Bx Cable Short

TWIGGIRDLER · #1 Jul 6, 2006, 05:40 PM

I Have A 1930's Era Home Which Still Has Several Old Bx Cable Circuits. Yesterday The Breaker Tripped On One Of The Circuits. I Had An Electrician Come Out Today To Check It. The Breaker Would Stay On About 2-3 Seconds. The Circuit Handles About 5 Overhead Lights And One Wall Outlet, A Total (per The Electrician) Of 5.5 Amps.

The Electrician Said The Circuit Was Carrying 50 Amps On The 15 Amp Circuit. We Fished Around In The Attic And Found Where The Cable Was Laying On An Old Tin Roof. When He Turned On The Breaker I Noticed A Spark Where The Cable Was Touching The Roof, And The Cable Was Warm There.

I Wrapped The Cable In Electrical Tape And Insured That It Would No Longer Touch The Metal Roof. This Seemed To Fix The Problem, As The Circuit Is Working Now.

I Know Nothing About Electricity. However, I Was Wondering If This Really Fixed The Problem And If The Occupants Are Safe From Shock. It Seems It Would Be Unsafe To Touch The Cable If I Was Grounded.

caibuadday · Jul 6, 2006, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWIGGIRDLER

I Have A 1930's Era Home Which Still Has Several Old Bx Cable Circuits. Yesterday The Breaker Tripped On One Of The Circuits. I Had An Electrician Come Out Today To Check It. The Breaker Would Stay On About 2-3 Seconds. The Circuit Handles About 5 Overhead Lights And One Wall Outlet, A Total (per The Electrician) Of 5.5 Amps.

The Electrician Said The Circuit Was Carrying 50 Amps On The 15 Amp Circuit. We Fished Around In The Attic And Found Where The Cable Was Laying On An Old Tin Roof. When He Turned On The Breaker I Noticed A Spark Where The Cable Was Touching The Roof, And The Cable Was Warm There.

I Wrapped The Cable In Electrical Tape And Insured That It Would No Longer Touch The Metal Roof. This Seemed To Fix The Problem, As The Circuit Is Working Now.

I Know Nothing About Electricity. However, I Was Wondering If This Really Fixed The Problem And If The Occupants Are Safe From Shock. It Seems It Would Be Unsafe To Touch The Cable If I Was Grounded.

that is an extreme fire hazard ( the short could ( and should if the wire was properly instal) occur with the metal shield). replace the whole wire or atleast the section that cause the short



At Ask Me Help Desk you can ask questions in any topic and have them answered for free by our experts. To ask questions or participate in answering them you must register for a free account. By registering you will be able to: Get free answers from experts in any of our 300+ topics. Accept money for answers that you provide. Communicate privately with other members (PM). See fewer ads. Sign Up!