| |
You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Improvement/Repair > Electrical Wiring in the Home > Ghosts in my Wiring
Expert: Bob Sponaugle - 11/6/2009
Question
I had an office built in my garage a couple of years ago, a new panel put in and all new wiring including dedicated circuits for computer gear, a window A/C unit (110) and a TV. My A/C unit has a circuit breaker on the plug that randomly trips even if plugged in but not on and my cable box on the TV breaker randomly reboots (this is the third unit I have). The other thing I have noticed was that sometimes when I turn on the overhead light, the AC circuit breaker will trip and some times the lights and fan don't work until I go to the wall switch and turn it off and on again.
I suspect the fan, because I installed/wired it myself but I know they also installed a used breaker panel 'from another job' when they did the wiring and I thought the fact that separate dedicated circuits were being affected might indicate a problem in the panel. Of course the way the A/C randomly trips leads me to believe there is some sort of surge. How can I pinpoint the problem, any ideas?
Answer
Hi.
You may have a wire that is not making contact. A neutral wire broken will cause the two phases to be in series with each other at 220 volts. A broken hot wire will cause power to go through any 220 volt appliance (The AC) to power the bad phase. Another problem may be a GFCI for the sub panel, which will trip because the phases are not equal.
I hope this helps.
Bob
Add to this Answer Ask a Question
|
|
