Replacing a circuit breaker in a cottage on Thumb Lake Michigan
This morning I responded to a call I received from a customer that was complaining about flickering lights in their cabin on Thumb Lake. I began to ask questions so that I could narrow the problem down over the phone like:
- Which lights are flickering? All the lights in the cabin or just one or a few?
- What type of lights are they? Fluorescent lighting will sometimes flicker when the ballast goes bad.
- Are there any other problems with electrical appliances in the house?
- Have you had any problems with rodents or other pests such as raccoons or porcupines?
By the customers answers I could deduce that the problem was isolated to just one circuit. I brought out a variety of circuit breakers with me and drove out to the job site. When I got there I introduced myself and took my shoes off as I stepped inside. The home owners showed me the lights that where flickering and the location of the electrical panel. As I began to take off the panel cover I could hear the distinct sizzling sound of a bad electrical connection. I knew that I had found the problem. 
This is what I saw when I took off the cover. You can see the electricity arcing where the breaker plugs onto the bus bar (the bright blue dot in the middle of the screen). This is not good of course so I replaced the breaker with one that I had brought with me.
The customers where very happy because it took me about fifteen minutes to diagnose and repair the problem. It’s nice when the problem is that apparent.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You just put a new breaker in where the old one was arcing with out cleaning up the buss bar? how much current was this circut drawing? if it burned out one breaker it will do it again. did you bother to look at the rest of the breakers to see if they had problems? Hope the fire department is close.
Of course I inspected the bus to make sure it was O.K. Jack. Also the current on the circuit was well under the 16 amps that is allowed on a 20 amp circuit breaker continuously. And YES I did go through the rest of the panel to make sure there were no other faulty connections. You seem very knowledgable and understanding
of how electricity works and I’m sure you aslo understand that NO ONE would want that sort of claim on their liability insurance!
Those are all great questions and I’m glad they were asked so I could respond. I’ve done this kind of work for so long that I forget to include some of the details I take for granted in my writing.
Thanks for the help!