Why does my electric keep tripping?

Danger first

Call 999 straight away if there is fire or smoke, if someone has had an electric shock or is hurt, or if a vulnerable person is at risk. Keep away from anything wet, hot, smoking or damaged. Everything else on this page comes after that.

How to get the power back safely, step by step

Work through these steps in order and stop as soon as anything in the stop list below applies. You only ever use the switches on the front of the fuse box (also called the consumer unit), the plugs and switches of your own appliances, and your eyes.

1. Check it is not a power cut. If every switch on the board is still up and your neighbours' lights or the streetlights are out too, the problem is on the network, not in your home. Northern Powergrid's power cut advice gives the same order: neighbours and streetlights, then the trip switch, then 105. Ofgem says you can call 105 for free and be put through to your electricity network operator. If you have a prepayment meter, check it still has credit.
2. Note which switch is down and which rooms have no power, using a torch or your phone's light. The table further down explains what each kind of switch is telling you.
3. Unplug or switch off everything on the affected circuits. Pull plugs out at the wall. Switch hard-wired items off at their own wall switch, such as the cooker switch, the immersion heater switch and any outside lights. If an RCD tripped, that means everything on every circuit in its group. Do not touch anything wet, hot or damaged: go to the stop list instead.
4. If an RCD tripped, also switch off each circuit breaker (MCB) in its group. This lets you bring the circuits back individually later.
5. Reset the tripped switch once, with everything on it unplugged or switched off, by pushing it firmly up to the on position. If it will not stay on, or trips again straight away, stop: leave it off and call a registered electrician. Do not hold it up or force it.
6. Bring things back one at a time. Switch the circuit breakers back on one by one, then plug in and switch on your appliances one at a time, waiting a few minutes after each. Some faults only show once a heating element warms up or a motor starts. When it trips, the last thing you switched on is the likely cause. Do not push the switch straight back up. If a circuit trips the power while all its appliances are still unplugged, the fault is in that circuit's fixed wiring or a hard-wired item on it: leave that circuit breaker off, put the tripped switch back up once, and carry on with the remaining circuits. If it trips again, stop: leave it off and call a registered electrician.
7. Unplug the culprit, or switch it off at its own switch, and leave it off. With it disconnected, put the tripped switch back on. If it trips again, stop: leave it off and call a registered electrician. Never keep resetting it. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service advises that if you find a fault with an appliance, you stop using it immediately. Have it checked by the manufacturer or a qualified repairer before you use it again.
8. Write down what tripped, what was running, the time and the weather. If the trips come back, that record helps find the cause.

Never push a switch back up when nothing has changed, and never tape, wedge or hold a switch up to keep the power on. A switch that will not stay up is warning you about a fault, and forcing it removes the protection.

Stop: leave it off and call a registered electrician

Leave the tripped switch off and get a registered electrician if any of these apply. If you need to cut the power, switch off at the main switch only if it is safe to do so, and never touch a fuse box that is wet, hot or damaged. If there is fire or smoke, if someone has had an electric shock or is hurt, or if a vulnerable person is at risk, call 999.

• A burning smell, or smoke, from the fuse box, a socket, a switch or an appliance.
• Scorch marks or discolouration on the fuse box, a socket, a plug or a light fitting.
• Buzzing or crackling from the fuse box, a socket or a switch.
• A fuse box, socket, plug or switch that is hot to the touch.
• Water in or near the fuse box or a socket, for example from a leak, a flood or water dripping through a ceiling light. Electrical Safety First's flood advice is to get a registered electrician if there is any sign of water inside the consumer unit.
• The switch will not stay on, or trips again straight away, when you reset it once with everything unplugged.
• It trips again after you have disconnected the appliance you found, or with every hard-wired item switched off as well.
• The trips started soon after a nail, screw or drill went into a wall or floor, for example hanging a picture, fitting a shelf or laying flooring. Electrical Safety First names drilling, nailing or screwing into cables hidden in walls as a common DIY error. Do not pull the fixing out yourself.
• The trips come back over several days and you cannot find a culprit.

To find one near you, use Electrical Safety First's registered electrician finder. Never take the cover off the fuse box, unscrew a socket or light fitting, or swap a switch in the board for a bigger one.

RCD, MCB or RCBO: what each switch in your fuse box does

A fuse box, properly called a consumer unit, usually has a main switch and a row of smaller switches. Each type watches for a different problem, so knowing which one has tripped tells you where to look.

An RCD (residual current device) watches for electricity leaking out of a circuit to earth, for example through a damaged appliance, a damp socket or a nicked cable. When it senses leakage it switches off, and that is what protects you from a shock. One RCD often protects a group of circuits. Electrical Safety First says you can tell a consumer unit has an RCD by its 'Test' or 'T' button. You do not need to press that button to deal with a trip.

An MCB (miniature circuit breaker) protects one circuit, such as the kitchen sockets or the upstairs lights. It switches off when that circuit draws more current than it is designed for (an overload), or when a fault lets current take a short cut it should not (a short circuit). An MCB does not detect leakage.

An RCBO does both jobs for a single circuit. It switches off for leakage, and for an overload or a short circuit, but the switch alone will not tell you which. On a board with an RCBO for each circuit, one fault only takes out one circuit.

Split-load boards: why unrelated rooms go off together

On a split-load board the circuits are divided into groups, and each group sits behind its own RCD. When that RCD trips, every circuit in its group goes off, so the kitchen sockets and the upstairs lights can drop out together even though only one of them has the fault. The circuit breakers in that group usually stay up, which is how you tell an RCD trip from an MCB trip.

Why does my RCD keep tripping?

RCD tripping means current is escaping to earth somewhere in the group of circuits that RCD protects, not necessarily on the circuit you were using. The usual sources are water or damp getting into a fitting, a worn heating element in a kettle, immersion heater or washing machine, an outdoor socket or light, or several small leakages from normal appliances adding up. Work through the steps above to narrow it down, and stop at anything on the stop list.

Which switch has tripped, and what it points to

Is it dangerous when your fuse box keeps tripping?

The trip itself is the safety system doing its job. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service describes an RCD as "a sensitive device that quickly turns the electricity off when danger arises". The danger is the fault it is reacting to: current escaping to earth through a damaged appliance, cable or damp fitting, or a circuit being asked to carry more than it was built for.

Electrical Safety First says an RCD in your fuse box protects you from electric shocks if a product is faulty. It also says not to ignore burn marks, buzzing or crackling, fuses blowing, circuit-breakers tripping, or anything that feels hot to touch.

A single trip that you trace to one appliance is not an emergency, as long as that appliance stays unplugged. Repeated trips with no clear cause are a warning, not a nuisance to work around, and they need a registered electrician.

Fuse box tripping with nothing plugged in

First make sure nothing was missed. A fridge freezer behind a unit, a charger left in a socket or a plug-in air freshener is easy to overlook. So are hard-wired items with their own switch, such as the cooker, the immersion heater, an electric shower, an extractor fan or outside lights.

If the RCD or a circuit breaker still trips with all of that off, the fault is in something you cannot unplug: the fixed wiring, a socket or switch, a light fitting, or a hard-wired item. Finding it needs test equipment. Leave the switch off and call a registered electrician. If only one circuit causes the trip, leaving its circuit breaker off usually lets the rest of the house stay on while you wait.

Why does the RCD trip at night, or when nobody is using anything?

A trip when nobody is touching anything often comes from something that switches itself on. Examples include an immersion heater on a timer or an Economy 7 supply, storage heaters charging overnight, a fridge or freezer compressor starting up, outside lights on a dusk sensor, and a washing machine or dishwasher on a delayed start.

Keep a short log for a week or two: the date and time of each trip, which switch went, the weather, and what could have switched on around then. If the times line up with the start of your off-peak hours, the immersion heater or storage heaters are the first suspects. If they come in the early evening, look at outside lights. You can test a timed item by switching it off at its own switch for a few days, as long as you have another way to heat water. Do not leave a fridge or freezer off for days to test it: tell the electrician instead.

Why does the electric trip when it rains?

Trips after rain or heavy dew point to water getting into something outside: an outdoor socket, garden or wall lights, a pond pump, or the supply to a shed or garage. Electrical Safety First's garden advice is not to use outdoor electrical equipment until it is dry, even if there is only dew on the ground.

Unplug anything plugged in outside. If the outdoor sockets or lights have their own circuit breaker, switch it off and see whether the trips stop. Do not take apart an outdoor socket, light or junction box to look for water. If the trips stop while the outdoor circuit is off and come back when it rains, a registered electrician needs to check those fittings.

Rain can get indoors too. Water coming through a ceiling, especially around a light fitting, is a stop point: keep away from it and call a registered electrician.

Why do my lights keep tripping?

Lights normally have their own circuits, separate from the sockets. If a lighting circuit trips, switch off the lights in each room at the wall, reset the switch once, then switch rooms back on one at a time to find the one that causes it.

If it trips the moment you switch on one particular light, an old filament or halogen bulb blowing can sometimes be the cause. With that light switched off and the bulb cool, replace the bulb, then put the switch back up. If it trips again with a new bulb, leave that light off and call a registered electrician.

Then look, without touching, for the warning signs Electrical Safety First lists for light fittings: curled labels, discolouration, scorch marks, cracking or burn marks. Any of these needs a registered electrician.

Water from a leaking bath, shower or tank above can run into a ceiling light and trip the circuit. Recent work in the loft or under the floorboards can also damage a lighting cable. Do not take a fitting down to look: both need a registered electrician.

Kettles, immersion heaters and other common culprits

Appliances that heat water or hold water are common causes of an RCD trip, because a worn heating element or a leak can let current reach earth.

A kettle that trips the power as it boils, or after it has been overfilled or stood in a puddle, should be unplugged and not used again until it has been checked or replaced.

An immersion heater with a failing element can trip the RCD as it heats up, so the trips may line up with the immersion timer or Economy 7 hours. Switch it off at its own switch and leave it off. Replacing an immersion element is not a DIY job.

Too many high-power appliances at once can trip a circuit breaker through overload, especially through one extension lead. Electrical Safety First says most extension leads are rated at 13A, but some older ones and many cable reels may be rated at only 10A or less, so add up what you plug into one.

Washing machine, oven, tumble dryer or dishwasher tripping the electric

Electrolux's UK support article on dishwashers says that when an RCD trips or a fuse blows as the dishwasher switches on or off, the cause is leakage to the ground or a short circuit. It adds that several appliances on the same fuse circuit could cause the fuse to burn out, and warns never to connect appliances through an extension cable.

Treat a washing machine, tumble dryer, oven or cooker the same way. If one trips the power, unplug it, or switch a hard-wired oven or cooker off at its cooker switch, and leave it off. Do not take panels off to look inside. Changing the fuse in its plug will not cure a leak to earth. Have it checked by the manufacturer or a qualified repairer before you use it again.

When no single appliance is to blame

Sometimes the RCD only trips when several things are running, and each appliance seems fine on its own. Many appliances can let a very small amount of current flow to earth even when they work normally. On one RCD those small amounts can add together until it trips.

Typical clues are trips when the washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer run together, or when several heaters come on together on a cold evening. Note the pattern in your log and tell a registered electrician, who can measure the leakage and find out whether one appliance or circuit is worse than it should be.

What a registered electrician will check

Expect questions first: which switch trips, how often, what was running, and whether it follows rain or a timer. Your trip log answers most of them. Mention any recent DIY, new appliances or outdoor work too.

They will look over the consumer unit and test the RCD with an instrument to check it switches off as it should. For leakage faults the main test is an insulation resistance test. With the power off, the electrician checks each circuit for current leaking to earth, which narrows the fault down to one circuit and then to a cable run, fitting or hard-wired item. Suspect appliances can be tested too.

If the wiring is old or several faults turn up, they may suggest an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), a full inspection of the fixed wiring. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service advises having your wiring checked at least once every 10 years. Landlords have their own legal deadlines, set out in our EICR guide for landlords.

Does Smart Plan electrical cover help?

It depends on what is causing the trip. Smart Plan electrical cover covers certain fixed parts of your electrics, not the things you plug into them. Within the terms, it includes repair or replacement of the fuse box, light fittings, switches, sockets, isolation switches, and your immersion heater timer switch and immersion wiring. The cover limit is £500 including parts and labour, for a single 12-month period starting from when your agreement begins.

If a fault develops after your agreement starts in a socket, switch, light fitting or the fuse box itself, that is the kind of fault the module is for, subject to the exclusions below. Many causes of tripping sit outside it.

What electrical cover does not include

• The appliance causing the trip, such as a kettle, washing machine or oven, and any wiring that is part of an appliance or beyond an isolation switch (exclusion 5.2(e)). Appliances are a separate cover module with their own terms.
• The immersion heater element. The immersion heater timer switch and immersion wiring are included, but the element is not on the list of inclusions.
• Work needed because a circuit or the fuse box was overloaded from too many appliances (exclusion 5.2(i)), or because newly installed equipment overloaded the circuit (general exclusion 10.9).
• Rewiring a property where the existing circuit is not fit for purpose or faulty (exclusion 5.2(l)).
• Work where the cable or equipment is within the fabric of the building, such as wiring buried in walls or floors (general exclusion 10.5), and the cost of trace and access work to find a fault (10.24).
• Repairs relating to negligence, misuse or third party interference (10.6).
• A visit just to reset a tripped switch. Resetting equipment is a general exclusion (10.1).
• The electrical supply wire to the fuse box (5.2(h)) and any loss of supply (10.19). Power cuts go to 105, not to Smart Plan.
• Damage from fire, lightning, floods, storms or frost (10.3), and anything caused by freezing (10.21).
• Electric shower elements and wiring (5.2(d)), and light bulbs and fuses in plugs (5.2(b)).

Call-out fee, hours and repairs

A £95 call-out fee may apply, only in the situations set out in the terms.

One of those situations is the first 30 days of a new agreement. Your cover still applies in that time, but any call-out you request is subject to the £95 fee before the visit, plus payment in advance for any additional work (9.1).

Smart Plan call-outs take place Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00, unless it's an emergency breakdown. Work is carried out through a network of vetted engineers and tradespeople.

Smart Plan is a service plan, and the full cover plan terms and conditions set out exactly what is included.

If you are not on a plan and need an electrician now, we also arrange one-off paid electrical repairs.

Talk to us about electrical cover

Electrical cover is for faults that develop after your agreement starts, not a trip you are dealing with right now. Leave your details for a free call back and we will go through what the module includes and excludes before you decide. Our aim is to ring you back within one working day.

Related links

• Electrical cover
• Electrical repairs
• What to do in a power cut
• Power cut compensation
• EICR for landlords
• Washing machine stops mid cycle
• Find a registered electrician (Electrical Safety First)