My Helm Breaker Keeps Tripping - Where to Start?

[Fishstick]

I'm having an issue with my helm breaker tripping and not sure why, or where to start?
When this happens, I lose my nav lights, helm lights, spotlight, and deck lights. Really dark and a bad situation. This just recently began and I did not make any changes to revert back to in order to correct it.

The lights will flicker, the helm lights go dim, they will go back to normal illumination, flicker again, and finally bam, breaker is tripped. If I just run with nav lights only, it's 50/50 to whether it's trips. I have to wait for around 10 minutes and can then reset the breaker.

Curious how to troubleshoot this?

 

[ttmott]

I'm having an issue with my helm breaker tripping and not sure why, or where to start?
When this happens, I lose my nav lights, helm lights, spotlight, and deck lights. Really dark and a bad situation. This just recently began and I did not make any changes to revert back to in order to correct it.

The lights will flicker, the helm lights go dim, they will go back to normal illumination, flicker again, and finally bam, breaker is tripped. If I just run with nav lights only, it's 50/50 to whether it's trips. I have to wait for around 10 minutes and can then reset the breaker.

Curious how to troubleshoot this?

90 percent chance the circuit breaker is failing; it happens quite a bit mostly due to the harsh environment. They are inexpensive.

 

[scoflaw]

If that doesn't work, check back in.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

If you want to eliminate the breaker as the problem, then you can turn on one circuit at a time and see if the CB still breaks under a minimal load and if so start looking for shorts or burned contacts in fixtures, anything that may create greater resistance in the circuits. I tend to agree that the main helm breaker will be a good start.

 

[Skybolt]

90 percent chance the circuit breaker is failing; it happens quite a bit mostly due to the harsh environment. They are inexpensive.

I second this. Sounds just like a bad breaker.

 

[Fishstick]

My breaker box also contains my two battery selectors. I've uploaded a pic of the breakers. Is my helm really a 50 amp?

 

[ttmott]

My breaker box also contains my two battery selectors. I've uploaded a pic of the breakers. Is my helm really a 50 amp?View attachment 130433

O yea the helm is definitely power hungry especially if you should have the audio system and/or radar on it. Those are thermal hydraulic circuit breakers and if there is any corrosion on the contacts at all the breaker will heat due to the resistance and trip even if the full load isn't on it.
The combined loads on your helm are probably 60 or 70 percent of the circuit breaker rating.

 

[ttmott]

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Circuit-Breaker/dp/B001UQGBDS

 

[Fishstick]

Replaced the breaker and tested. No more tripping! Thanks for the recommendation. I'll take a $50 fix any day.