Anybody ever trace an AFCI tripping to

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qcroanoke

qcroanoke

Sometimes I don't know if I'm the boxer or the bag
Location
Roanoke, VA.
Occupation
Sorta retired........
A flat screen TV?
I'm just looking for a cause and this is pretty much the only thing on the circuit that I think may cause it.
Every couple of days it will trip for no obvious reason
 
It is a siemens breaker and maybe 5 years old. I have moved the wiring on the breaker to another AFCI that isn't tripping and the problem moved to that breaker. So, it's in that circuit. I'm just not able to get down on floor level and open receptacles and such. The tv is wall mount so I may be able to run a drop cord and put it on another circuit but I'm not sure I want to touch that TV and have it fall and break. Had that happen in a previous life. ;0
I have another siemens breaker (not AFCI) and I'm considering replacing it with that because I'm sure VA was under 2014 at the time and I'm not real sure AFCI was required in a den under that version.
This is also for a first cousin and I want to find the problem or eliminate some possibilities if I can without telling her to call an EC to chase it down.
 
Yes, several years ago I posted about a job with the exact same thing. Except there were random tripping of various afci breakers.
My particular job, I must have gone out at least 5 times to try and troubleshoot the problem. On the last trip, I camped out with the customer sitting in the living room watching tv with them then noticed at the end of a particular commercial as part of that commercial it went to a bright white screen. I hear a pop, it was one of the afci’s that actually went to one of the bedrooms, I reset it and by god after 15 minutes that same commercial came on again and it tripped again when the tv screen went bright white.
Now that customer had a large flat screen plasma. So I asked if they had another tv to try and they said yes we’ll bring out the one from the bedroom. Since then, there were no call-backs. Assuming that the problem was solved.
So, it seems to me that what may be occurring is when the power supply of the tv had to ramp up power output to drive a full white screen the PWM supply must create a lot of noise back on the electric line duping the afci’s.
 
I saw a sound system do this, one built into a bed headboard. Saw a few lights do it. Customer quit using sound system. I found no problem with the lights. A new AFCI helped a couple of times. Others, I had no choice but to replace with a standard breaker.
 
Read a couple of days ago on the NFPA website, that there is discussion of expanding AFCI requirements in bathrooms.
 
When it comes to problems with AFCI breakers I have had the best luck with replacing the breakers with the latest version.

Since the introduction of AFCI breakers I have been wondering how well they would age because of the electronics involved.
 
AFCI has ruined my respect for the NEC more than any other issue. It is needless, expensive junk that has been forced on us by overzealous authorities. It has driven up the cost of work and, in these cases, makes us look like fools to our customers.
 
I wish I had saved all the burned switches & receptacles I replaced that were “protected” by AFCI breakers. I would take them to every code class and show them around. They don’t trip for real hazards but do trip for imaginary hazards.

I know one good place for these. Up the innards of the authorities requiring them.
 
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