Hi, I have a similar issue to another post I found on here, although mine is not a 27-year-old breaker.
20A GFCI breaker that serves 11 receptacles in a garage. This circuit was installed about 2 1/2 years ago, and I have it mapped from before I installed it, so I know there are no other outlets on the circuit. Garage lighting is on a separate 15A circuit.
The breaker started tripping a few months ago, around Nov or Dec 2019. At the time of the first trip I could find no moisture issues in the garage. At that time I had an air compressor and two door openers plugged in to this circuit. I unplugged the air compressor and reset the breaker.
Maybe a month went by before it tripped again. Again nothing obvious causing a ground fault. Two door openers plugged in to ceiling receptacles, nothing else.
So I procrastinated on this a while. The breaker continued to trip every few weeks and I just kept resetting it. Continued like this until we went on a long trip leaving Feb 21. We got home March 25th, and now it's tripping every few days.
Before I install a $53 replacement breaker, I'm thinking I should check more carefully for a problem that would cause enough leakage current to trip the breaker. I don't really want to slap that $53 breaker in and find the new one still trips.
First, what are your thoughts on the likelihood that the breaker itself could be bad?
Second, what would you add to this list:
1) Check wiring of breaker
2) Check integrity of wires - any rodent damage?
3) Pull receptacle from each box
a) Check for moisture
b) Check for solid connections
c) Check for hots or neutrals pressed tight against the sides of steel box?
4) If nothing from above, disconnect downstream outlets from the first outlet in the circuit. Wait to see if breaker trips. If not, systematically re-connect outlets until breaker trips, to identify one receptacle. (This sounds excruciating).
5) If nothing from (4), replace breaker.
Not even sure if (3)(c) is a possibility. Could the insulation on a conductor be slightly damaged, a small nick, so that it might pass enough current to be detected as a ground fault?
My wife seems anxious for me to replace the breaker because she gets annoyed when she has to wait 2 minutes for me to go downstairs and reset it :laugh: But I'm going to feel like an idiot if I spend $53 and that is not the problem.
20A GFCI breaker that serves 11 receptacles in a garage. This circuit was installed about 2 1/2 years ago, and I have it mapped from before I installed it, so I know there are no other outlets on the circuit. Garage lighting is on a separate 15A circuit.
The breaker started tripping a few months ago, around Nov or Dec 2019. At the time of the first trip I could find no moisture issues in the garage. At that time I had an air compressor and two door openers plugged in to this circuit. I unplugged the air compressor and reset the breaker.
Maybe a month went by before it tripped again. Again nothing obvious causing a ground fault. Two door openers plugged in to ceiling receptacles, nothing else.
So I procrastinated on this a while. The breaker continued to trip every few weeks and I just kept resetting it. Continued like this until we went on a long trip leaving Feb 21. We got home March 25th, and now it's tripping every few days.
Before I install a $53 replacement breaker, I'm thinking I should check more carefully for a problem that would cause enough leakage current to trip the breaker. I don't really want to slap that $53 breaker in and find the new one still trips.
First, what are your thoughts on the likelihood that the breaker itself could be bad?
Second, what would you add to this list:
1) Check wiring of breaker
2) Check integrity of wires - any rodent damage?
3) Pull receptacle from each box
a) Check for moisture
b) Check for solid connections
c) Check for hots or neutrals pressed tight against the sides of steel box?
4) If nothing from above, disconnect downstream outlets from the first outlet in the circuit. Wait to see if breaker trips. If not, systematically re-connect outlets until breaker trips, to identify one receptacle. (This sounds excruciating).
5) If nothing from (4), replace breaker.
Not even sure if (3)(c) is a possibility. Could the insulation on a conductor be slightly damaged, a small nick, so that it might pass enough current to be detected as a ground fault?
My wife seems anxious for me to replace the breaker because she gets annoyed when she has to wait 2 minutes for me to go downstairs and reset it :laugh: But I'm going to feel like an idiot if I spend $53 and that is not the problem.