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I am a DIY guy with a basic knowledge of home electrical. The below message is very long, my apologies.
Last year a 15 amp AFCI breaker serving my master bedroom (4 ceiling canister lights, a ceiling fan, and a ceiling fan light, no outlets) popped about once a week when one of the switches on that circuit was flipped on. After a couple weeks, my wife called an electrician (I was out of town). Mister sparky gave some options, the least outrageous of which involved no diagnostics and just a new breaker. They replaced the breaker and it popped again the next week. When I got home the “new” breaker does not appear to be brand new, it looks old and weathered.
After some research and tests with different types of light bulbs, the breaker kept tripping, so I swapped the positions (leaving the same circuits on the same breakers) with the adjacent AFCI breaker feeding the garage, wondering if the putting it on the opposite phase would have any effect. Then a MONTH later I flipped a light in the garage and the (“new”) breaker feeding the master bedroom tripped. Nothing in the master bedroom was energized. Huh. Now I’m lost.
Then I pulled the wires and put the “new” AFCI breaker on my laundry room circuit and a non-trouble breaker on the master bedroom circuit. Then TWO MONTHS later I turned on the lights in the laundry room and the breaker feeding the master bedroom tripped again. What?
I am confused. The breaker that trips is always the one feeding the master bedroom. It has tripped even with nothing energized on the associated circuit, it has tripped multiple different AFCI breakers, it will work for over a month, and it always trips as a light is flipped on, though it’s not always a light actually on the circuit with issues.
I’m going to replace the “new” breaker from mister sparky. But I’m outside my knowledge level and interested in an explanation. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
Last year a 15 amp AFCI breaker serving my master bedroom (4 ceiling canister lights, a ceiling fan, and a ceiling fan light, no outlets) popped about once a week when one of the switches on that circuit was flipped on. After a couple weeks, my wife called an electrician (I was out of town). Mister sparky gave some options, the least outrageous of which involved no diagnostics and just a new breaker. They replaced the breaker and it popped again the next week. When I got home the “new” breaker does not appear to be brand new, it looks old and weathered.
After some research and tests with different types of light bulbs, the breaker kept tripping, so I swapped the positions (leaving the same circuits on the same breakers) with the adjacent AFCI breaker feeding the garage, wondering if the putting it on the opposite phase would have any effect. Then a MONTH later I flipped a light in the garage and the (“new”) breaker feeding the master bedroom tripped. Nothing in the master bedroom was energized. Huh. Now I’m lost.
Then I pulled the wires and put the “new” AFCI breaker on my laundry room circuit and a non-trouble breaker on the master bedroom circuit. Then TWO MONTHS later I turned on the lights in the laundry room and the breaker feeding the master bedroom tripped again. What?
I am confused. The breaker that trips is always the one feeding the master bedroom. It has tripped even with nothing energized on the associated circuit, it has tripped multiple different AFCI breakers, it will work for over a month, and it always trips as a light is flipped on, though it’s not always a light actually on the circuit with issues.
I’m going to replace the “new” breaker from mister sparky. But I’m outside my knowledge level and interested in an explanation. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
