AFCI breaker trips when garage door shuts hard

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DanielLuke03

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Iowa
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Residential Electrician
I’ve got a customer who owns one side of a 2016 duplex with a Siemens panel. this past weekend, they started having a 20A AFCI trip when they slammed their garage door too hard. (I’m talking about the garage door going from inside the house to inside the garage, not the vehicle garage door). The panel sits about 8’ from the door and the breaker tripping controls the living room and dining room outlets, none of which are anywhere close to the garage. After replacing the breaker and moving it to a different spot in the panel, the same thing still happens. I’ve tried simulating the experience by whacking the panel, but it never trips when just rattling the panel. Only when the garage door is slammed shut. Has anyone had a similar experience?
 
DanielLuke03 said:
I’ve got a customer who owns one side of a 2016 duplex with a Siemens panel. this past weekend, they started having a 20A AFCI trip when they slammed their garage door too hard. (I’m talking about the garage door going from inside the house to inside the garage, not the vehicle garage door). The panel sits about 8’ from the door and the breaker tripping controls the living room and dining room outlets, none of which are anywhere close to the garage. After replacing the breaker and moving it to a different spot in the panel, the same thing still happens. I’ve tried simulating the experience by whacking the panel, but it never trips when just rattling the panel. Only when the garage door is slammed shut. Has anyone had a similar experience?
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one of the first things that I would look for is a possible loose connection that may cause an arc when you slam the door in the boxes of anything supplied by that circuit. Loose connection on receptacle or in a wire nut. Also if there is an bare equipment grounding conductor close to the grounded conductor termination on a receptacle slamming the door may cause it to temporarily cause the two to come in contact. There are other ways that you can troubleshoot by ohming it out with equipment grounding and grounded conductors disconnected at panel. Slam door and see if you get continuity from grounded conductor to equipment ground. I am basing this on not being a multiwire circuit with a two pole breaker that would have a common neutral. Does the afci have leds that may give you a clue as to what is causing it to trip?
 
As others have touched on, the AFCI tripping is a symptom, need to find the cause. There's an almost fault somewhere that loses the almost part when the door is slammed. The AFCI is doing its job.
 
And that’s where I was confused, again, considering the outlets on the affected circuit are way beyond the garage door, and not to mention all outlets on the circuit are registering a less than 5% voltage drop it makes it seem like it would beyond a loose connection
 
HEYDOG said:
one of the first things that I would look for is a possible loose connection that may cause an arc when you slam the door in the boxes of anything supplied by that circuit. Loose connection on receptacle or in a wire nut.
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And maybe if there is such a loose connection, it's arcing because there are loads on the living room and/or dining room outlets drawing current through that connection. So you might try unplugging all loads on those outlets, and then see if that stops the AFCI breaker from tripping when the door is slammed. If it stops tripping, then that would tend to confirm that there's an intermittent connection in series with the load, and not in parallel (such as directly from hot to neutral or to ground).

If the tripping stops without a load, it could help to put a current clamp around the hot wire from the AFCI breaker to see what load current is present when slamming the door will cause the breaker the trip. Then you might apply a comparable load current with an incadescent bulb, or a heater if necessary, which can be moved around to help localize the presumed intermittent connection. For example, check if it only happens when the load is in just one of the rooms. Then start with the load furthest from the panel and then move closer to see if that changes the tripping behavior.
 
Slamming a door moves an entire wall so any electrical connection that is not perfect on that wall could be suspect to arcing or cause a temp ground fault or short circuit.
 
Do you happen to have a coach light near that door that gets its power from the living room circuit?
Just spit balling that maybe a broken filament in light bulb, or 3way switch wires coming into contact with each other if there is a switch by that door for coach lights fed from living circuit.
 
I have had this happen to me 3 times. 2 it was a carpenter who pinched the NM cable in the wall blocking something. once it was a nail. your best bet is to start opening up boxes to isolate where it's damaged. An insulation tester is the only way to narrow it down quickly.
 
DanielLuke03 said:
And that’s where I was confused, again, considering the outlets on the affected circuit are way beyond the garage door, and not to mention all outlets on the circuit are registering a less than 5% voltage drop it makes it seem like it would beyond a loose connection
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Might also be a drywall nail or screw piercing a cable in that wall and when the door slams, it is making it arc to the ground.

Find the first outlet or j-box in the string and disconnect the line side cable from there and at the breaker. Then run a temporary patch cord from the breaker to that box, jumping around the wiring in the wall. Then slam the door and see it it no longer happens. If not, then it’s in that first section of cable in the all somewhere.
 
hbiss said:
Is the door button next to the side door? Slam my side door and the garage door would open or close.

Replace the button/control.
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My theory is that slamming the door causes the button/control to "bump" the opener motor and the breaker doesn't like that.

Have you tried it with the opener unplugged?

-Hal
 
LarryFine said:
Wait. Does the same breaker trip in the new space, or does the new breaker trip in the same space?
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LarryFine said:
We haven't determined whether it's the breaker or the circuit yet.
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After replacing the breaker and moving it to a different spot in the panel, the same thing still happens.

I'm not sure if this helps with your questions.
 
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