Circuit Breakers

A circuit breaker serves the same function as a fuse, but it’s a more complicated device. It also is reusable. When a current that exceeds the breaker’s capacity or rating passes through it, a pair of metal contacts is broken and remain so until the breaker is reset. A breaker can be reset an almost indefinite number of times, although repeated tripping is a sign of an electrical problem or overload. Any time a breaker trips or a fuse burns out, you must find the source of the problem before you reset the breaker or replace the fuse. Sometimes it’s only a single-occurrence problem such as running too many appliances at once. If you can’t find an apparent cause in your use of the circuit, you probably have a short in the system that must be .