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enireh

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Canyon Lake,TX
an outlet in the house throws the breaker when something is plugged into it, when testing the outlet, it reads 120 volts, I have plugged more than one item in so I know it is in the line, maybe a nail threw the wire at some point?
 
enireh said:
an outlet in the house throws the breaker when something is plugged into it, when testing the outlet, it reads 120 volts, I have plugged more than one item in so I know it is in the line, maybe a nail threw the wire at some point?
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At least you know which breaker the circuit is on.
Now you need to do a little more troubleshooting to gain more information.
Pull the receptacle and visually inspect to make sure that everything you can see is OK.
Switch the conductor to another breaker ( of the same size ) and see if it trips that also.
Do a continuity test of the conductors in this cable : Hot to neutral, Hot to ground.
I would pull the breaker and see if it's arcing to the buss.

The idea is to gain as much information as possible in a short amount of time.
 
We need more information to help with this.

First thing is it a "standard" breaker, AFCI, GFCI, dual function?

Does it trip as soon as you plug a cord in or only after you turn the item on?

Apparently it doesn't seem to matter what that item is from what I get out of OP, so it must not be simple overloading type of trip but some other fault being detected.
 
Like said, open that box and inspect. have you tested the other openings on this circuit?
 
sameguy said:
Like said, open that box and inspect. have you tested the other openings on this circuit?
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or spray some water on it, see what happens ;)

you being way too logical ;)
 
480sparky said:
Bare ground wire right next to the hot terminals. Pushing in a cord moves the recep / wiring and causes short.
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had sort of the same thing happen, it was a metal box with a raised cover and there was a nick in the wire that we didn't see. As soon as someone plugged something in it popped. actually checked the box several times until it popped and left an arc mark on the back of the box.

That's one of those lessons you don't forget, check the easy stuff first.
 
hit it w/ end of 2x4, see if the ocpd trips :lol:
 
cowboyjwc said:
had sort of the same thing happen, it was a metal box with a raised cover and there was a nick in the wire that we didn't see. As soon as someone plugged something in it popped. actually checked the box several times until it popped and left an arc mark on the back of the box.

That's one of those lessons you don't forget, check the easy stuff first.
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In a somewhat related story...

For years I drove a 1971 Ford Econoline van. It did this annoying thing; I would just be driving along when suddenly the engine would shut down and would not restart. When this happened I would pull off the engine cowling and kind of poke around, find nothing amiss, try to start it, and it would light right off and run fine... for a month or two, when it would happen again. This went on for a couple of years before I finally found the problem. On the top front of the engine there was a heater hose that attached to the engine with a hose clamp, and the side of the clamp was in contact with engine metal. The 12V supply line from the distributor points to the coil was in contact with the tag end of the hose clamp and over time it had worn a tiny notch through the insulation on the underside of the wire where I couldn't see it. Short to ground, dead engine.

Whenever I would poke around under the engine cowling the wire would get moved so that it was no longer shorted to ground, so the engine would start up and run fine for a long while, but eventually the notch in the insulation would find its way back to the clamp and shut things down again. It drove me nuts.
 
ggunn said:
In a somewhat related story...

For years I drove a 1971 Ford Econoline van. It did this annoying thing; I would just be driving along when suddenly the engine would shut down and would not restart. When this happened I would pull off the engine cowling and kind of poke around, find nothing amiss, try to start it, and it would light right off and run fine... for a month or two, when it would happen again. This went on for a couple of years before I finally found the problem. On the top front of the engine there was a heater hose that attached to the engine with a hose clamp, and the side of the clamp was in contact with engine metal. The 12V supply line from the distributor points to the coil was in contact with the tag end of the hose clamp and over time it had worn a tiny notch through the insulation on the underside of the wire where I couldn't see it. Short to ground, dead engine.

Whenever I would poke around under the engine cowling the wire would get moved so that it was no longer shorted to ground, so the engine would start up and run fine for a long while, but eventually the notch in the insulation would find its way back to the clamp and shut things down again. It drove me nuts.
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arent all 1971 eco line vans now in a car graveyard, or squished into a cube of metal?
 
electricguy61 said:
My first service van (working for someone else) was that era; dark green exterior, on the column 3 speed, no power steering or brakes, no AC, am radio, rattled something terrible.

How far we’ve come. My current ProRam 1500 hightop is a cadillac by comparison.
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My present work ride is a 2014 E250...the end of the line for Econolines, except cutaway bodies. It's a miserable ride, that's only happy when *really* loaded down...like three full cable reels, a half skid of plywood, a pallet (ton) of wood pellets, etc. It's rattle-y, the front end has something funky going on just like every "Twin I-beam" does, but it keeps a boatload of tools and materials dry and safe, so it beats my prior F-150 pickups by miles.

*And it's paid for.*

I doubt I'll still be working when it requires replacement. A Promaster or Transit would be nice, but I'm well beyond wanting to lay out for another truck.
 
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