Surge Electrical LLC

Before you call an electrician, take 30 seconds to check your electrical panel.

If your EV charger suddenly stops charging, the breaker may have tripped. Many EV chargers are protected by GFCI breakers, which can occasionally trip.

Here’s the correct way to reset it:
• Find the EV breaker.
• Push it firmly all the way to OFF first.
• Then switch it back to ON.

If it trips again, don’t keep resetting it. That usually means there’s an underlying issue that should be diagnosed.

A quick check like this could save you a service call.

⚡ Follow for practical homeowner electrical tips.

I dropped a powered charger into a tub of water.

The GFCI never tripped.

The charger kept pulling 1.5 amps the whole time.

Most people think water automatically trips a GFCI. That’s not how it works.

Watch what actually happens. 👇

Most homeowners think a 20-amp breaker trips the second you exceed 20 amps.

Not true.

In this test, I plugged in a heater, a toaster, and an electric kettle, bringing the load to about 28 amps on a 20-amp circuit.

The breaker didn’t trip right away—it kept running for several minutes.

Why? Because breakers have a built-in time delay for overloads. A moderate overload can continue for a period of time before the breaker finally trips.

The bigger the overload, the faster it trips. A dead short, on the other hand, usually trips the breaker almost instantly.

The lesson: Breakers are designed to protect your home’s wiring from overheating, not necessarily to shut off power the moment you exceed the breaker rating.

⚠️ This demonstration was performed in a controlled environment for educational purposes. Do not intentionally overload electrical circuits.

homeowner electricianlife contractor diy education

Pinned Comment:

A breaker’s rating isn’t an instant-trip number. That’s why a 20A breaker can carry more than 20A for a period of time before it trips. ⚡