Bought a Siemens AFCI breaker off fleaBay for the bedroom circuit, installed it last night. All appears to be well, except when turned on, there's a faint audible buzzing coming from the breaker. Is this normal?
thanks,
nate
Probably, my Square D QO AFCIs make a noticeable whine rather like a switching power supply which is probably what it is.
Pete C.
IMHO, questions that come to mind:
Some AFCI's I've installed have a 'electric' hum. Which can be made very loud depending on the panel's 'solidness'. If the service panal is loose, might want to make sure that is fixed as well.
Tell us what you decide on doing...
later,
tom @
If by that you mean do I have the necessary skills, tools, and intelligence to install a circuit breaker without making a dog's breakfast of it, then yes. If you are asking am I officially a master electrician, then no. But I'm not about to pay someone for a job so simple.
yes, they do all appear to be so.
It's definitely not loud, just audible. I didn't know if it was normal for them to make any noise at all, as all other breakers I've installed are dead silent except when they're actually tripping. But it appears that this is normal from the responses I've received so I won't worry any more about it. It just seemed like a good idea to add it since a) it's cheap and easy and oh, yeah, required by code now and b) the circuit that serves the question is mostly 60 year old wire, so any extra protection is probably a Good Thing.
I still haven't started running my ground wires yet to the two original receptacle circuits still existing, but I may get started tonight if SWMBO feels up to working the fish tape. What a fun way to spend a Friday evening, but I would like to start setting up bookshelves etc. at some point in the near future.
nate
CALL A PRIEST! You are in danger of the eternal....
Oh, wait, it's a breaker. Nevermind.
Oh I agree with installing AFCI. My house was build in 1993, so none were installed when I moved in. So far all the bedrooms are covered, and as money becomes available, guess that depends on the results of Nov 7th, I will be purchasing more to protect other areas of my house.
Did you have to lenthen the 'neutrals' and if so, how did you do it?
later,
tom @
Haven't had any buzzing with Leviton brand. So either bad device or bad brand/model :)
Hi, Something loose internally or xternally.
Nope, the neutrals were landed on terminal strips that lined up with the breakers so there wasn't much moving about to be done. Had I had to do so I would probably have just used a wire nut unless there's a better method for doing this.
nate
Hi, Something loose internally or externally. Or verloaded.
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