Electrical Problems New Construction

[Barbara5]

Just purchased a newly constructed home in Charlotte. Every time you open the refrigerator, a breaker trips. Electrician sent by warranty company said it is due to a frequency emitted by the refrigerator (a Whirlpool). He put some sort of sensor on the back of the fridge and that was supposed to fix the issue. Guess what - no fix.

To stave off any questions, house has been empty (no other appliances other than builder appliance plugged in). We are lucky, the electrician told a story about another new home where 4 breakers trip every time they open the fridge.

Electrician said The Villages is talking with Whirlpool about the issue. Seems to me that there should have been a disclosure of this issue before closing.

Would like to know who else out there is having this problem.

Thanks.

[villagetinker]

We have these appliances in a house just over 1 year old. I would have the circuit breakers checked or replaced.

[RickeyD]

Arc fault or GFI breaker problem ? Standard breaker would not cause this problem.

[karostay]

Arc Fault is the new code switching would create complications with your insurance
Say an issue arose

[karostay]

Now ya got me started :rant-rave: More homes in the Villages are damaged by lighting each year than by homes using standard circuit breakers in the past 10

[RickeyD]

Now ya got me started :rant-rave: More homes in the Villages are damaged by lighting each year than by homes using standard circuit breakers in the past 10


???

[Omike]

Rant all you want. Arc fault breaker are part of the National Electrical Code and have been for some time now. Nothing you can do about it.

[outahere]

We had the same problem in our new home in Hillsborough. Galaxy wired the house so the Home Warranty Dept. sent them out. They replaced the Arc Fault breaker that was tripping, which did not correct the problem. So...... we called again. They came out and replaced the breaker with a "new generation" Arc Fault breaker, which was noticably different than the old one. That was 5 months ago and it hasn't tripped since. Interestingly, the breaker that was tripping was not the one for the refrigerator, but one several breakers away in the panel (living room outlets).

The electrician told me that they have seen many instances of this happening with the new Whirlpool refrigerators. He said they have also seen the problem in houses that are next door/near someone with a ham radio station. They are now making antennas that are integrated into flag poles, so there is no visible antenna to indicate a ham station.

[yobeano]

In my house there is no arc fault breaker on the refrigerator. There are several in the panel but not on that circuit. My circuit has a 20 amp standard breaker ganged to the microwave (havn't figured that one out yet). Anyway, no arc fault or ground fault on the frig.

[Proscoe]

I had the same Problem with the refrigerator tripping the other circuits. After 5 visits by the electrician I believe the problem is taken care of.

I feel for the electricians because they are really not the source of the problem. The refrigerator is but the electrician has to make it work.

After talking to the builder; I believe they are no longer purchasing this model refrigerator.

[Northwoods]

We live in Lake Deaton and had the same problem. When the first electrician came out he said there was a short in our outside lamp light so he replaced something. That didn't fix the problem. We called again and another electrician came out and put something in the back of the refrigerator. We haven't had the issue since. It appears there is an issue with the refrigerator.

[NYGUY]

Can anyone explain this issue in non-electrical english?

[dbussone]

Can anyone explain this issue in non-electrical english?


Yes. Cheap Inferior Chinese products

[Wandatime]

Hmm, wondering why our outside light keeps tripping the breaker. Dang Chinese.

[rjm1cc]

Can anyone explain this issue in non-electrical english?

My guess is there is some exposed wire some place in the house and a spark is happening when you open the ref door. Then the safety feature of the circuit breaker shuts off the line. Makes no sense as to why you would be getting the spark (bear wire touching a ground) when you open the door.
A bad switch on the appliance could cause the problem on its circuit but I don't see how it would affect other circuits.

[Omike]

The arc fault breakers work on frequency levels. There has been problems with whirlpool refrigerators tripping them. This is also happening with some Sony televisions. Opening the door on the fridge is sending just the right one out. The electrical panels have 2 phases in them. 120 volts each. The fridge and the circuit that's tripping are surely on the same phase. Move one to a different phase and the problem should go away.

[champion6]

<snip> The electrical panels have 2 phases in them. 120 volts each. The fridge and the circuit that's tripping are surely on the same phase. Move one to a different phase and the problem should go away.How does a homeowner do this?

[karostay]

The arc fault breakers work on frequency levels. There has been problems with whirlpool refrigerators tripping them. This is also happening with some Sony televisions. Opening the door on the fridge is sending just the right one out. The electrical panels have 2 phases in them. 120 volts each. The fridge and the circuit that's tripping are surely on the same phase. Move one to a different phase and the problem should go away.
2 phases in one panel ?????? New one on me
two legs yes

[perrjojo]

When we first moved in the breaker shut off each time I plugged in the vacuum. I never had this problem in my previous home. Called warranty and the technician said I needed to plug it into the bathroom outlet as this often happened with vacuums in TV. I think it is a plot to not vacuum anymore because we are retired :icon_wink:

[Omike]

The 2 legs are each a phase and I wouldn't recommend a homeowner doing this unless they know what they're doing.