In my breaker box, there is a constant hum noise. Every now and then, little puffs of smoke come out. The buzzing doesn't bother me much, but the smoke has a burnt smell to it. How do I get this to stop?
Geez.. Ever heard of the YELLOW PAGES? Call an electrician before your house burns down.
Hmmm, trolling are we?
On Wed 15 Jun 2005 07:45:44p, Eloise wrote in alt.home.repair:
Pull the main breaker. You shouldn't have any more problems.
Greetings,
You probably don't need an electrician. Turn off the breakers one by one until the buzzing stops. Turn the breaker you just turned off back on and ensure that the buzzing starts back up. You have now located the troublesome circuit. Since the buzzing is coming from INSIDE the box I would suggest that you start by replacing the breaker for the buzzing circuit. If that doesn't work write back.
Hope this helps, William
PS: If turning all breakers off doesn't stop the buzzing see what happens when you pull the meter and write back.
Eloise won't be writing back...she fried herself pulling the breaker.
Its the hampsters in there making the electicity. Once is awhile they stop for a cigarette break (explains the smoke) (they dont all stop at the same time of you would lose electric)
The humming you hear is the generator that connected to the hampster wheel. It humms when it runs.
Geeez
Sounds like a faulty flux capacitor. Or maybe the muffler bearings.
Call an exterminator to get rid of the yellowjacket nest in your breaker box?
Sounds like the breaker may not be making a good connection to the buss bar. Could be a bad breaker. In any case needs attentions ASAP.
Have seen a few times where the connection from the breaker to the bus bar starts heating up due to a loose connection sometimes starting to arc under load and will ruin the buss bar for that breaker location. IF other slots open caould install a new breaker in a new slot and most of teh time will be OK if no other problems in the panel or with other breakers.
However, Need to have a qualified electrician check.
Greetings,
Even if you don't have a new slot just try a new breaker in the same slot. The new breaker might be "tighter" than the old one.
William
Next to my box I have a small transformer that powers the doorbell. I was drilling holes in the beam above to run some wire and sawdust fell on the transformer. This thing then started to buzz. I vacuumed it off and the buzzing has gone away.
As for the smoke, call a pro.
If there was smoke coming from my breaker box, I would not be posting on a newsgroup, I'd be either calling the fire department, and/or an electrician (as an emergency call), or if I felt I was qualified, I would shut off the power and would be tearing the box apart right now, looking for the problem. I suggest you do one or more of the above, before you have a fire. You said the smoke smells burnt.... DUH, where does smoke come from? And where there's smoke, there's fire. It just isnt to the point of flame yet.
If you are going to attempt this yourself, disconnect the mains. Better yet, pull the meter. Take out each and every breaker and check for charred contacts, burnt wires, etc. This is not something you put off till next week, this is something you do now, or you shut off the power now, and leave it off till you do the repairs next week.
One other thing. Do you have any heavy loads, such as an AC? Does the smoke occur when this device is on? Look at those breakers first. Then check all of them.
Mark
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