Electricians -Diagnose my main breaker tripping ?

[creekchub]

Two times now in the past three weeks my main breaker on my panel is tripping . Tonight I had to reset it 3 times.
Panel is a little bit warm to the touch but not burning hot . Two weeks ago my wife called me and said the main breaker has tripped a few times . We have been in the house for 10 years since redoing the panel which is professionally done and this problem just started recently.. We called our electrical company and they came out and test the lines that go to the house and they said no issues . could the breaker for the main power be going bad or maybe it got wet in a storm or something ( no wetness to anywhere On /in panel )
I called an electrician hoping to get somebody in very soon but obviously there’s some kind of problem anyone dealt with anything like this before if so what do you think it might be ?
thanks
Creekchub

[tx_basser]

Need to call electrician so they can do some testing with some meters. Clamp On, Voltage, Connections, etc.

[JerryT]

If it’s hot it’s tripping for a reason I would guess

[Jeff La]

If I had to guess you have a bad connection somewhere in the main wiring. I would get an electrician over there asap

[5keepers2]

Could be loose connections on breaker. If not that you need good electritian quick. Could be bad trouble.

[creekchub]

No new appliances or anything different has been added so the load is exactly the same as it’s been for past 9-10 years.
I would think that it has something to do with the overall load all at the same time being carried on the electrical system ?

[suck my wake]

Sounds like maybe a hot is grounding or your lugs aren’t torqued down. Really has to be a short to ground to trip the main. If it’s underground feed could be gophers or bad insulation. Regardless a 200 or 400 amp breaking tripping is some serious event. It can eventually kill the breaker. You’ve got to get an electrician to look into this. This is dangerous. If it’s aluminum conductors feeding the panel they can be problematic also.

[alanhore]

Quit resetting the breaker and get a qualified electrician over there asap. That breaker is just doing its job. By resetting it that much you are asking for trouble.

[lsufan334]

If it is just tripping the main incomer and that is all. No Aux breakers are tripping i would look from the incomer breaker out. A 200A incomer tripping on a regular basis and it is resetting i would assume a faulty breaker. If you have a short bad enough to trip a 200A breaker you would find it pretty easily. As stated above is it an undergound service??? If so have you guys had any significant rainfall? But like i said if it is tripping a 200A breaker on a regular basis that much current it should have failed at the connection point or shorted point by now. Blown out cable, burnt connection, etc. Does the service hit the house and go to a power pack (meter base with breakers) then feed the panel inside the house? Or does it go directly from meter base inside panel? Shoot me a pm and i will try to help you out so you dont get took. lol I'm a licensed electrician with over 18yrs experience.

[bassin365]

If it holds for a period of time before tripping it is NOT a short to ground as some people have suggested. It is one of two things, first one being overall load is approaching maximum rating of the breaker causing the heat build up you mention and therefore causing the breakers safety feature(tripping) to activate. Second, the connections are not tight, this could be the service wires themselves, the internals of the breaker, or the connection to the bus. Loose connections cause heat build up and can result in the breaker tripping. Being it has lasted this long and just recently started having problems this would be my guess. Call an electrician as he will have the tools/meter required to diagnose properly. Is there any strange burning smell associated with it tripping? Electrical wires/breakers have a very distinct smell and is very pronounced.

[bhjr.]

Some breakers trip with heat and others magnetically.

[CatFan]

I'd say 75% chance it's a loose connection. Get an electrician ASAP.

[cneubass79]

What size service do you have? Do you have electric heat, electric dryer, electric water heater or any other electric heaters. These all require a significant current draw. You could have a loose wire or the breaker could be bad but more likely you are approaching your load capacity on that main breaker. Just because you haven’t added any new appliances doesn’t mean this isn’t the issue it could simply be a timing issue when all these things are on at the same time. Like others have said a simple current check when the breaker is tripping would be give you your best data. You would know right away if it were a load issue.

I wouldn’t think it would be your incoming feeders beacuse if there were a short to ground on your feeders they would be affecting the fuses on the feeder to your house but a loose connection on the line side of your main could cause this problem but if the short were before it shouldn’t affect your main.

[Wackyjig]

Have you noticed any of your lights flickering from time to time? More than likely it's either loose feeder lugs, you're overloaded, or a bad breaker. Breakers do go bad more than people think.

[rboren]

Could be many things but my friend lost his shop because of a breaker problem. So get it checked out!

[bshort]

Based on all the above statements, I determine that you have an electrical problem.

[Skeet'r89]

Cheap panel with stab on main breaker. Too much load on one phase making the slide on connection heat up. Replace the panel with a bolt in Main Breaker.

[One fat one]

Probably a bad breaker it happens if you just had it checked they would have found a bad connection or should have anyway

[Garfish]

If your service panel isn't SquareD, you need a thorough electrical inspection, I'd doubt with the recent work a licensed electrician with a conscience would use alum. wire in your house but be sure and check all ground bonds.

[Ranger RT]

Check all the ground connections in the box .... I had one that started doing that and I had one wire on the ground bar that had a loose/ not tight wire