How to fix a tripped fuse

Electrical safety disclaimer

Before we get down to business, it’s important to remember that any electrical work should be carried out by a certified electrician, who has the right level of competence to undertake the work safely.

Please keep in mind that while it’s perfectly safe to touch your fuse box, faulty electrics are very dangerous. So, before you start any work, you should ensure that the right risk assessments are carried out so all work can be completed as safely as possible.

Before you start any work you should consider:

• Are there signs of scorching?
• Can you smell burning?
• Is there any rust around the circuit breaker?

If you answer yes to any of the above, or you’re not feeling confident in your ability to carry this work, please seek the help of a qualified electrician.

How to fix a tripped fuse: A step by step guide

Fixing a tripped fuse (or circuit breaker to use its proper name) can be really straightforward and can be resolved by following these 4 simple steps:

1. Locate your fuse box (consumer unit)

It’s important to know where to find your fuse box, in most cases you’ll find it in a garage or utility room – somewhere accessible so you can find it in an emergency.

2. Check your circuit breakers to see which ones have tripped

When you look at your fuse box you’ll notice that one or more of the switches are down in the “off” position. Usually, each switch will have a label, so you should be able to tell straight away where in your home it’s linked to.

In some cases, these labels may not be accurate. If you think this may be the case it’s best to call a qualified electrician.

3. Flip tripped switches back up

If they are all up, your Residual Current Device (RCD’s) may be down so make sure they’re up too.

4. Power on!

This should mean that your power is now back on – if your switches don’t stay up then please continue to the next section.

Top tip 💡: If none of the switches are down when you inspect your fuse box it may mean you’ve had a power cut. Check with your neighbours or your energy provider – you can also take a look at our guide on what to do in a power cut.

What is an RCD?

An RCD, or Residual Current Device to give it its full title, is an important safety feature for your home.

In short, an RCD keeps you safe against injury and death by electric shock by detecting an imbalance between the outgoing and incoming total electrical current within a given number of circuits.

It works on the understanding that if there’s a difference in the electricity coming in against electricity going out, then the electric must’ve gone somewhere. This is what is known as a ‘residual current’ or ‘earth leakage’.

So if you’re doing some DIY and accidentally cut or drill through a cable, your RCD will kick in so that the electricity stops before it gets to you, meaning the circuit will break and you’ll stay safe.

What if the trip switch on my fuse box won’t stay up?

In most cases, there’ll be a simple explanation as to why your circuit breaker or RCDs keep tripping. Usually, tripped fuses can be tracked to their location within the home and you’re then able to work out what appliance was causing it to trip.

However, if you find that your mains switch keeps tripping then you may discover that the problem is with the fuse box itself. If this is the case, you’ll need to find a qualified electrician to look at this for you.

Which appliances can trip your fuse box?

There’s a number of reasons why your fuse box might trip, the most common ones include:

• An overloaded circuit – if you have too many appliances running off one circuit
• Too many appliances being used at the same time
• A faulty or misused appliance
• Overfilled kettles
• Unclean toasters
• Cooker rings worn out or cracked
• Faulty immersion heaters
• Faulty connections on leads to appliances e.g. televisions or stereos etc.
• Light bulbs blowing

How to find out what is tripping my electric

The safest and easiest way to find out what’s tripping your electric is to follow the same steps in the how to fix a tripped fuse section and follow these 3 steps to locate the appliance:

1. Identify the appliances or devices that are connected to the tripped circuit

Once you have located the tripped fuse, you’ll find it much easier to identify which appliances are connected to that circuit.

Hopefully, this means you’ll be able to check labels, head to that area of your home and match them up to the appliance or device in that space. Failing that you may need to trace the wires to the appliances or devices on that circuit.

2. Unplug or turn off the appliances or devices that are connected to the tripped circuit

To determine which appliance or device is causing your electricity to trip, you can unplug each one so you can find which one is causing the problem.

3. Reset the circuit breaker

Once you’ve unplugged all of your appliances you can then switch the fuse box to “on” and individually plug in and switch each appliance back on to troubleshoot which one is causing the fuse to trip.

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If you’ve followed all the above steps and your fuse keeps tripping, then it’s time to get a qualified electrician on the case.

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