The garage door at my girlfriends house keeps tripping the breaker. Only thing on the circuit is the opener and a flourcent light. It worked fine the other day. It rained very hard last night and all yesterday, the home inspector told her the ground for the garage was not optimal.

So in here now I manually opened the door. But that was after I flipped the breaker and it opened 6" before tripping. Now I can't flip the breaker to on without it instantly tripping. I have it left off.


Other issue is moving her car out. I don't have the key and you need the key to put it into neutral. Stupid idea if you ask me.

Don: There should be a(n) "Emergency Break-away" on the t-bar attached to the drive and the door. Break that open and the door should be able to be moved manually. Break the drive/door apart and SEE if you need a lot of energy to open/close the door.

If you do, then something on the door is misaligned or the carrier-spring is un-sprung (the item that assists the user to raise and lower 200-300 #s of wood).

If the door is working fine, then have a licensed/bonded electrician come out and check to see what's wrong with the circuit that's powering the door.

A garage-door quicky-fix is not worth the house it could burn down.

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Nothing is on that circuit now and it still continues to trip. Bad breaker?

if youre handy, pull the main and then pull the panel off and swap in a different same value breaker to see if it works.

__________________

1982 300CD Turbo (Otis, "ups & downs") parts for sale
2003 TJ with Hemi (to go anywhere, quickly) sold
2001 Excursion Powerstroke (to go dependably)
1970 Mustang 428SCJ (to go fast)
1962 Corvette LS1 (to go in style)
2001 Schwinn Grape Krate 10spd (if all else fails)

You can do that too...but do yourself a favor before you go get that replacement breaker...

Check the breaker manufacturer's website and see if they have a "conterfeit" product identification page. I believe "Square D" has one. Make sure the replacement breaker you're getting is truly an "original" and not a fake. I won't name names, but I've pulled two out my facility because they were fake and I just happened to run across both simply by accident. What tripped (sic) me off is that both seemed a bit too "hot" for the load they were carrying. Long story, not told, is that I chucked them (after hammering them to pieces...so no one else would use them by "mistake" again) and went to a real electronics ware-house and got the correct/proper breakers.

Don't buy cheap...buy correct.

Good luck!

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

The motor in the opener could have failed. I'd confirm how much power it is drawing. Plug it into another outlet with a power strip, those usually have a 10 amp or so breaker built into them.

-J

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

x2

This is the way to proceed.

Determine if there is a mechanical bind. If not then it is electrical.

Determine if it is in the house wiring or the door unit. Unplug/disconnect the opener and energize the opener. Does the breaker trip? Then run an extension cord and connect the opener to a different circuit? etc.

You should be able to very quickly isolate the problem.

I know everyone knows this but I must say, "Be careful with the 110/220 in the house wiring. You don't want to make a mistake."

I do not like working with 110/220.. It's on a 110 15 amp circuit. Tomorrow I will go back early, get an extension cord and plug it into a different part of the house (detached garage at a town home) make sure its 15 amp and see if it works to isolate any issues. The garage door worked fine the last few days and such.

I'm thinking the circuit breaker is at fault since the ground is questionable.

Some genius bent the lock rods for the garage door so I had to bend them back to something resembling straight and adjust the riders so it will latch. I un did the safety latch so the garage can be opened manually and locked properly.


I'll talk to her see what she wants to do. But best thing is of course have an electrician come out and deal with the circuit breaker. I am confident enough to replace it but I'm not a fan of 110 volts and the related amps. As long as I can disconnect the main electrical service breaker/switch I am safe. I always triple check when I work on anything electric related that I have control of the power.



Again, I think the pro should deal with it. I think there is a short in the circuit somewhere.

How it trips if nothing is on that circuit? It trips immediately when you try to turn it on, i.e. it would not stay in ON position? It is possible that the breaker is faulty or you have a massive 'short' in the wiring. You can remove the breaker and then measure for short downstream.

Safety interlock is in most modem cars. You cannot shift gears without the key and stepping on the brake. This is to make sure kid does not knock the car into drive by mistake with engine running. Kid got killed in the past.

Good luck.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

If I reset the breaker it immediately trips. I think it may be shorting out at the ground.

It is shorting to ground all right.

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Jim

Yup. I'd still try plugging it into another outlet through a smaller breaker (power strip) and see if the problem is the opener or the wiring to the plug. 110 won't kill ya

-J

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

Yeah I know. I'm going to pull the panel and j
Inspect the ground. Just need to verify it's not hot! I'll do that tomorrow.

Alrighty, tomorrow morning I'll be back at her house. I need to figure out how to cut power to that service panel that is on the garage. Then inspect the ground strip, clean the contact points and put it back together. As well as plug in the garage to a different outlet and see what happens.

Don- If the breaker is tripping immediately when you reset it you have a dead short. Try removing the black or red wire that is landed in the breaker that is tripping, then reset the breaker. If it resets then the problem is in the circuit downstream of the breaker. The fact that you had heavy rain is a clue I would use. Look outside the garage at any lights or plugs that may have water intrusion. A fixture or receptacle box filled with water will cause a dead short. A "less than optimal ground" will not cause a breaker to trip, nor will a loose ground wire in the panel. A ground wire does nothing except when there is a short so the fact that the breaker is tripping pretty much rules out any problems with your grounding system. Plug the opener into a receptacle on another circuit as suggested, and if that breaker doesn't trip then the problem is not in with the opener. The next thing I would check is the receptacle that the opener was plugged in to. It shouldn't be on a 15 amp circuit (20 amp is code) so chances are whoever wired the garage wasn't a "craftsman", and probably used the push in connectors on the receptacle and they could be burnt up. Also- make sure you check everything to see what doesn't work when the breaker is off- there could be a fountain out in the yard, or a receptacle somewhere near the garage that is related to the circuit causing the problem. NEVER trust the labeling of the panel! Good luck!

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1984 300TD 1981 240D