Short in wire.

[bobsbuddy]

I was helping one of my son-in-laws install ceiling fans over the weekend. We got stuck when one of them kept tripping the breaker when we turned the power back on. Through process of elimination, we determined the feed was good, the continuation of the wire to other points in the circuit was good, but the wire to the switch was causing the problem. We removed the switch and it still blew. So the problem is apparently in the 14/3 w/g sheathed electrical cable that runs from the fixture to the switch, one leg continuing on to wall outlets.

What can possibly go wrong with wires inside sheathed electrical cable and how do you isolate the problem now?

We verified that the new fan brace was not damaging the cable.

It was way too hot to run into the attic before I had to leave town.

[LarryG]

if you know where the wire itself starts and ends then you could verify with an ohmeter and pieces of long jumper wires.
i don’t see how a wire could short out other than it being hit by a staple,drill,saw or something.

[Billhart]

In the boxes the most common places is a nicked insulation shorting against the metal box, if you have one, or against the ground wire.

The next likely place is an over driven staple.

Without specialized test equipment it is often easier to just run a new wire.

And even with the ability to find the short often a new run is more practical than repairing.

[MistressEll]

A direct short – wiring error – I suspect you have made a wiring error, at the ceiling location. Your description (or lack thereof) of the branch circuit and the switch loop indicates this is the most likely.

You may have damaged (or excellerated the aging process) of your wiring and created a dangerous situation presently. I expanded further on another post in this topic string.

[Author]

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