Safety switch keeps tripping: what homeowners should do safely

Safe first steps you can take

These checks only involve unplugging appliances and using the switch as intended. If anything feels unsafe at any point, stop.

1. Make sure your hands are dry and you are not standing on a wet floor.
2. Turn off and unplug appliances on the area that lost power (for example the laundry or kitchen).
3. Open the switchboard door and flick the tripped safety switch back to on, once.
4. If it stays on, plug appliances back in one at a time, waiting a moment between each.
5. If it trips when a particular appliance goes back in, leave that appliance unplugged and have it checked or replaced.

Common causes of a tripping safety switch

Appliances with heating elements are frequent culprits: kettles, toasters, washing machines, dishwashers and old heaters. Moisture is another. Outdoor power points, garden lighting and anything exposed to rain can trip a switch after wet weather.

Sometimes the problem is in the fixed wiring rather than an appliance. Damaged cables, a worn power point, water getting into a light fitting or an ageing circuit can all cause leakage. Those are not things to investigate yourself. One Espire customer had a fault that kept tripping all the power in their laundry, and the fix needed an electrician to diagnose the circuit properly.

When to stop and call an electrician

Call a licensed electrician rather than continuing to reset the switch if:

• It trips straight away even with everything on that circuit unplugged.
• It trips repeatedly with no obvious pattern.
• You notice a burning smell, buzzing, warm power points or scorch marks.
• Lights or power points stop working in other parts of the house.
• The tripping started after storms, flooding or a leak.

What an electrician will do

An electrician will use proper test equipment to narrow the fault to a circuit, appliance or section of wiring, then explain the fix. If your home has only one or two safety switches covering everything, they may also talk to you about whether additional protection or a switchboard upgrade would reduce how much of the house loses power when something trips.

If the fault is urgent, such as no power to a fridge or a section of the home that is unsafe, our emergency electrician page explains how to reach us. For an ongoing pattern of trips, an electrical safety inspection can look at the bigger picture.

Keep a quick record

Before you call, note which switch tripped, the time, the weather, and what was running. This simple record often shortens the time it takes to find the cause, which is good news for your quote. We work with homes across Diamond Creek, Watsonia and the wider northern suburbs.

Frequently asked questions