ECN Forum
Posted By: Admin Breaker Trips after Half-Hour Delay - 02/04/05 01:56 AM
Quote
I went to troubleshoot a tripped breaker, and after taking all the load off of the circuit and putting on one lite at a time, I still could not narrow it down to any one thing. I did find that someone had used a ground for a neutral for the return of about 4amps for some lites(It was done so the homeowner would have a 3way) After about 3 hrs of tracing each wire, this is what was found in a boxed out a/c return.

- richard
[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]
Posted By: Dave55 Re: Breaker Trips after Half-Hour Delay - 02/04/05 02:55 AM
From the second picture it looks like a nail pierced the NM. Is this what you think happened?

Dave
Posted By: richard Re: Breaker Trips after Half-Hour Delay - 02/04/05 10:00 PM
Yes, or a staple. There was a staple next to it. I might have smelled it burning, but the heat was set at about 80, and the return was constantly pulling the air in. They are really lucky.
Posted By: cpal Re: Breaker Trips after Half-Hour Delay - 02/04/05 10:41 PM
Was that a bed room circuit????

Charlie
Posted By: richard Re: Breaker Trips after Half-Hour Delay - 02/04/05 11:32 PM
It was in the dining room wall, they had a pipe on the secound floor burst, and the water made its way to the hole in the wire. As the connection between the hot and the ground/neutral was made, the wire heated and the breaker tripped.I think the water could have bubbled, and thats why it took so long to trip.
© ECN Electrical Forums