Why fuse blown

Getting to the bottom of the problem will help you get the power back on as soon as possible. If the task of identifying the cause of a blown fuse is daunting, read on to discover nine reasons that a fuse may blow. Before we get to the root of the problem, it's important to know what a blown fuse looks like. The most obvious sign of a blown fuse is charring on the fuse itself, but another sign is that you will likely lose power in some or all of your house. This is the circuit breaker doing its job, containing the fault and preventing it from affecting other circuits.

Now that you know what a blown fuse looks like let's take a look at nine possible blown fuse causes. The most common cause of a blown fuse is when something draws too much power from the circuit. This is most often caused by either too many lights or from using too many plug-in appliances at once. The biggest culprit for this kind of issue is a multiple outlet adapter plugged into a socket. Circuit breakers are there to prevent further electrical damage in the case of a blown fuse.

But if the breaker continuously trips, this could indicate a problem. A short circuit, in simple terms, is when a current is diverted on a path it is not supposed to go down. A number of things can cause this, from damaged wiring and accessories to moisture and insects! A ground fault is a type of short circuit where the current is redirected to the earth or ground hence the name. If there are any problems with actual circuit connections, loose screws, or eroded wiring, this can cause an arc fault.

These faults can be dangerous — they are the most common cause of electrical fires in the home. This issue can be one that is difficult to spot due to the wiring being behind the walls. If it trips again, though, call an electrician. A ground fault is a specific type of short circuit in which the unintentional pathway of the straying electrical current flows directly to the earth ground or touches a grounded part of the system such as a grounding wire or the electric box.

The danger of shock increases when a person is in direct contact with the weak path to the ground. The Fix: This is essentially the same as the fix for a short circuit.

Be sure and test all affected system components and electrical devices. Call an electrician if something is still amiss. Arc faults result from problems with wiring and terminal connections—for example, a loose terminal screw. The Fix: This is basically the same as the above two. If your home has AFCIs, the fault should have tripped the circuit. If it does not have AFCIs, then check for damage and call an electrician if necessary.

Was the breaker tripped? In other words, is one of the switches on the panel flipped? If so, the circuit breakers are doing what they were meant to do: cutting off the flow of electricity because of some type of surge fault or other problem.

If the breaker trips again, there could be a problem. Monitor it and if it keeps tripping, call an electrician to check. Fuses come in many shapes, sizes, and configurations.

Many look similar but actually have very different functions. If you or someone else installed the wrong fuse in a fuse panel and there has been no personal harm or property damage …. You are very lucky. Whatever happened to blow the fuse could have done considerable harm.

You need to call an electrician right away to ensure no further damage occurs. In the meantime, do not go near the fuse box. The Fix: Your electrician will say one thing: get rid of the fuse panel! And this is exactly what you should do. Furthermore, electrical surpluses that occur one after another may weaken filaments and cause fuses to blow.

Circuits that short also cause fuse failure. A short can happen when there is a hot wire to the ground. It may open a fuse and cause it to fail. Of course, fuses burn out over time. To find out if it is the cause of the blow, replace it.

If there is still no power, your device probably malfunctioned. As mentioned above, some fuses have low melting points and are more fragile than others. A sudden surge of electric current may cause them to come apart. Getting to the root of the problem is a complicated process. You may have to hazard a guess and find out if any appliance you're using has malfunctioned.

Examine cords and connections to unveil the problem. Unfortunately, many of these problems are not so easily solved. Most homes built after , as well as older homes that have updated electrical services, have circuit breakers that control the electrical circuits in their homes. But in older homes that haven't been updated, the electrical circuits are protected and controlled by fuses located in a central fuse box.

These devices serve the same function as circuit breakers to protect against circuit overloads and short circuits, but rather than resetting them when they "trip," you must replace fuses when they burn out "blow". Two different types of fuses control volt circuits and volt circuits in older electrical systems. For volt circuits, the fuses are small ceramic screw-in devices that fit into threaded sockets in the fuse panel, much the way lightbulbs screw into lamp sockets.

Inside the fuse, there is a metal ribbon through which all the current on the circuit passes. The ribbon is sized to match the circuit wire gauge, and if too much current passes through the ribbon, it melts through, or "blows," and the circuit goes dead.

The face of the fuse has a small glass window through which you can see the metal ribbon, and when a fuse blows, you will see the metal ribbon melted through, or a cloudiness in the glass.

Screw-in fuses are typically amp or amp fuses, or occasionally amp. For volt circuits that control major appliance circuits, such as an air conditioner or electric range, the fuses are small cartridge devices that fit between metal contacts, usually fitted into a fuse block that can be pulled out from the fuse panel in order to change the fuses.

Cartridge fuses are usually used for volt appliance circuits that draw 30, 40, or 50 amps. Like circuit breakers, fuses are sized to match the gauge of the circuit wires. This prevents the circuit wires from drawing more power than they can handle. Using correct fuse sizes is, therefore, a crucial safety feature that can prevent fires due to circuit overloads.