Electrical in my house

[Craig D Peltier]

Moderators can move to shop forum if want but this doesnt pertain to my shop.

My problem is when I flick a switch it trips my breaker. The switch controls the light outside at end of driveway. The breaker has other items on it like a kitchen light and my foyer light. Nothing has been added to this or dug up outside. It worked fine for a year.
So my question is.
Correct me if im wrong here. If the switch goes tot he breaker and theres other lines tied in there to that breaker than the problem isnt in that direction because the kitchen an foyer light would never work. So the problem is from the switch to the light right?
Im sure it runs undergound. Do electricians have a way to test the elctric in the ground by wanding it or whatever they do.
I have eliminated it being the light itself, its disconnected. I looked for chews in the line between the breaker and the switch. I cant see the last 10 feet but the rest of it is in my garage loft so its visible. I have checked the outlet box for wires touching. I did put a new timer in there for the front garage lights but I had a handyman unwire it and it still tripped.I belive it was happening before this anyhow.

Anyone know what code is for how deep it has to be buried?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Anthony Scira]

If you remove the switch does it still trip the breaker? How deep what has to be buried ?

Have you hung any pictures that required hammering nails into walls ? I have seen that a couple times......

[Jim Becker]

With the breaker off, replace the switch. If that rectifies, you had a switch go bad. It happens. If the issue continues, there is a short somewhere between the switch and the driveway light. Simple process of elimination. Check the fixture next for corrosion as well as how the wires are terminated. (with the breaker off, of course) If the switch isn't bad and the fixture isn't bad...well...then you have a problem with the wire between the switch and the light fixture and that's gonna require a bit of work to replace.

[Craig D Peltier]

If you remove the switch does it still trip the breaker? How deep what has to be buried ?

Have you hung any pictures that required hammering nails into walls ? I have seen that a couple times......
I havent removed the switch. How would I know if tripped it then? The wire buried underground going to light on the end of the drive.It goes under my driveway as well which is concrete.

[Anthony Scira]

Remove the switch and put wire nuts on the individual wires to prevent them shorting together. Turn the breaker back on. If the breaker does not trip you know its the switch.

As far as the driveway goes you need to be 18" of burial.

[Tom Veatch]

Unless I'm reading it wrong, the breaker trips when the switch is closed to turn on the driveway light. Removing the switch, and leaving the circuit open wouldn't tell you anything. If you want to check the switch, kill the breaker, remove the switch, wirenut the black wires together simulating the switch being closed, not separate which would simulate the switch being open, and close the breaker. If the breaker trips, there's a problem with the circuit between the switch position and the the driveway light. If the breaker doesn't trip, the switch is the problem.

[Anthony Scira]

Unless I'm reading it wrong, the breaker trips when the switch is closed to turn on the driveway light. Removing the switch, and leaving the circuit open wouldn't tell you anything. If you want to check the switch, kill the breaker, remove the switch, wirenut the black wires together simulating the switch being closed, not separate which would simulate the switch being open, and close the breaker. If the breaker trips, there's a problem with the circuit between the switch position and the the driveway light. If the breaker doesn't trip, the switch is the problem.

When I troubleshoot I always try and find the midpoint of the circuit and pull the device. It sounds like the problem downstream of the switch but this gives you access to the wires to test.

If the breaker holds with the switch out I would turn off the power and check continuity for the switch leg going to the light. If you have the light disconnected (at least take out the light bulb since you can read through the filament to ground) check your switch leg to ground. If you have contunity you have problems. This means somewhere between the switch and light you have a short to ground.

The other possibility is the switch is miswired and you have the neutral & hot connected to the switch. I have seen handymen do some terrible work.

[Craig D Peltier]

Remove the switch and put wire nuts on the individual wires to prevent them shorting together. Turn the breaker back on. If the breaker does not trip you know its the switch.

Ive already tried a new switch.

As far as the driveway goes you need to be 18" of burial.
Thanks


With the breaker off, replace the switch. If that rectifies, you had a switch go bad. It happens. If the issue continues, there is a short somewhere between the switch and the driveway light. Simple process of elimination. Check the fixture next for corrosion as well as how the wires are terminated. (with the breaker off, of course) If the switch isn't bad and the fixture isn't bad...well...then you have a problem with the wire between the switch and the light fixture and that's gonna require a bit of work to replace.
Thanks Jim. I have disconnected the light before and it still is. Must be underground. Expensive little fix for a dang single light at end of driveway.



When I troubleshoot I always try and find the midpoint of the circuit and pull the device. It sounds like the problem downstream of the switch but this gives you access to the wires to test.

If the breaker holds with the switch out I would turn off the power and check continuity for the switch leg going to the light. If you have the light disconnected (at least take out the light bulb since you can read through the filament to ground) check your switch leg to ground. If you have contunity you have problems. This means somewhere between the switch and light you have a short to ground.

The other possibility is the switch is miswired and you have the neutral & hot connected to the switch. I have seen handymen do some terrible work.
Thanks for this. The switch was working fine for about a year, one day it started to trip. Handyman came in to try and figure it out with me. He was here changing some plumbing under sink.

[Mike Cutler]

Craig

A few years back I had a similar problem in my garage. I did all the troubleshooting per the book, being in the electrical/electronic field for 30 years, and still couldn't isolate the fault beyond a circuit run.

One night I was in the garage and turned the light on, for some reason I was looking up and saw a flash in the rafters. It turned out that a staple had been hammered in too tight and broken trough the jacket and of the switched hot and ground wire in a 2 conductor 14awg romex run from the switch to the outside light.

Give the romex a visual, maybe you'll get lucky and it's a similar issue.