Recently we had a fuse tripping inside the fuse box, this would cause the power to all upstairs rooms to go out. This meant our kitchen appliances, lights, and desktops would power off unexpectedly. To turn the power back on I simply had to flick the switch in the fuse box. However, this does not fix the issue, we had to determine what was causing the fuse to trip in the first place. I will discuss how we went about this at the end of the article. Below are some tips from an Auckland Electrician on how to fix a tripped fuse.
What Causes a fuse to trip or blow?
There are a variety of reasons for a tripped or blown fuse:
- An overloaded 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 computers etc.
- Light bulbs blowing
Finding the faulty appliance
When your fuse trips go around the house and make notes of what sets of lights and wall sockets are not working. Unplug all appliances on the circuit that is tripping and make sure that any immersion heaters are switched off. Switch the tripped switch back on and begin plugging in the appliances one-by-one until the fuse trips again. Leave that appliance unplugged, and call a qualified electrician.
What to do if you have an old-fashioned fuse box
Older fuse boxes have fuse holders. When one of these blows it has to be replaced or rewired. If you experience problems with old-fashioned fuse boxes, it is recommended that you upgrade your switchboard to increase safety.
Conclusion
When our fuse tripped I went around the house taking notes of what appliances and devices were turned on. At first, I could not identify what was causing the trip as the appliances were all plugged in and the fuse was not tripping. The next step was to find out what appliance was in use when the fuse tripped. When using the washing machine, the fuse tripped again and I was able to identify that this was the cause of the issue. From there we identified that the appliance needed replacing.
