Does the same circuit breaker keep tripping again and again? This is how you can tell whether it is down to overload or to a fault that needs a professional.
Briefly describe what is going on. Call for an urgent callout or leave your number and we will call you back as soon as possible.
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Every time you switch on the washing machine and the oven together, the same circuit trips. Or a breaker keeps tripping for no clear reason. Annoying, and it calls for a targeted approach instead of blindly resetting it.
We go through the difference between a circuit that is simply overloaded and a genuine fault, what you can safely try yourself, and when you should call in an electrician.
A circuit breaker protects its circuit against excessive current. If it trips after you use several heavy appliances at the same time, the circuit is overloaded: more power is being demanded than the circuit can handle. That is a normal protective response indicating that the load is too high.
If, on the other hand, the breaker trips immediately, even without many appliances, or trips at random moments, that points more towards a fault: a faulty appliance, a damaged cable or an error in the circuit.
If you suspect overload, spread the heavy loads across different times or circuits. Do not switch everything on at once and see whether the problem disappears. If the circuit keeps tripping during normal use, the circuit may be too heavily loaded for its design.
If you suspect a fault, disconnect the appliances on the circuit, switch the breaker back on and reconnect the appliances one by one. This is how you identify which appliance is the culprit. If the breaker trips with no appliances connected, the fault lies in the installation itself.
Call when a circuit breaker keeps tripping immediately, when you smell burning or feel heat at the consumer unit, or when a circuit that used to work fine suddenly keeps cutting out. These are signals to have checked rather than to force.
Also, if you notice that you increasingly have to reset a fuse to keep your installation working, that is a reason to have the load and the wiring professionally assessed. Get in touch by phone.
Do not run the oven, washing machine and tumble dryer on the same circuit at the same time.
Connect them one by one to track down the culprit.
If the breaker trips with no appliances connected, the fault lies in the wiring.
Do you feel heat at the board or smell something? Do not force anything and call.
Does it trip when many appliances run together, or also with no load?
Spread out heavy consumers or test appliances one by one.
Do you feel heat or smell something at the fuse box? Stop and call.
If the circuit keeps tripping, have the load and wiring assessed.
If resetting does not provide a lasting solution, we check the load and the wiring. Call us for an urgent callout or an appointment, and we will solve it at the source.
