• Jan 20, 2023

Tripped Safety Switch

Modern homes have a switchboard with electrical safety switches. Older homes have a fuse box. Sometimes we find after switching on an appliance the safety switch has been activated to that circuit. Safety switches are designed to react to a high load or leakage. A safety switch can detect the change in the electrical circuit and switches the power off in as little as 0.3 seconds.

How to troubleshoot this nuisance tripping?

Circuit loading can be caused by appliances that requires a large current to work, such as microwaves, irons and kettles, especially if they're all on the same circuit.

1 At the switchboard, reset the safety switch that tripped. The last appliance plugged in may be the cause. Disconnect that appliance from the powerpoint and reset the safety switch. If everything now functions properly, that appliance was the cause.

2 If the safety switch continues to trip, then disconnect all the appliances and plug them in one at a time until the safety switch switch trips again. This will indicate the faulty appliance.

Warnings

• Avoid touching any potentially faulty appliance when power is on.
• If you continue to have problems, contact your licensed electrician don't attempt to do any electrical repairs.
• If anything looks damaged or it's not working correctly, have it checked or disposed of.