Do Circuit Breakers Go Bad Without Tripping

If your circuit breaker keeps tripping and will not reset first eliminate wiring outlet or appliance faults as described above.

Do circuit breakers go bad without tripping.

Though they have a life expectancy of 30 to 40 years breakers will eventually die and trip your circuits. Circuit overload is one of the most common reasons for circuit breakers tripping and you can prevent it from happening by running fewer appliances at the same time on that circuit. Reset the circuit breaker with all those devices unplugged you can now flip the breaker. If the switch flops back and forth and there is not definite on or off position the breaker is probably bad.

However you only want to do this after you unplug all the devices using that breaker first. The circuit breaker trips when too much electricity flows through it or when it cannot handle the excess current load. A lot of people think circuit breakers go bad because they keep tripping without ever trying to reset it first. Chances are you have an overloaded circuit meaning that the circuit has more electricity flowing through it than it is rated for.

What causes a circuit breaker to fail. If after eliminating all these factors the breaker still will not reset it means the breaker is faulty. If you have a circuit that keeps tripping whenever you use electronics it may be time to check if your breakers need to be replaced. This means that the flow of electricity is cut off to keep your circuits from overheating or causing more damage.