short circuit. However, at home, hardly anyone will find it, so you can get out of the situation with a multimeter. We talked about wiring using a tester in the corresponding article. If this does not help, we recommend calling the wizard, who, using a thermal imager or other devices, will find a short circuit and eliminate it.
Out of order AB
Well, the rarest reason, which is also not excluded, is the poor quality of the machine, which knocks out due to the fact that it is defective. If you are sure that the wiring and household appliances are intact, and there is no overload, check the machine by replacing it with a similar one. We can confidently say that this will help fix the problem. In order to no longer face such a case in the future, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with and select one from the list.
What else could it be?
In addition to the above reasons why a machine gun knocks out in the dashboard, there are others that rarely occur. Let's briefly consider them too.
If the circuit breaker trips when the light bulb burns out, don't worry, it happens sometimes. The fact is that when the lamp burns out, a short-term overload occurs and if the rating of the machine is 6-10A, it, quite possibly, will knock out. This will not happen with LED and fluorescent lamps.
Sometimes on the forums you can find a situation where AB knocks out when the stabilizer is turned on. There are also some nuances associated with the operation of the device and your own inattention. The fact is that voltage stabilizers at start-up create a current that can exceed the rating of your machine, as a result of which it will knock out. There may also be a reason in the stabilizer itself. Cheap Chinese models are famous for their marriage.
If the operation occurs when the light is turned on, check the lamps with a multimeter. We also talked about that.
The banal reason why the machine turns off is the incorrect connection of this device. If the conductors are poorly pulled to the terminals, heating occurs in this place, as a result of which the thermal release can be triggered. A visual inspection will help determine the cause - the melted body and wire insulation. If the plastic has melted a lot, it is best to replace the circuit breaker. In case of minor damage, it is allowed to simply tighten the cores harder with a screwdriver.
Let's move a little away from the topic, but still note the important. If you have an introductory and group machines in your switchboard, it will be easier to find the reason. Knocks out AB at the input, without group ones? Check correctness. If a certain machine turns off below the main one, then there is a malfunction in this group (lighting, sockets or a separately connected hob).
It happens that the problem arises after flooding an apartment. Water gets on the wire connections and if they are twisted with electrical tape, it is unstuck, as a result of which the contacts are closed. After the flood, it is imperative to make an audit of the wiring so as not to reach the situation when the circuit breaker starts to work.
So we have provided all the reasons why the machine gun knocks out in the dashboard. Please note that this situation can occur both in an apartment and in the private sector. Proceed in the same way, even if the circuit breaker on the pole trips! If you are not sure of your abilities, it is better to call a technician who will safely find the problem and fix it!
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