I was sitting in my living room, when I heard a loud POP. A couple minutes later, I went to the refrigerator and seen that it wasn't working (no power). I checked the fuse box, and there is a fuse blown. I tried to reset it, but it just makes a loud pop noise, and flips. It will not reset. There is nothing plugged into those outlets other than the refrigerator and our water dispenser machine. These same two things have been plugged in for years, without any issues. Is this most likely a short somewhere in the wiring?
HI There, You are correct that something is wrong. Things do not fix them self. My recommendation is to call an electrician and let him/her check out the breaker, the wiring and the wiring for the receptacle where the appliances are plugged in. Very likely you have either a loose connection or a short circuit somewhere in the wiring. There is a device called a megger that an electrician should have that is used to detect the insulation quality of wiring. A megger wil tell you right away if the insulation on a wire is bad. We used a megger most of the time at the industrial plant where I worked to check motors and wiring. It is basically a high voltage ohmeter. For home use it would be used on the 250 volt scale. Loose connections can be found by visual inspection and by moving the wire and tightening the screw terminal. Hope this helps, Al
If the fuse in the fuse box is blown it is telling you that something along the line is shorting out and dangerous. I would remove the mains fuse and then check the wiring and plug for any damage. Check the fridge where the wiring enters for fraying or any damp. If you cant find an obvious fault get an electrician and on no account put a higher mains fuse in !!
First, is this a fuse or a breaker? A fuse is probably round and has a glassy looking top that screws into the panel. You say it flips? A breaker works as a switch with an on, off, and trip. There is a difference. My guess is there is an overload one the appliances the circuit is on. Try plugging one in and if it holds try the other. Do not put in a higher rated fuse or breaker. All you are doing is letting the wire catch fire before it trips or blows. My guess is it's the appliance causing this. Breakers will wear out but it is not the norm.
A fuse blows for a reason. Either there is a short circuit, or something in the circuit is drawing too much power. I would start by unplugging EVERYTHING in that circuit. Replace the fuse. If it blows immediately, then there's a problem with the wiring. That may be a good time to call an electrician. If the new fuse doesn't blow with nothing plugged in, start plugging your appliances back in, one at a time. It's possible that all the appliances are still working, but one is drawing more current than it's supposed to. Try plugging them into a different circuit using a heavy duty extension cord. You should be able to find the culprit that way.
If you unplug both appliances, does it continue to *POP*? If so, you have a fault in the line and you need an electrician. The fault could be from a mouse, age, or any of several other causes. If not, try each item on its own. If one pops the breaker, it is the culprit. If neither pops the breaker, and both operate properly when separate, the breaker could be wearing out, or either of the appliances could be wearing out such that the load has increased beyond what the breaker can handle for both of them together. But I expect that something like a mouse damaged the line somewhere in the wall, or one of the appliances has failed completely. EDIT: From your clarification, I suggest you be quite wary of some damage to the wire. A large *POP* as you state is suggestive of a large amount of current on the breaker, i.e.: a dead-short. What happens if you have a moused wire, for instance, is that the contact point that is causing the short gets blown out and the short may open. But what then happens is that the wire is greatly degraded but that degraded section is still carrying as much current as an intact section. If this is the case, that damaged section *WILL* heat up and *CAN* cause a fire as it may get very, very hot yet still not blow the breaker. The melting point of copper is 1,984°F (1,085°C). Hot enough to ignite wood as well as many other materials. Good luck with it.
