Chronic Circuit Breaker Popping when it Rains Hard

[jwc...@my-deja.com]

My main circuit breaker has been tripped every time it rains hard.
I live on the 4th floor of a 5 story apt building and my main circuit
breaker is in the basement. I replaced my old circuit breaker but that
did not work. In fact, it rained hard last night and again the main
circuit break was tripped. I attempted to reset the main circuit
breaker this morning but it would not stay in the on position.

Can anyone offer any suggestion?????

Thanks...

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[John Coggins]

How does the cable run between the main breaker in the basement and
your apartment? Also, why isn't you landlord handling this?

[Steve Manes]

On Fri, 10 Sep 1999 20:52:24 GMT, jwc...@my-deja.com wrote:
>My main circuit breaker has been tripped every time it rains hard.
>I live on the 4th floor of a 5 story apt building and my main circuit
>breaker is in the basement. I replaced my old circuit breaker but that
>did not work. In fact, it rained hard last night and again the main
>circuit break was tripped. I attempted to reset the main circuit
>breaker this morning but it would not stay in the on position.

Sounds like water is getting into the wiring somewhere, and not
necessarily in the line, although that's very possible. Do you have
an old window air conditioner?

Also possible: you may have very close to a dead short in one of your
boxes, possibly because of old, deteriorated cloth-insulated wiring.
The 100% humidity during a heavy rain may be enough to cause the
wires to arc.

If you can't interest your landlord in fixing the problem, call your
local Building Dept or find out who his insurance company is and let
them know about it.

[Steve Manes]

On 11 Sep 1999 00:48:20 GMT, bend...@aol.com (BenD9999) wrote:
>What is a "dead short"?

As opposed to an intermittent short, a dead short would be a hot wire
touching ground.

>My bathroom vent fan seems to be on the same circuit as the GFCI. It sometimes
>trips when shutting off the fan after showering. Does this mean I have a dead
>short somewhere?

No, but it sounds like your fan switch probably needs replacement.

[Earl Dean]

Is your main CB a GFCI ? If not, then there is a big problem with your main
feeder. If it only pops when it rains, then the rain causes your main cable
to draw too much current, or the rain is getting into your main panel and
onto the main breaker. Closely examine both. Another possibility, although
not too likely, is that the rain causes something to happen which draws more
current than the main breaker can handle. (sump-pump?) But, the circuit
breaker for the pump should pop first, assuming everything is wired
correctly, which is another possibility. Good luck!

[The tool man]

Hi:

Do you have any outside outlets? Water could be getting into that and
causing your main to trip, though it would seem that it should trip the
one for its own circuit first.

In my first house, the builder was so cheap that he wired both outside
outlets and both bathroom outlets on one circuit with a GFI outlet.
When it rained really hard, the bathrooms lost power. Really fun while
trying to get ready for work in the morning, because the GFI outlet was
outside!

Regards,
John.

--
The right tool for the job is in your head.

[BenD9999]

What is a "dead short"?

My bathroom vent fan seems to be on the same circuit as the GFCI. It sometimes

[Daniel Hicks]

Only briefly. When the GFCI detects a current imbalance (due to you
touching the "leaky" fan control) it throws a "crowbar" onto the
circuit, intentionally shorting it to force the GFCI to trip.

The GFCI in this case is doing it job, just a little too well perhaps.