Small circuit breaker heats and opens

[jhowes]

Check page two of this forum as there is a post on the circuit breakers that explains how they work. I respectfully disagree with the poster that said that you mount the breaker differently in a negative ground system. The breaker works by having the hot side (negative or positive) connected to the copper lug. This way a current will flow through the copper lug through a small coil to the ground that is causing the short in the first place when the bimetal strip is open. It will heat up and keep the bimetal strip open until the problem is solved. Once the problem is solved the ground for this small wire is no longer there for the small wire to continue to be heated up and the bimetal strip can cool and return to normal position. Jack

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by jhowes

I respectfully disagree with the poster that said that you mount the breaker differently in a negative ground system.

If your system is positive ground the breaker will be installed one way and if your system is negative ground the breaker will be flipped around.