Periodically I have a breaker trip in my service panel. When I go to reset, I always find that two breakers are actually tripped. Went and bought a meter and found that these two breakers are joined. (One of the two is turned off and I still get a full reading on both the Off and the on breaker). Called the electrician who installed this new service panel and he confirmed my findings. (Both are 15 amp breakers)

Now I wonder what to do if anything. There's been at least one remodel and one addition to my house. Might there have been a reason for joining the two circuits or is this just a screw-up? Electrician didn't seem overly concerned, just a bit surprised. (When he installed new panel he straightened out the original fuse box in the washroom and used that as a junction box). (And he didn't mark new circuits in box, which is why he didn't know about it). He said he didn't come across any three-wire circuits, so he believes the connection is in a junction box somewhere and I don't think I will be able to get him to look for it-he seems averse to attics and crawl spaces...!

Unfortunately, one of these two circuits controls most of my kitchen (which is where the remodel was done some 10 years ago).

Is there any chance I will find the join in an outlet box??? Or is that so unlikely as to be a waste of time looking? Any advice is appreciated. Thankx

Stratmando

Electrician lost track of circuits, Example: Red circuit one way feeding a room, another red circuit feeding something else, and were unintentionally connected. Would be easier to seperate if one was bed and one was bath, or something like that. Need to open one of the boxes and disconnect 2 red wires. With wires disconnected at box and breaker on, you will have 2 hots. Cap at that point. Til located, turn off both breakers. remove 1 wire, and cap off. It is currently a fire hazzard. Will not trip til 30 Amps, instead of 15.
When you turn off the 2 breakers, what power goes out?

labman

What goes off when the breakers trip? Are they adjacent, one above the other? If so, they should be connected to different legs of the power and have 240 volts between them.

tkrussell

Since you state there were no 3 wire circuits found in the panelboard, then you will not find any red wires that are connected, as Strat mentions.

There is a connection between two circuits that must be found. This can be in any one of the outet or junction boxes in these circuits. Often times, there may be two circuits deliverd to a switch box, and the two circuits get connected here accidentially.

In any case, all you can do is start checking all the boxes in the circuits that are affected.

Stratmando

Red was an example, as blacks would have been. A Majority of homes here are in conduit.
If it is Romex, Then Blacks.
When you determine the 2 circuits that shut down with breakers, Look in boxes where the 2 areas seperate, Living Room and Bed?
What shuts down with Breakers off?

macintosh26

I will confirm what is on circuits and correct this answer if needed, but if my memory serves, I lose kitchen overheads, kitchen plugs (except microwave), adjacent dining room plugs and overhead, adjacent sunroom wall plugs that back up to dining room wall. I basically lose half the house. Original part of house is run with cloth covered 2-wire, newer parts of house (which includes at least part of remodeled kitchen and sunroom), are run with 12-2 romex. I had electrician install a ground rod, which didn't exist and a cold water ground, which seemed to exist in original fuse box, but neither of us could find its origination point, so I asked him to run another.

I will check out fuse box that backs up to new service panel and see what is in there regarding colors and connections. Get back to you all, thankx.

macintosh26

Forgot to answer something. The new service panel is Square D and the breakers are all in line, not opposing, so when I marked box, I numbered them straight down, i.e., 1-2-3-etc.,.

The two breakers that trip together are numbers 2 & 4. The breakers above, below and in between are not affected (so far!).

Stratmando

Kitchen should be on own, and Dining on different. Find recepticles between the 2, could even be in a fan or light box. It may take time to open a couple of boxes and see direction of flow. Disconnect 2 suspect wires and turn back on so kitchen and dining are seperate, lighting may be on same breaker. Hang in there. Good Luck.