The #1 Mistake Homeowners Make with Tripping Breakers – And How to Fix It

By /

Troubleshooting a Shorted Breaker Like a Pro

Hey, howdy, how are you doing? Today, we’re diving into one of the most frustrating electrical issues—a shorted breaker. If you’ve ever spent hours trying to track down a short, only to feel like you’re chasing your tail, this one’s for you.

James Adams from ABR Electric is here to save you time and headaches by breaking down a simple, logical method to pinpoint the short fast—without flicking the breaker a thousand times or aimlessly pulling out outlets.

“I want to talk about today some handful of secrets for you guys to troubleshoot and not take two days to figure out what’s going on.” – James Adams

Let’s get to it.

Step 1: The Dead Short – Stop Flipping the Breaker!

When you have a breaker that trips immediately when you try to reset it, that’s a dead short. And no, flipping it over and over won’t fix it.

“You notice I’m not going to flick it again because you don’t have to do that. It’s a dead short.”

Instead of forcing the breaker, grab your multimeter and set it to continuity mode.

👉 Continuity Test:

  • Place one lead on the hot wire (the one connected to the breaker).
  • Place the other lead on ground.
  • If you hear a beep, congratulations—you’ve got a short!

“Rule number one: you shouldn’t have continuity between the hot and the ground. And you’re going to remember that because we’re going to go inside and use that continuity to figure out and narrow down where our short is.”

Step 2: Identifying Affected Outlets & Devices

The easiest way to find the short is to look for what’s not working—all the outlets, lights, and devices that are dead.

“When you have a dead short like the one we had outside, it’s pretty easy to tell what plugs or devices are affected, right? Because they’re going to be off.”

Now that we’ve identified the dead outlets, we can narrow down the location of the short without tearing everything apart.

Step 3: Divide and Conquer

Instead of randomly disconnecting wires or pulling out every outlet, use logic and your meter to split the circuit into two halves.

1️⃣ Find an outlet somewhere in the middle of the affected area.
2️⃣ Disconnect the outgoing wires (the wires that send power to the next outlet).
3️⃣ Test continuity again.

If continuity clears on one side, the short is further down the line. If not, it’s back toward the panel.

“Pick a spot near the middle and take your power apart in and out. Because right now, I could put a wire nut on this, reset that breaker, and the power from everything back towards the panel would be on—leaving just this side down for me to troubleshoot.”

This method eliminates unnecessary guesswork and pinpoints the exact location of the short quickly.

Step 4: Inspecting the Wiring

Once you’ve isolated the problem area, start inspecting the outlet boxes.

  • Look for ground wires touching hot wires.
  • Check for loose connections.
  • Inspect backstabbed outlets—older homes often have these, and they can be notorious for causing shorts.

“I’ve had ground wires rolled up, and for whatever reason, after 20 years, they finally touched. Or sometimes, in outside plugs, the older metal boxes let the plug get loose, and it starts shorting out against the side.”

In this case, James found a ground wire pressed up against the hot in an older outlet box. Bingo—that’s the short.

Step 5: Confirm the Fix Before Resetting the Breaker

Before flipping the breaker back on, use your multimeter to confirm the short is actually gone.

  • Go back to the middle outlet you disconnected earlier.
  • Test continuity again.
  • If there’s no beep, the short is cleared.

“The pair that showed the ground fault is cleared now. So at this point, we could go back outside, put the meter on the breaker to ground, and if we have no continuity, we’re good to go.”

Now, reset the breaker—and this time, it should hold.

Final Thoughts: Work Smarter, Not Harder

Troubleshooting a shorted breaker doesn’t have to take all day. The key is to work smart, use your meter, and isolate the problem logically.

Quick Recap:

✅ Don’t keep flipping the breaker—use a multimeter.
✅ Find all the affected outlets and lights.
✅ Divide the circuit in half to pinpoint the short.
✅ Inspect for ground faults, loose wires, and backstabbed outlets.
✅ Confirm with your meter before resetting the breaker.

“Use your meter. Stop banging on the breakers, homeowners!” – James Adams

General Electricians & Local Electrical Services

  • Electricians in McKinney Texas
  • Electricians in Frisco TX
  • Electrician Saint Paul
  • Electrician in McKinney TX
  • Electricians McKinney TX
  • McKinney TX Electrician
  • Frisco Texas Electricians
  • Saint Paul Electrician
  • Electrician Frisco
  • Electrician McKinney Texas
  • Electricians Frisco TX
  • Electrician Garland TX
  • Electricians Garland Texas
  • Electricians in Garland TX
  • Allen Electricians
  • Electricians Bullhead City
  • Collin County Electricians
  • Electrical Contractors Plano TX
  • Collin County Electrical
  • Allen Texas Electrician
  • Allen TX Electricians
  • Electrician Celina TX
  • Electrician Wylie TX
  • Electrician Prosper TX
  • Prosper TX Electrician
  • Little Elm Electricians
  • Electrician Little Elm
  • The Colony Electrician
  • Princeton TX Electrician
  • Princeton Electrician
  • Weston Electrician

Electrical Installations & Retrofitting

  • How to Install a Dedicated Circuit
  • 240V Outlet Installation Near Me
  • 240 Volt Outlet Installation
  • 240 Volt Installation
  • Install Dedicated Circuit
  • Dedicated Electric
  • What is Lighting Retrofit

Home Generators & Surge Protection

  • Electric Generac Generator
  • Generac Texas
  • Vortexx Surge Protector

City-Specific Permits, Electricity & Inspections

  • City of Garland TX Permits
  • McKinney Electric
  • Garland Outlets
  • Outdoor Lighting Plano
  • Landscape Lighting Plano
  • US Ceiling Fans Installation
Scroll to Top