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Amp tripping circuit breaker.

I have a 20 amp circuit, AFCI breaker, with only my entertainment rack on it.  The breaker has been tripping periodically for about a year now.  Recently the problem has been worse and I suspected my amplifier.  Long story short, the breaker only trips when the amp is plugged in, with statistical certainty.  Unknown if it matters if amp is on or not.

Amp is a Monolith 7.  I opened the cover and saw no obvious signs of damage.  Everything is clean and dust free.

any thoughts?
magneplanman
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,841 posts
 
Yes. Your breaker is failing. They use a magnetic principle and the more they break, the easier they break. Replace it- see how that goes.
erik_squires
16,130 posts
 
The AFCI part can trip based on modest ground currents. It is cheap and easy to replace, and worth trying.

If it still happens, I suspect you have a ground loop you are not aware of, which will trip an AFCI breaker.

Best,
Erik

clearthink
1,421 posts
 
Replace breaker they are known to fail.
magneplanman OP
7 posts
 
One thing I forgot to mention - the reason I suspected the amp is because it’s own protection was tripping earlier in the summer, often immediately when powering from a cold start.  It ended up going away.  Only thing I can think of that made the problem go away, was I went from having the thermostat set at 76 to 72, which definitely reduced the indoor humidity.
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