20 Most Recent Siemens 20Amp 1-pole arc-fault circuit breaker Questions & Answers

If the Siemens 20Amp 1-pole arc-fault circuit breaker is wired correctly and there are no problems with the circuit that it is protecting, when first turning it to the ON position, the amber light will come on then go out after about 10 seconds or so.

If the breaker is wired incorrectly or there is a fault in the circuit the amber light will stay on.

When you relaced the light switch, did you use the "quick stab" holes on the back or the side screws? The arc fault breakers can trip if using the quick stab holes on the back because they may not make a tight contact. This could be represented if the circuit breaker trips when the light switch is turned from "off" to "on". Try connecting using the screws on the side of the device instead.

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Yeah, as long as you run your GFI's on the same circuit then you would probably be good. I say "probably" because I do not know your local codes, but for places I know it would be. Hope I could help.

They're actually pretty simple to hook up. First make sure the new breaker is in the off position, then put it in place like a normal breaker the white wire from the breaker goes to the nuetral/ground bar. The white wire that goes with the black wire goes to the breaker and the black wire goes to the breaker like it normally would. ( the white wire usually goes on the bottom terminal of the breaker)

Sounds like a bad breaker to me. I've had alot of problems with them being bad from the factory. Newer product they still haven't worked out all the kinks yet...

No! I know for sure out here in California it's NO for sure. But as a licensed electrician over the years, anytime you have a device (such as a motor) that is plugged into a receptacle that has arc fault protection, ground fault protection, etc. - you run into the problem of these breakers tripping at a high rate. Now, I'm not sure why this arc fault protection breaker was put in the first place? But I'd be interested in hearing the reasoning behind it (such as for natural gas, etc). A regular circuit breaker should be sufficient enough, and if you have any further question's, etc. - feel free to contact me again. Good Luck to you, and I hope this has helped you. - Jim  

I have been an electrician for 11 years and when these breakers came out in 2005 what a nightmare. These circuit breakers are extremely sensitive. They are designed to sense loose connections and to protect your house from fires caused by them. By increasing the load (ie. more lights or tv) it increases the size of the "arc" created by the loose connection and the circuit breaker trips before the 20 amp maximum. What I normally find as the cause is a loose connection in one of the receptacles or switches on the circuit. A lot of times, installers will use the "quick stab" inserts on the back of the outlets or switches instead of the side screws. Usually, if you "side screw" all of the receptacles and switches it will resolve the nuisance tripping. One other item that can cause them to trip is too many dimmers on the arc circuit but it doesn't sound like that is the problem you're having.

It's possible that the first breaker that you said does not trip - it could be that breaker is failing to trip on a bad circuit. That is, it could be you have a bad circuit but that first breaker is not detecting it and pretends everything is OK. If your new breaker trips on the first breaker's circuit, the curcuit it probably bad and the breaker in not working properly. The most common problem for failed circuits is a stray ground wire in a box somewhere in the curcuit resting against a hot or neutral wire. You'll have to take apart every connection on that curcuit to find it. Not fun.

Arc fault breakers are definitely a pain. First make sure the receptacles are made for a 20 amp circuit. Second vacuums, Curlers,and most appliances will trip your breaker since they create an arc or a short if you will to operate. That is exactly what these breakers are made for. To stop the arc. Apparently they never really thought the whole arc fault thing through. As per code in most of arizona you only need this breaker in bedrooms where this type of appliance is not used. They also are more prone to popping so make sure you aren't running something on each of the receptacles at the same time

What is happening is the white wire that comes off the breaker is probably too close to another neutral or too close to a hot wire that is on one of the other circuits that will make it trip when you use a drill etc... Check to see if the coiled up white wire off of the breaker is not near a hot in the panel. I have had lots of arc fault breakers trip for that reason.

So likely you have a 3 wire dryer cord and a 3 wire branch circuit. The dryer neutral is bonded to the dryer frame and the third wire of the dryer plug.

There were code exceptions for dryers and stoves that allowed timer motor circuits to use the neutral as a current carrier and frame ground.

To use the GFCI for the dryer you will be required to add an additional conductor (new 3 wire+ground cable) and separate the neutral to frame bond in the dryer and use a 4 wire dryer cord.

Likely you also have some GFCI single pole breakers and replaced ungrounded receptacles with grounded (another code exception) and they work OK. The dryer and stove are different as there is current on the third wire where as on the ungrounded receptacle GFCI there is no 3rd wire.

In breif, the neutral (current carrier conductor) from the dryer must be isolated from the dryer frame and dryer ground (fault current carrier conductor).

Or just leave it the way it was.

Check with local authority with jurisdiction for local code requirements.

you may have agfi outlet in the circuit. the outlet has 2 push buttons in the middle. it maybe an outside outlet that is tripped some contractors hook up the circiut like that

https://www.google.com/search?q=+Wiring+diagram+siemens+se20t594eu&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Check garvin Industries website. they offer a multiple of different lock systems for breakers

It sounds like the breaker at the metering base is tripped. You will need to locate the meter base outside to find the breaker. You can also call your local utility company service provider and report a power outage. they typically will come out free of charge to verify power.

Yes it's correct the Ground Bar connects to the metal box, scrape some paint off to make a good bond, this also requires 4 wires to be correct, green ground, white insulated neutral, black L1 and red L2

Don't think there is one that small. Are you asking the right question?