Short Circuit Troubleshooting
#21
Since he has AFCIs, it is very likely a fairly new home.
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#22
Is the attic light on the same circuit? Out of sight, out of mind.
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#23
(05-03-2017, 05:52 PM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: Is the attic light on the same circuit? Out of sight, out of mind.

I had a client that thought they had a bad GFI in there Master Bath on a 2 story home, he changed out and still tripping the breaker, I spent all most a day to figure it out. It also was on a garage out let, just after Christmas, a freezer in the garage, thawed out, they had an extention cord plugged into a garage outlet on the same curcet for Exmas lights the shorted out do to the over head garage door pinched it and shorted it out. Go figure!!!
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#24
I haven't dealt with AFCI breakers yet, but seems to me a multimeter with continuity checker could help?  disconnect some of the outlets and just test the wiring... see if there's continuity between the black and the white conductors on each run from outlet to outlet?
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#25
The house was built in 2014.

Having little time to work on it, we called my wife's uncle (who is an electrician). He spent a few hours yesterday and has isolated the problem somewhat, or at least eliminated some things. There are no obvious or even subtle problems in the boxes. The wire to the room is fine and the circuit is live, but it's capped at the first point of entry. There were a few hours spent trying to isolate the short and we think it's in the first run after the entry receptacle. The opposite side of this wall is over the garage. There is nothing up there, but there is at least an access panel. It is, of course, caulked and screwed in, but that's better to me than drywall. We should be able to isolate the short to that wall today.

Some time ago, my wife heard scratching in the wall next to her office, and this wall does adjoin the wall in question. We have mice (voles) everywhere outside. We live in a wooded area with 320 acres behind us. It is not a stretch to believe they went up there - our garage is partly finished, but they could easily get on top of the concrete and under the drywall. Sealing under this is impractical, especially against mice, so if that's the problem how do I prevent it? I can't put conduit in insulated walls and protecting against this happening again is going to be important.
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#26
(05-04-2017, 09:06 AM)Cdshakes Wrote: I haven't dealt with AFCI breakers yet, but seems to me a multimeter with continuity checker could help?  disconnect some of the outlets and just test the wiring... see if there's continuity between the black and the white conductors on each run from outlet to outlet?

This is where we are now. By code we're required to have access to the roof trusses, and this buys us at least a little bit of access to some of the wiring.
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#27
[Image: 048243351930.jpg]
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#28
(05-04-2017, 10:17 AM)Bob10 Wrote: [Image: 048243351930.jpg]
I figured as much. If it's mice, I'm replacing every available exposed run with BX. I don't want to go in there again if I don't have to.
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#29
(05-03-2017, 05:52 PM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: Is the attic light on the same circuit? Out of sight, out of mind.

We have a winner.

Behind the access panel (which was screwed, caulked, and painted into place), there was a switch and an overhead light. The switch wiring was never pushed back into the box and I guess over time what was a millimeter between hot and ground turned into contact.

No mice, at least, so no worries in the future.
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#30
(05-05-2017, 08:23 AM)FS7 Wrote: We have a winner.

Behind the access panel (which was screwed, caulked, and painted into place), there was a switch and an overhead light. The switch wiring was never pushed back into the box and I guess over time what was a millimeter between hot and ground turned into contact.

No mice, at least, so no worries in the future.

Well, I guess this is a time where you're thankful for the AFCI doin its job and not burnin your house down!
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