Power that keeps tripping almost always comes down to one faulty appliance or one circuit fault. Unplug everything on the affected circuit, reset the switch, and plug items back in one at a time to find the culprit. If it keeps tripping with nothing plugged in, trips the instant you reset it, or you notice any burning smell or heat, stop and call a licensed electrician.
Something tripping or not working?
We’ll find the actual fault rather than guessing at it, and tell you what it takes to fix.
It is annoying, it usually strikes at the worst possible time, and it leaves you wondering whether the cause is something small or something serious. Most of the time it is the former, and you can safely narrow it down yourself before you pick up the phone. Here is how it works, and when to stop and call in a sparky.
First, what is actually tripping?
There are two different things in your switchboard that cut the power, and knowing which one has gone tells you a lot.
A circuit breaker protects the wiring from overload. It trips when a circuit is asked to carry more current than it is rated for, like too many heaters on the one line. A safety switch, also called an RCD, does a different job. It constantly compares the electricity flowing out with the electricity coming back, and the moment it detects even a tiny amount leaking to earth, it cuts the power in a fraction of a second. That leak is what would otherwise pass through a person, so the safety switch is the one that is genuinely protecting your life.
When people say their power keeps tripping, nine times out of ten it is the safety switch, and that means there is a fault letting electricity escape somewhere it should not. Finding that fault is the whole game.
The most common causes we find
Before you assume the worst, know that most tripping comes down to something simple. These are the usual suspects, roughly in order of how often we see them.
- A single faulty appliance. An old kettle, toaster, heater, fridge or washing machine with breaking-down insulation is the number one cause. The appliance leaks to earth, the safety switch does its job, and the power drops.
- Moisture where it should not be. Water in an outdoor power point, a garden light, or a fitting in a wet area is very common near the coast. A run of rain will often set it off.
- A worn or damaged cable. A nail through a wall, a chewed cable in the roof, or old wiring past its best can all leak to earth.
- An overloaded circuit. If it is a breaker rather than a safety switch, you may simply be running too much on one line.
- A failing safety switch. Occasionally the device itself is the problem, but that is a diagnosis for an electrician, not the first thing to assume.
The check you can safely do yourself
Everything here is done from the outside of appliances and at the switchboard. You are not opening anything up or touching wiring, which you should never do. If any step feels wrong, stop and call us.
1. Unplug everything on the dead circuit
Go around and unplug every appliance you can, especially anything with a heating element or a motor. Turn off the wall switches too.
2. Reset the switch
Go to the board and flick the tripped switch back to on. If it holds now that everything is unplugged, you have confirmed the fault is in one of your appliances rather than the wiring. If it trips again immediately with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the fixed wiring or a light fitting, and that is a job for a licensed electrician.
3. Add things back one at a time
Plug appliances back in and switch them on one by one, giving each a moment. When the safety switch trips again, the last thing you turned on is very likely your culprit. Leave it unplugged, and either replace it or have it checked before you use it again.
A quick word on safety. Reset the switch once or twice to run this check, but never force it back on when it keeps tripping straight away, and never tape or wedge it in the on position. The switch is warning you about a real fault. Overriding it removes the protection that stops someone getting a shock.
When to stop and call an electrician
The home check sorts a lot of tripping problems, but some things are a clear sign to leave it and call a sparky the same day. Get in touch straight away if you notice any of these.
- The safety switch will not stay on, even with everything unplugged.
- There is a burning smell, or any scorching or discolouration around a point, switch or the board.
- A power point, switch or part of the switchboard feels warm or hot.
- You hear buzzing, crackling or sizzling from a fitting or the board.
- The tripping comes and goes for no obvious reason, which points to an intermittent fault that needs proper testing.
These are not jobs to wait on. In NSW only a licensed electrician can legally work on wiring, switchboards and fixed fittings, and there is a good reason for that. This is exactly the kind of problem our fault finding and maintenance work is built for, and if it is urgent or after hours, our emergency electrician service runs around the clock.
Why guessing costs more than testing
The reason we test properly instead of swapping parts and hoping is that the symptom rarely sits where the fault is. A light that flickers in the kitchen can trace back to a loose connection in the roof. A point that trips the whole circuit can come down to a single failing cable metres away. Guesswork means paying for repairs that do not fix the cause, then calling someone out again when it comes back.
Methodical fault finding narrows the problem to its actual source with test equipment, confirms it, and fixes it once. It is a bit less dramatic than pulling things apart, but it is the difference between a problem that is gone and a problem that keeps returning. If the testing turns up something bigger, like a tired switchboard or wiring near the end of its life, we will tell you straight rather than patch over it.
The Northern Beaches factor
One thing worth knowing if you live near the water: salt air is hard on outdoor electrical fittings. Coastal homes through Narrabeen, Collaroy and Dee Why get more than their share of moisture-related tripping, because outdoor points and garden lighting corrode faster here than they do inland. If your tripping seems to follow the weather, an outdoor fitting is a likely first place to look, and it is worth having outdoor gear checked and sealed properly for the conditions.
The bottom line
A tripping safety switch is usually your electrics doing exactly what they should, catching a fault before it hurts someone. Most of the time it is one appliance, and the home check above will find it. When it will not stay on, or you notice heat, a smell or a noise, that is the point to stop and call a licensed sparky rather than push your luck.
If your power keeps tripping and you are on the Northern Beaches, we are based in Narrabeen and happy to track it down for you. You can get in touch here or call Tom on 0406 551 293 for a straight answer.