“Short circuit” is often used to refer to any electrical malfunction, but a short circuit specifically refers to a low-resistance connection between two points in an electric circuit. Rather than flowing along the normal path, the current travels through the area of low resistance. Short circuits are caused by a hot wire touching a neutral wire or another hot wire. They can also be caused by a break in a wire in the circuit.
Locating short circuits can be difficult because it may be in an appliance, or it may be in the internal wiring. Before trying to determine where the short circuit has occurred, be sure to shut off all power at the outlet and unplug all devices. Then reset the breaker (for information about how to do this, see “How to Reset Tripped Circuit Breakers”). If it trips immediately, the problem lies within the wiring. The problem may also be within the wiring if the breaker doesn’t trip right away but trips upon testing the fixed lighting. If the breaker still has not tripped, the short circuit lies within a device. Test devices individually to see which one contains the short circuit.
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