What would cause an arcade to trip a breaker?

squall280

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So today I was playign a game that i have been playing on and off for a long time. All of a sudden it trips the breaker. I put it back on and it did it again. Left it alone for awhile did it one more time and it worked. Nothign else was pluged in or workign at all during this time. Very strange.
 
to much draw on the circuit caused by a short or overloading the circuit (with other things plugged in, tho since you say nothing else was on that circuit). could be old wiring also and once it warmed up the resistance went hectic causing an over draw of power.
 
Some games have MOV's (metal oxide varistors) on the input. They SHOULD blow the game fuse when they go, however sometimes your house breaker is more sensitive/quicker. Especially if someone has the wrong fuse in the cab.

These blow due to surges, they are designed to protect the game. In some games, these will be in a metal casing. Usually somewhere around where the power enters the game.

They look like a ceramic disc capacitor and are usually around the size of a quarter. Remove one leg from the circuit, if the MOV is shorted, replace it. RadioShack carries one that is a suitable substitute for most, if not all games.
 
How many games are in this arcade? That may be what's doing it...
 
I can only run 3 games at a time or 1 window AC unit and 1 cab before I trip breakers. Sucks but only for a few more years hopefully.

The breaker itself could be bad also. It will fatigue with time and will handle fewer amps. You could just replace the suspect breaker for a few bucks and see how it goes. Remember that breaker may control outlets in multiple rooms. You may want to map out which outlets are controlled by which breakers and map out your appliance use.
 
I can only run 3 games at a time or 1 window AC unit and 1 cab before I trip breakers. Sucks but only for a few more years hopefully.

The breaker itself could be bad also. It will fatigue with time and will handle fewer amps. You could just replace the suspect breaker for a few bucks and see how it goes. Remember that breaker may control outlets in multiple rooms. You may want to map out which outlets are controlled by which breakers and map out your appliance use.

I had issues with the breaker my games are on. I would have 3-4 games running and it would trip the breaker. I knew the breaker could handle more, so I went out and got a new breaker, slapped it in, and now I'm *cringe* running 12 games on that 1 breaker. I also have a few lights on that breaker, and can run the vacuum while the games/lights are running.

Moral of the story, I guess... replace the breaker and check again.

FWIW, I changed the breaker out with the same value breaker. NEVER go up in amperage on the breaker just to keep the machines running, unless you are SURE that the breaker that's in there now is the wrong value.
 
So today I was playign a game that i have been playing on and off for a long time. All of a sudden it trips the breaker. I put it back on and it did it again. Left it alone for awhile did it one more time and it worked. Nothign else was pluged in or workign at all during this time. Very strange.

You power cord have the Ground Plug?
 
Many times you can't just replace the breakers because that type/brand may not be made anymore. You can buy used, yes, used breakers for older boxes/homes.

I needed to 15 amp breakers becuase I was removing a 30 amp 220v. Bought two previously used breakers off ebay that were salvaged, or recycled and all was good.

Do a google search and you will find all kinds of used breakers on the market.

Now the other newer box in my house has my arcade on it. I added a dedicated 20 amp line with new breaker for the machines.


In your case, I would not blame ther breaker for the game being on and that was the only thing being on at the time. I would blame the wiring in the wall, seems to me it cant handle the load, built too much resistance up and got warm because of it.

Any time I run wire I always use larger gauge even if its still a 15 amp breaker. Its harder to bend into the boxes but its piece of mind big time.

An example of warm wires would be if you take a 150 foot extension cord and run a leaf blower on it. If the guage wire is too small, it will be warm to the touch (resistance again) at the end of the cord going into the outlet. Some household vacuums do this too with their cords.

At any rate, you need to update the wiring and brekaer IMO.
 
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FWIW, I changed the breaker out with the same value breaker. NEVER go up in amperage on the breaker just to keep the machines running, unless you are SURE that the breaker that's in there now is the wrong value.

And the only way you can be sure is if you did (or inspected) ALL the wiring. I've seen some odd hacked-up situations in older homes where a run is 12 guage half-way across the room then 14 the rest of the way. If I had looked at the 12 gauge wire at the box and thought 'hey, I can go to a 20 amp breaker!' I'd have been creating a hazard. (That run also had grounding problems, so you know, it's not like the screw-up who put it in wasn't consistent in their screwing up).

Many times you can't just replace the breakers because that type/brand may not be made anymore. You can buy used, yes, used breakers for older boxes/homes.

I needed to 15 amp breakers becuase I was removing a 30 amp 220v. Bought two previously used breakers off ebay that were salvaged, or recycled and all was good.

Do a google search and you will find all kinds of used breakers on the market.

Ouch. I didn't know there was any breaker style that was out of production. That sucks. Do be careful when buying salvaged breakers - there have been a couple of cases over the years of 'fake' breakers coming in from China and causing problems (like 'not tripping during overload' problems). It's unlikely that these have all been found and cleaned out, so take care.
 
The breaker itself could be bad also. It will fatigue with time and will handle fewer amps.

Usually fewer, sometimes more :O Breakers are actually designed to be used like fuses. Trip once, then replace. The switch is a convenience feature so you can turn off a circuit, or re-energize it to help isolate the fault before replacing the breaker. No one does that, but when a circuit gets wonky it helps to remember that a breaker may be the problem.

NEVER go up in amperage on the breaker just to keep the machines running, unless you are SURE that the breaker that's in there now is the wrong value.

Good advice, and even then I would exercise extreme caution. Unless you wired (or traced) the *entire* run, you can never be sure what's downstream. I often run much heavier wire (10ga) to 15A outlets in my wood shop. Not because I need a 30A outlet, but because it reduces resistance to the motors and they last longer. If you just looked in the panel, you would think the 15A breaker was too small.
 
Ouch. I didn't know there was any breaker style that was out of production. That sucks. Do be careful when buying salvaged breakers - there have been a couple of cases over the years of 'fake' breakers coming in from China and causing problems (like 'not tripping during overload' problems). It's unlikely that these have all been

found and cleaned out, so take care.

Yup, there are many breakers no longer made. I've also heard stories where home owners need more breakers and becuase they are out of production, end up getting an all new box and breakers.

In my case the salvaged ones I bought were not fake, but nice originals.

But you bring up a valid point with the China stuff. Harbor Frieght sold automotve fuses at one time that would not blow, thus caused fires in vehicles! OUCH! GM put out a letter to dealers with pics making them aware of these junk fuses out there.
Ill never buy fuses from there...
 
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But you bring up a valid point with the China stuff. Harbor Frieght sold automotve fuses at one time that would not blow, thus caused fires in vehicles! OUCH! GM put out a letter to dealers with pics making them aware of these junk fuses out there.
Ill never buy fuses from there...

Yea, I try not to cheap out on certain safety-related items. Though there are never guarantees - a lot of commodity stuff is handled by multiple distributors, and there's lots of ways that a good-looking fake can make it into the legit supply chain.
 
Also when you replace the breaker, replace the socket as well. Corroded connectors, and week tension on the plug can cause problems as well. And yes, breakers, break down when they trip. They will start tripping at lower and lower current values over time for each time they trip.
 
CHECK YOUR BREAKER BOX.

If ANY of the writing says "Federal Pacific" then REPLACE THE WHOLE THING!

Those are WELL known for tripping early and for NOT TRIPPING and burning down the house.

The best thing you can do is to go buy a clamp type amp meter and put it over the wire going into the suspect breaker and see what the amperage is when it trips. That will tell you if it's tripping at the right current value.

But again, if ANYONE on the forums has that type of breaker panel and breakers they MUST replace them.
 
Also when you replace the breaker, replace the socket as well. Corroded connectors, and week tension on the plug can cause problems as well. And yes, breakers, break down when they trip. They will start tripping at lower and lower current values over time for each time they trip.

Good point. When my HVAC kept tripping the breaker, the problem was a little oxidation on the wire. The tech pulled the wire, sanded/scuffed it a little, re-inserted, and re-torqued the lugs. Breaker temp dropped from 125deg to normal and it hasn't tripped since.

Looking back on it, I should have thought of that. Breakers will trip on heat as well as load, and it doesn't take much added resistance for a crowded circuit breaker to get too warm.
 
Good point. When my HVAC kept tripping the breaker, the problem was a little oxidation on the wire. The tech pulled the wire, sanded/scuffed it a little, re-inserted, and re-torqued the lugs. Breaker temp dropped from 125deg to normal and it hasn't tripped since.

Looking back on it, I should have thought of that. Breakers will trip on heat as well as load, and it doesn't take much added resistance for a crowded circuit breaker to get too warm.

If the lugs are discolored from the heat they must be replaced.
 
If the lugs are discolored from the heat they must be replaced.

I checked and neither the lugs or the wire was discolored. It was just running a little hot, building up heat, then tripping. After a cool down period it would run 8-12 hours then trip again.
 
CHECK YOUR BREAKER BOX.

If ANY of the writing says "Federal Pacific" then REPLACE THE WHOLE THING!

Those are WELL known for tripping early and for NOT TRIPPING and burning down the house.

The best thing you can do is to go buy a clamp type amp meter and put it over the wire going into the suspect breaker and see what the amperage is when it trips. That will tell you if it's tripping at the right current value.

But again, if ANYONE on the forums has that type of breaker panel and breakers they MUST replace them.

Here's a nice page that discusses the FP problems, as well as the counterfeit Square-D breakers issue: http://www.philadelphiaelectric.com/recall__federal_pacific_breaker.htm
 
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