There are several electric repairs related to your home that you can do yourself. One such simple activity is resetting your tripped circuit breaker. You need to follow a few simple steps and there you have accomplished a small electric repair activity.

When a circuit breaker has tripped, you must reset it. To do that you must first find your electrical panel. It is mostly located in the basement or garage. In some cases, it will be in the furnace room or where your hot water heater is located. Once you locate your electrical panel, you need to identify which circuit breaker has tripped. For this, you should look for breakers that are either 'Off' or somewhere in between the 'On' and 'Off' positions. Now, to reset it, push it completely to 'Off' and then turn it 'On' again.

However, if the breaker trips repeatedly, then your electric repair activity is far from complete. You need to ascertain why the breaker is tripping. To do that, you must understand the various reasons due to which a circuit breaker can trip.

The very intention of circuit breakers is to turn off power when any of the following occurs:

1. Overloaded circuit:

A circuit becomes overloaded when more than intended outlets are connected to it. Thus, when more current passes through such a circuit, the breaker prevents danger by tripping. The obvious solution is to reduce or remove few outlets. Sometimes loose connections can also result in tripping so check for these as well.

2. Short circuit:

Short circuit occurs when a hot wire touches another or comes in contact with a neutral wire. It has more serious implications and is difficult to diagnose as short circuits can occur in any wiring, or even in devices plugged into outlets. Check out for burnt or melted wires, burnt smell, torn insulation tapes, or discoloration to identify the source of the short circuit. Replacing the damaged wires and ensuring proper insulation will complete this electric repair activity.

3. Ground fault:

This is also a type of short circuit and occurs when a ground wire touches a hot wire or the sides of the metal box. Ensure that this does not happen and replace any damaged wires.

Most of the electric repair activities in a home are simple tasks, the crucial aspect is to understand the problem, identify the source, and perform the repair with caution.