# Troubleshooting why a AFCI trips



## Fredman (Dec 2, 2008)

Release the safety, aim carefully. 

Seriously -_ First thing I'd do_ is ask the party what they know... Did they fire up the vacuum? Plug somethinng in etc... 

Thats a good place to start. Most every time I've found its a neutral ground contact issue in an outlet. Loose device screws with a conductor too close = future problem waiting to rear its head.


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## NolaTigaBait (Oct 19, 2008)

Fredman said:


> Release the safety, aim carefully.
> 
> Seriously -_ First thing I'd do_ is ask the party what they know... Did they fire up the vacuum? Plug somethinng in etc...
> 
> Thats a good place to start. Most every time I've found its a neutral ground contact issue in an outlet. Loose device screws with a conductor too close = future problem waiting to rear its head.


right, also if you accidently have the neutrals crossed on two different circuits in the panel could cause this....is it tripping right away or when there is current?


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

Does it trip when something in particular is used?

Lift the conductors from the breaker, leave the EGC connected.
Check for continuity from black to white, black to neutral bar, black to EGC bar, white to neutral bar, white to EGC bar.

Most problems are crossed neutrals, or neutral to EGC contact, in my experience.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Turn off the breaker. Lift the neutral in the panel. Ohm between neutral and ground.


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## guschash (Jul 8, 2007)

I agree. Neutral cross. It just happen last week. I was using 12-2-2 to attic and the neutrals got cross in tie box.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Check all your devices and make sure a bare ground isn't resting on a neutral terminal.


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## leland (Dec 28, 2007)

zappy said:


> Whats the first thing you do when you start to troubleshoot a AFCI breaker tripping? I'm new to them so i need all the advice i can get! Thank you.



Unplug every thing.

What else is on the ckt? Pretty much shoot it as a ground fault.


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## zappy (Mar 6, 2009)

*Thanks guys.*

I wanted to get some advice before i went to my customers house. When i got there, she showed me the breaker, and i said did you turn it all the way off then back on? She said no.Well before i turned it back on i checked out the rooms and she had a treadmill she just bought and it pulls 14amps. She said she was using it for a half hour and it tripped. So i figured she overloaded the breaker. I flipped it on and got paid. P.S. man she was smokin!:brows:


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