I added 10 recessed lights in the kitchen (adding approximately 50 feet of wire), which draw 14 watts each (total 140 watts).
A two way switch controls 4 lights, another two way switch controls another 4 lights. The remaining two lights have their own switches.
There are another 7 lights on the same circuit (in the garage, deck, laundry room, etc.) and all of them use LEDs.
The total load shouldn’t be more than 500 watts. All these lights on a 15 amp breaker.
The issue is that when I switch on one of the foursome lights, the breaker trips.
What could be the problem? Overloaded circuit?
There are only 1 Black, 1 White and 1 ground where I connected one of the foursome lights. The other connection has 2 red, 2 black, 2 white and 2 ground. I might have connected there incorrectly.
Best Answer
It could be that you miswired a switch so that it creates a short-circuit in one position. It could be that the miswiring occured elsewhere (in a junction box, a light fitting, etc)
No, the total load of 500 Watts is not enough to overload a 15 Amp circuit. At 110 Volts, 500 Watts is only 4.5 Amps.