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Author Stupid electrical/fuse question
Katzowtadbag

2005-12-19, 10:21 pm

I have a garage door opener and an outside light wired to my detached
garage. The fuse is in my house.

When I came home from work, the garage door was out and the light didn't
work. I checked the fuse and, sure enough, it had been tripped. When I
reset it, everything worked fine.

What are some possible causes of the fuse tripping, beyond my clicking the
remote control? It was approximately 10 degrees outside, but otherwise I
don't have any explanation why the fuse would be tripped.

What things should I be examining? I apologize for the rudimentary nature
of my issue.

Thanks.


CJT

2005-12-19, 11:21 pm

Katzowtadbag wrote:
> I have a garage door opener and an outside light wired to my detached
> garage. The fuse is in my house.
>
> When I came home from work, the garage door was out and the light didn't
> work. I checked the fuse and, sure enough, it had been tripped. When I
> reset it, everything worked fine.
>
> What are some possible causes of the fuse tripping, beyond my clicking the
> remote control? It was approximately 10 degrees outside, but otherwise I
> don't have any explanation why the fuse would be tripped.
>
> What things should I be examining? I apologize for the rudimentary nature
> of my issue.
>
> Thanks.
>
>

generally, anything which, if it deformed due to thermal stress, might
cause a short

ask your neighbors if there were any power surges

consider what else might be on that circuit

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buffalobill

2005-12-20, 10:21 am

failing circuit breaker or resettable fuse.
any loose or poor electrical connection or device can cause an
overheat/overload.
failed insulation on garage service power line got wet, shorted.
rain water getting into older light fixture.
somebody made toast and overloaded the same circuit.

Ken

2005-12-20, 10:21 am

Katzowtadbag wrote:

> I have a garage door opener and an outside light wired to my detached
> garage. The fuse is in my house.
>
> When I came home from work, the garage door was out and the light didn't
> work. I checked the fuse and, sure enough, it had been tripped. When I
> reset it, everything worked fine.
>
> What are some possible causes of the fuse tripping, beyond my clicking the
> remote control? It was approximately 10 degrees outside, but otherwise I
> don't have any explanation why the fuse would be tripped.
>
> What things should I be examining? I apologize for the rudimentary nature
> of my issue.
>
> Thanks.
>
>


I don't know if this is your problem, but when the temperature gets
really low garage doors often do not move freely. It is possible that
your door opener drew too much current when trying to open the door due
to the increased load it saw when the mechanical parts got cold. I
would make sure the hinges, rollers, and any moving parts were well
lubricated and move freely. Even ice at the door bottom where it meets
the driveway could be responsible. Just a thought.
cover

2006-04-04, 4:21 am

Had anyone been running the door up and down several times in
succession? Motors generally pull many times their running amperage
when starting so if someone happened to be running the door open and
closed many times in a short period of time and the circuit was
already taxed, your breaker might trip.

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:01:44 -0500, "Katzowtadbag"
<cat1@katzowtadbag.net> wrote:

>I have a garage door opener and an outside light wired to my detached
>garage. The fuse is in my house.
>
>When I came home from work, the garage door was out and the light didn't
>work. I checked the fuse and, sure enough, it had been tripped. When I
>reset it, everything worked fine.
>
>What are some possible causes of the fuse tripping, beyond my clicking the
>remote control? It was approximately 10 degrees outside, but otherwise I
>don't have any explanation why the fuse would be tripped.
>
>What things should I be examining? I apologize for the rudimentary nature
>of my issue.
>
>Thanks.
>

dnoyeB

2006-04-04, 10:21 am

Both lights and motors are inductive loads that draw lots of current
during startup. Both lights and motors draw more current in cold
weather (for different reasons).

If its not an incandescent light then it may not have as high a startup
load. But if they both came on at the same time it can be a heavy load.
Either way I wouldn't expect the circuit breaker to trip. But it
could happen.

cover wrote:[color=darkred]
> Had anyone been running the door up and down several times in
> succession? Motors generally pull many times their running amperage
> when starting so if someone happened to be running the door open and
> closed many times in a short period of time and the circuit was
> already taxed, your breaker might trip.
>
> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:01:44 -0500, "Katzowtadbag"
> <cat1@katzowtadbag.net> wrote:
>
>


--
Thank you,



"Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor
man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard." Ecclesiastes 9:16
Tony Hwang

2006-04-04, 12:21 pm

cover wrote:[color=darkred]
> Had anyone been running the door up and down several times in
> succession? Motors generally pull many times their running amperage
> when starting so if someone happened to be running the door open and
> closed many times in a short period of time and the circuit was
> already taxed, your breaker might trip.
>
> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:01:44 -0500, "Katzowtadbag"
> <cat1@katzowtadbag.net> wrote:
>
>
Hmmm,
Is the door move freely with motor drive disengaged? Any binding or
such? Is the breaker(fuse?) good? I can play with my door up/down many
times, breaker does not trip.

jhill

2006-04-04, 10:21 pm

Is it on its own breaker, or did someone wire another load to the same
circuit breaker in addition?
Also could be that the breaker is just 'tired' and needs to be replaced.

"cover" <coverlandNOSPAM914@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:127432thaiguug5khbcoiju4tv2ckqhf0f@4ax.com...[color=darkred]
> Had anyone been running the door up and down several times in
> succession? Motors generally pull many times their running amperage
> when starting so if someone happened to be running the door open and
> closed many times in a short period of time and the circuit was
> already taxed, your breaker might trip.
>
> On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:01:44 -0500, "Katzowtadbag"
> <cat1@katzowtadbag.net> wrote:
>


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