Professional Guide on How to Fix a Flipped Circuit Breaker

When lights suddenly go off, or when an appliance stops to work all over sudden, a tripped circuit breaker is likely to be the cause. When a circuit breaker trips it stops power from flowing to the circuit. However, many other factors can cause a power outage to your home, but when only a section of your home goes dark, it is probably because of a tripped circuit breaker.

So, how do you repair a tripped circuit breaker? Follow these simple steps.

Locate the main fuse box

Your first task is to find the consumer unit, which is usually located in the exact location as the electricity meter. You will mostly see it in the hallway, in a specially built cupboard. This is the area that controls electricity in your house. Thus, it is crucial that you know what to do and where to touch if you want to switch off the power.

Switch off the lights

After locating the consumer unit and switching it off, turn off the lights and any other appliance that uses electricity. Before you reset the fault circuit, ensure that it is not drawing any electrical load. While this step may not be necessary, it is essential for your safety.

Safety switch

Your house should have the RCD safety device, if not, install it and test it often. The RCD safety device will protect you and your family from getting a zap. Moreover, the device will notify you if the mix master burns out. If it happens, remove all the cables of appliances connected to power source and try it on another area to see if they will work. If none of your devices work, then the circuit breaker is the root of the problem. So, you can choose to either repair it or replace it.

The circuit breakers

Check to see if any of the switches have repositioned from "on" to "off" or is halfway positioned. If the breaker moves from its initial position, move it to "off" side and then move it to "on" side to restore power back to the circuit. Turn on the lights to check if the circuit is working. If the problem persists, call your electrician.

Keep in mind electricity is deadly, and so, before you do anything else, ensure your hands are completely dry and that you are also standing on the dry ground when doing circuit breaker repairs. If you cannot repair the circuit breaker on your own, or not comfortable doing it, call an experienced electrical appliance repair service to help you.