Sorry to beat a dead horse, but a friend of mine is having a problem with an AFCI breaker that keeps tripping. They said that they have checked "Everything" but can't seem to solve the problem. Does anyone have a suggestion for him? I will send him to this website to read them.
This isn't the first time I have heard of problems, another 1-2 friends of mine also said that they too have problems with breakers tripping. Anyone else having these problems?

Harold & Friends:
How about a little backround on the situations and brands? It may help.

BTW, I have not heard of any issues, yet.

You could try a GFCI breaker as a test to see if this is an arc problem or just a ground fault.
I think there are some new breakers with lights that tell you this.

Cutler Hammer has, or will shortly have, an AFCI that can be used for troubleshooting, but only for their CH series panelboards. LED's will indicate if the breaker tripped on arc fault, short circuit, overload. You install it temporarily to get an indication what is causing the trip. When you're finished, you pull it out & take it with you.

If the breaker trips immediately, I'd suspect a ground fault problem, which could be neutral to ground or line to ground.

If the AFCI in question is a Cutler Hammer CH or BR, Cutler Hammer has a toll free number you can call for troubleshooting assistance.
1-800-326-9513

I believe that Siemens has troubleshooting technology (indicating LED's) on it's AFCI CBs for quite some time.

Try scouting thru the Siemens (Resi) website.

I have had as basic as a loose connection on the breaker screw that made the ARCfault trip.a tight screw made the tripping go away. Also, a shared neutral with another circuit down stream from the panel.
Faulty appliance may also cause the AFCI to trip.

Isolate the circuit, temporary and safely energize only one half and put a load on there and check results. then energize the other half and put a load on it. then work your way down to the troubled spot.

John,

Sorry that I don't have much more info just yet, I have a call in to my friend to see if he can help me out with more info. It is his job in another town and he asked me for some help. I was going to get some helpful hints then tell him to look here on line get him to sign on and let us know what is happening.