What causes a motor to trip a breaker?
What causes a motor to trip a breaker? A circuit breaker will trip if a power surge exceeds its capacity. A circuit breaker will trip when the total current draw exceeds the breaker's capacity. The current surge when a motor starts can trip the breaker. Shorts, ground faults, rusty connections and extension cords can also cause breakers to trip. Will a dead short trip a breaker? The dreaded dead short. A dead short is when an electrical circuit has zero resistance. This can result from the "hot" electric feed coming in contact with a metal object, like a metal outlet...