paul286•10d agoProlific Poster

A simple ground fault in a 1970s panel turned into a two-hour hunt

I was at a house in Springfield, the kind with that old Zinsco panel. The breaker kept tripping on a kitchen circuit. I figured it was a bad appliance. After pulling the fridge and dishwasher, I found nothing. It turned out to be a tiny nick in the wire inside a junction box behind the cabinets, something a mouse had done years ago. Finding that spot took way longer than fixing it. Anyone else have a story about a fault that was hiding in plain sight?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace_gonzalez4610d agoTop Commenter

Honestly used to think those old panels were the main problem every time. Tbh this story about the mouse chew in the wall changed my mind. Now I check the whole run, even if it looks fine, because a tiny spot like that can waste your whole afternoon.

wells.karen10d ago

That's a solid point from @grace_gonzalez46. How do you even start checking a whole run without it taking forever? I get stuck because pulling everything apart feels like its own job. Maybe it's just me but I never know what to look for besides the obvious damage. Do you have a quick method or just go inch by inch?

norab2110d ago

Nah, I just check the ends and any spots that look rough. Karen, you're overthinking it.