• Turn the breaker on.
• If it does not trip with everything off, turn on loads, one by one, turning each off after testing, until the breaker trips. When the breaker trips, you will have found the appliance that is causing the arc fault, and it might need to be repaired.
• If under the last scenario the breaker trips with every load off, disconnect the load-side wire from the AFCI. If it does not trip with the load-side wire (the colored one) disconnected, check for an arcing fault in the house wiring.
• Assuming the wiring checks out and it continues to trip, you have a faulty AFCI to go with the migraine you just developed reading this.
Some appliances might cause immediate tripping of AFCIs and GFCIs due to high in-rush current. Pumps, power tools and microwaves are likely culprits. Other causes of immediate tripping can be ground faults, or neutrals grounded downstream of the circuit breaker. (Neutrals should be grounded only at the main service entrance, not in the circuit, not at subpanels — but, unfortunately, this is common.)
Q: I have a house built in the '60s with a very high, flat ceiling and a sloped roof. There is no access from the main attic, as it is physically separated by a wall. I am concerned that this area could have mold or other issues. I can't cut a hole in the ceiling 20 feet up. Do I have any options?
A: Put in a skylight. Not only will it provide light in your newfound attic, but it will be removable from the roof with four screws. Best part is, you wouldn't even have to do any drywall work — just cut the hole, frame the curb and flash it. No fire safety issues either, since it is above the drywall and insulation, basically another roof component.
Rodent update:
Several weeks ago, I wrote of my dealings with a mouse in the house. Back in early August, it was mildly entertaining. Not anymore. Turns out we had two little visitors, not just one. Our auxiliary cat, Imposter, nabbed the first one, we cleaned up the mess and life went on. Or so we thought. Unbeknownst, the second one was hunkering down for winter right under our noses. Several weeks of vermin urine can make even my kitchen start to reek ... I had to do something, so with a two-hour time window I pulled the dishwasher out and found the mouse had decided to burrow up into the insulation on top of the dishwasher.
The dishwasher insulation was trashed, so out it came. I started cleaning up the little messes under the dishwasher, quickly washed my hands, then pulled out the stove. Out from beneath came the culprit, scurrying like her life depended on it. Which it did. I tripped over the dishwasher as I flew out of the kitchen, tipping it over, spewing water on the floor. The shop-vac fell right after it. Fortunately, it contained its contents.
Right under the couch she went. I lifted up the couch, and she scurried under the recliner. I grabbed the nearest cat. Not interested — too little challenge, apparently.
Desperate times call for desperate actions, and I was ready to do the neck wringing with my bare hands. And I'm a vegetarian! Up came the recliner. No mouse! I tipped it over, shone the flashlight into the side and she ran out again, headed for the entertainment center. Just like in the movies, human chasing mouse around and around. It would have made great video.
The entertainment center was huge, heavy and inaccessible, and I had an appointment to get to. I went over to the sink and washed my hands again. After the third round of soap, I realized my feet were wet. I had disconnected the dishwasher drain at the disposal and totally forgotten in the commotion. The contents of the disposal were now in my shoes and all over the bottom of the cabinet. And I was now late for the appointment.
I put two traps and some bait out, locked the cats inside, left them hungry (hopefully for mouse) and abandoned ship for two days, as it was uninhabitable. Upon my return the traps were empty, the top of the fridge was the rodent's latest toilet and the cats were lounging as usual. Last night, the kids and I took the entertainment center out, found another hole behind the fridge and sealed it with foam, pulled the appliances to eliminate hiding places, cleaned the feces off the hide-a-bed and waited. In the morning the interloper was sprawled on the floor, dead, with Raffi the primary cat, proud as ever, lurking nearby.
Having the house completely torn apart was depressing, but just like refurbishing my apartment building, evicting the smelly non-paying vermin is the first step in turning things around. And it only gets better from here.
Darrell Hay answers readers' questions. Call 206-464-8514 to record your question |
