Stupid electrical/fuse question

[Katzowtadbag]

I have a garage door opener and an outside light wired to my detached garage. The fuse is in my house.

When I came home from work, the garage door was out and the light didn't work. I checked the fuse and, sure enough, it had been tripped. When I reset it, everything worked fine.

What are some possible causes of the fuse tripping, beyond my clicking the remote control? It was approximately 10 degrees outside, but otherwise I don't have any explanation why the fuse would be tripped.

What things should I be examining? I apologize for the rudimentary nature of my issue.

Thanks.

[CJT]

generally, anything which, if it deformed due to thermal stress, might cause a short

ask your neighbors if there were any power surges

consider what else might be on that circuit

[buffalobill]

failing circuit breaker or resettable fuse. any loose or poor electrical connection or device can cause an overheat/overload. failed insulation on garage service power line got wet, shorted. rain water getting into older light fixture. somebody made toast and overloaded the same circuit.

[Ken]

I don't know if this is your problem, but when the temperature gets really low garage doors often do not move freely. It is possible that your door opener drew too much current when trying to open the door due to the increased load it saw when the mechanical parts got cold. I would make sure the hinges, rollers, and any moving parts were well lubricated and move freely. Even ice at the door bottom where it meets the driveway could be responsible. Just a thought.

[cover]

[dnoyeB]

Both lights and motors are inductive loads that draw lots of current during startup. Both lights and motors draw more current in cold weather (for different reasons).

If its not an > Had anyone been running the door up and down several times in

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm, Is the door move freely with motor drive disengaged? Any binding or such? Is the breaker(fuse?) good? I can play with my door up/down many times, breaker does not trip.

[jhill]

Is it on its own breaker, or did someone wire another load to the same circuit breaker in addition? Also could be that the breaker is just 'tired' and needs to be replaced.