Arc Fault Circuit Breaker Tripping

Another wiring problem is more of an incompatibility issue than a wiring issue and it has to do with multi wire.

Arc fault circuit breaker tripping. Afcis are designed to sense an arc which is an electrical leak caused when a hot wire touches a neutral or ground but doesn t trigger the circuit breaker. Arc fault circuit interrupters are prone to nuisance tripping which is probably what you re experiencing. After having been slowly phased in over the past 3 nec code cycles these new arc fault breakers are now required on almost every 120v circuit in the finished space of the house. An arc fault circuit interrupter afci is a circuit breaker located in your electrical panel that serves the functions of a normal breaker but also senses hazardous arcing on its circuit and will trip off for this.

If using this same device on a different afci breaker does not produce the same nuisance tripping try having an electrician replace the afci breaker that was experiencing the nuisance tripping. It can be identified by the special colored test button near its handle. With afci circuit breakers this improper wiring will cause the breaker to trip. Afci circuit breaker troubleshooting.

You may even recognize these arc fault circuit interrupter breakers with their visible test button in your circuit breaker panel.