Tripping Circut Breaker

willist0 · 10/06/2015, 07:28 PM

I just replaced my bulbs in my 2 bulb T5 fixture and now its tripping my circuit breaker. What could be wrong?

willist0 · 10/06/2015, 09:00 PM

I guess no one knows. Tomorrow I'm going to replace the wall outlet. House was built in 1978 maybe outlet is needing replacement.

flanole · 10/06/2015, 09:02 PM

Did you put the old bulbs in the fixture to see if maybe one of the new bulbs is defective?

willist0 · 10/06/2015, 09:16 PM

Unfortunately old bulbs have gone off to be recycled.

sleepydoc · 10/06/2015, 11:53 PM

Try moving the fixture to a different outlet and see if you can duplicate the problem. Is it an old fixture? is there a lot of salt creep? I wonder you created a short somewhere when you replaced the bulbs.

I had an Arc fault breaker start acting up, but your house is too old for those. I doubt it's the outlet.

WhoScott · 10/07/2015, 12:38 AM

If the only thing that changed is the bulbs then the outlet likely isn't the problem. I would take the bulbs back out and make sure all the connections are clean. Also check the bulbs themselves to make sure they aren't defective. Try one bulb in and the take it back out to try the other. One of them may be bad and you can find out which like this.

willist0 · 10/07/2015, 05:22 AM

I've tried 2 other outlets, no problem. I'm on my way to Home Depot. I need to switch out outlet for a GFCI outlet anyway. There is no possibility of salt creep the aquarium hasn't been set up yet. The fixture was used for a few years on a freshwater tank. We'll see.

sleepydoc · 10/07/2015, 06:50 AM

How many Amps is the breaker and what all is on it? You could simply be going over amperage. GFCI is a good idea regardless.

willist0 · 10/07/2015, 07:36 AM

Problem solved. Replaced outlet with new GFCI, and everything is fine. Both old and new outlets matched breaker 20A.

sleepydoc · 10/07/2015, 07:46 AM

Very odd - I can't think of a situation where a bad outlet would cause the breaker to trip when you turned on something that was plugged into it, unless the outlet was wired wrong. Was there anything else on that outlet? Any charring or other signs of arcing?

10/06/2015, 07:28 PM	#1
willist0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Tequesta, Fl Posts: 32	Tripping Circut Breaker I just replaced my bulbs in my 2 bulb T5 fixture and now its tripping my circuit breaker. What could be wrong?

10/06/2015, 11:53 PM	#5
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	Try moving the fixture to a different outlet and see if you can duplicate the problem. Is it an old fixture? is there a lot of salt creep? I wonder you created a short somewhere when you replaced the bulbs. I had an Arc fault breaker start acting up, but your house is too old for those. I doubt it's the outlet. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

10/07/2015, 06:50 AM	#8
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	How many Amps is the breaker and what all is on it? You could simply be going over amperage. GFCI is a good idea regardless. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

10/07/2015, 07:46 AM	#10
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	Very odd - I can't think of a situation where a bad outlet would cause the breaker to trip when you turned on something that was plugged into it, unless the outlet was wired wrong. Was there anything else on that outlet? Any charring or other signs of arcing? __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

10/06/2015, 09:00 PM	#2
willist0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Tequesta, Fl Posts: 32	I guess no one knows. Tomorrow I'm going to replace the wall outlet. House was built in 1978 maybe outlet is needing replacement.

10/06/2015, 09:02 PM	#3
flanole Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 49	Did you put the old bulbs in the fixture to see if maybe one of the new bulbs is defective?

10/06/2015, 09:16 PM	#4
willist0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Tequesta, Fl Posts: 32	Unfortunately old bulbs have gone off to be recycled.

10/07/2015, 12:38 AM	#6
WhoScott Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 64	If the only thing that changed is the bulbs then the outlet likely isn't the problem. I would take the bulbs back out and make sure all the connections are clean. Also check the bulbs themselves to make sure they aren't defective. Try one bulb in and the take it back out to try the other. One of them may be bad and you can find out which like this.

10/07/2015, 05:22 AM	#7
willist0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Tequesta, Fl Posts: 32	I've tried 2 other outlets, no problem. I'm on my way to Home Depot. I need to switch out outlet for a GFCI outlet anyway. There is no possibility of salt creep the aquarium hasn't been set up yet. The fixture was used for a few years on a freshwater tank. We'll see.

10/07/2015, 07:36 AM	#9
willist0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Tequesta, Fl Posts: 32	Problem solved. Replaced outlet with new GFCI, and everything is fine. Both old and new outlets matched breaker 20A.