Circuit breaker will not reset, I'm new

[Chipgiii]

I went to use my garage door opener and nothing. Once in the garage, I noticed the inside door buttons were not lit. I checked the circuit breaker and sure enough it was tripped. I tried resetting it, and it will not reset. Can a tripped GFCI breaker prevent the Circuit Breaker from being reset?

I also found a GFCI breaker in the kitchen that I can't seem to reset. The strange thing is that it appears the only thing on the Garage CB is the garage doors and a couple outlets. All the garage door lights and outside lights work.

The only thing I haven't checked is any outside receptacles which I will do when I return on Friday.

Perplexed - any ideas? Prior to this all worked fine.

 

[dtbingle]

Just to be sure......

A lot of breakers will 'pop' and go to a middle position and require you to push it fully to the "off" position and then back to the "on" or else it will appear to keep tripping.

 

[Chipgiii]

I did that. I even swapped the breaker out. My hope it the extra breaker and the one that tripped are both bad. I just bought this house so what's what and what's where is still a learning process. I was thinking that if there were a tripped GFCI somewhere that, that might prevent it from being reset, but people tell me that is not true.

 

[tonyciambrone]

I did that. I even swapped the breaker out. My hope it the extra breaker and the one that tripped are both bad. I just bought this house so what's what and what's where is still a learning process. I was thinking that if there were a tripped GFCI somewhere that, that might prevent it from being reset, but people tell me that is not true.

I'd be mighty pissed at my home inspector.

 

[ddawg16]

If you push the breaker to the full off position and then flip it back on, if there is a noticeable 'pop', then you have a short somewhere.

To confirm, remove the wire connected to it. It it then resets, you know you have a short.

 

[gnpenning]

Tripped breakers are telling there is a problem in that circuit. Start by unplugging everything in that circuit and try resetting that breaker. If it resets then plug the items in one at a time till you find the item that trips it.

If after unplugging everything and it still trips call an electrician.

Same with GFCI.

 

[_Stang_]

Call an electrician at this point. They will troubleshoot that and repair in no time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[LB-1911]

I went to use my garage door opener and nothing. Once in the garage, I noticed the inside door buttons were not lit. I checked the circuit breaker and sure enough it was tripped. I tried resetting it, and it will not reset. Can a tripped GFCI breaker prevent the Circuit Breaker from being reset?

I also found a GFCI breaker in the kitchen that I can't seem to reset. The strange thing is that it appears the only thing on the Garage CB is the garage doors and a couple outlets. All the garage door lights and outside lights work.

The only thing I haven't checked is any outside receptacles which I will do when I return on Friday.

Perplexed - any ideas? Prior to this all worked fine.

I did that. I even swapped the breaker out. My hope it the extra breaker and the one that tripped are both bad. I just bought this house so what's what and what's where is still a learning process.

I was thinking that if there were a tripped GFCI somewhere that, that might prevent it from being reset, but people tell me that is not true.

Your not alone in this thought.

If the circuit breaker is truly “tripped” it takes a little more than to simply “flip” it off and back on. To properly reset a “tripped” circuit breaker, one has to firmly push the breaker to the “off position” and then turn the breaker back to the “on” position. A properly reset breaker will typically “snap” into place when returned to the “on” position.

If the above procedure still doesn’t resolve your problem, you may have a tripped GFCI receptacle.

How to Properly Reset a “Tripped” Circuit Breaker


Do yourself a favor and draw up a home circuit map as your sorting out this issue.

 

[CoogarXR]

Is this a detached garage? If so, is the feed for the garage coming from the house? Is that breaker tripped too? Or does the garage have it's own service?

I just ask because when I moved into my place, the AC had a problem which would blow both the branch breaker and the 100A main breaker. Turns out the main breaker had an issue too.

 

[dtbingle]

Try unplugging everything on that circuit and then turning off all other breakers to the house (but leave main on). Then try turning on the problem breaker again. Could be a problem with another circuit if sketchy wiring was done and neutrals/grounds were shared across breakers.

 

[Chipgiii]

Unfortunately I won't be back there until Friday, but the neighbor told me there was a wicked electrical storm a few days before I discovered this. That didn't make sense to me as there was only the one breaker tripped.

Thanks for responding.

 

[Chipgiii]

Thanks - definitely going to try that.

 

[campbell990]

IMHO If you got a home warranty with the sale of the house I would pay the $50 call out fee and let them sort it out. You probably have enough other things to do having just bought it.

 

[Chipgiii]

Thanks. That's a smart approach.

 

[Chipgiii]

Please don't say that. That's my biggest fear.

 

[Chipgiii]

I like that opinion and did get a home warranty! That's a plan I can live with.

 

[LB-1911]

Unfortunately I won't be back there until Friday, but the neighbor told me there was a wicked electrical storm a few days before I discovered this. That didn't make sense to me as there was only the one breaker tripped.

Thanks for responding.

Bring an extension cord w/you and try the opener from a know good outlet.

You may want to add a garage opener surge protector* to your list as well.

*One example
https://www.chamberlain.com/parts-a...an-i-protect-my-chamberlain-garage-door-opene

Good Luck

 

[rlitman]

Unfortunately I won't be back there until Friday, but the neighbor told me there was a wicked electrical storm a few days before I discovered this. That didn't make sense to me as there was only the one breaker tripped.

Thanks for responding.

That could be related. Surge suppressors use a component called a Metal Oxide Varistor to absorb and divert surge energy from other more sensitive electronics. But these are a consumable part, and MOVs will fail into a shorted condition. They are supposed to be used inline with a protective fuse that opens when the MOV fails, but I've seen all sorts of things where this was not done right.

A few years ago, I had this issue at a relative's apartment with a small elevator. The breaker wouldn't reset, because of the shorted MOVs in the elevator motor control board (I believe they were there to prevent arcing on the switch contacts), and the elevator tech just clipped them off. Since then, I've installed a Surge Protective Device in the panel.

If the garage door opener trips a different breaker when you test it on an extension cord, then the problem could be there.

 

[OneOfEm]

Sometimes GFCI breakers act like they have been turned on (I.E. the switch clicks), but there's still one further position towards "on." That's the case with all of them in our current house. With these, we have to flip them on then push a little harder to actually engage them.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Your not alone in this thought.

If the circuit breaker is truly “tripped” it takes a little more than to simply “flip” it off and back on. To properly reset a “tripped” circuit breaker, one has to firmly push the breaker to the “off position” and then turn the breaker back to the “on” position. A properly reset breaker will typically “snap” into place when returned to the “on” position.

If the above procedure still doesn’t resolve your problem, you may have a tripped GFCI receptacle.

How to Properly Reset a “Tripped” Circuit Breaker


Do yourself a favor and draw up a home circuit map as your sorting out this issue.

This is incorrect.

A tripped GFCI receptacle will NOT cause a breaker to trip.