one possibility

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Moderator Post (s) for this thread: > Get a voltage tester by doug seibert on 09/30/2004 > Just-A-Working-Stiff..........You're scareing me by doug seibert on 10/01/2004 > Understanding a switch loop by doug seibert on 10/01/2004

I'm a little confused why you are changing the circuit breaker. Is it because it keeps tripping whenever you flip it on? In that case, you caould just have a short somewhere in the circuit in which case your breaker is fine and you just need to find the short.

As for finding the problem, I would suggest that you disconnect all three branches of the circuit from the hot wire coming from the breaker. Then, with the breaker off, connect the front porch line to the hot line, and flip the breaker on. If it works then you have eliminated that part of the circuit as your problem. Flip breaker off, disconnect front porch wire and connect back porch wire to hot wire. Flip breaker on. If it works, then disconnect and move on to the kitchen wire. Finally, connect only the kitchen wire to the hot wire just to verify if that is the problem.

So basically, you are checking each part of the circuit independently. Once you narrow it down, then you must start checking each connection in that part of the circuit in the same manner as described above until you find the point where a short is occurring. Just be careful and make sure to flip the breaker off when disconnecting and connecting during the troubleshooting process.

Just a side note, I recently ran into a problem when I was rewiring a switch. I was pulling the wrong wire up from the wall cavity and did not realize it was stapled to the stud. As I pulled, the staple dug into the wire and shorted it out. so I had to run new wire. Just another possiblity to think about.