X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: tr6flyer on June 29, 2010, 08:46:36 PM
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I just received a few XPPF filters and plugged my DirectTV box into it and plugged it into the wall. A few seconds later a circuit breaker tripped, on a different circuit from where I plugged in the filter. There was nothing going on anywhere else in the house as I was the only one home. (BTW: the TV is plugged into the back of the DirectTV box.) I unplugged the filter and reset the breaker and everything is working fine now with the filter unplugged. Any thoughts? I am a little afraid to plug the filter back in. Did I exceed the 5amp limit of the filter? If so, did I ruin the filter? OR, more likely, is the filter faulty?
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I just received a few XPPF filters and plugged my DirectTV box into it and plugged it into the wall. A few seconds later a circuit breaker tripped, on a different circuit from where I plugged in the filter. There was nothing going on anywhere else in the house as I was the only one home. (BTW: the TV is plugged into the back of the DirectTV box.)
Did I exceed the 5amp limit of the filter?
Unless you have some problems with your homes neutral wires, a completely different breaker tripping isn't the fault of the filter. As you said, (you are sure of this aren't you?) it is "on a [completely] different circuit". Try the filter again.
If the breaker trips again, either you have a poltergeist or your breakers are labelled wrong. In that event, the filter is probably faulty.
As far as exceeding the 5 amp filter rating...check how much current the TV and the Direct TV box takes...is it over 5 amp? If only watts is given for the either of the devices, divide the number of watts by 120 to get amps.
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If you had a light overloaded the XPPF for a long period. You would know it. It would get warm and maybe the coils inside it may start to smell.
A severe overload could maybe burn it out but again there would be a smell or overheating.
I moderately overloaded one in a test and it smelled and got hot, but still functioned when cooled down.
I agree with dave w.
It does sound strange.
By chance was it a GFCI or Arc Breaker?