Your Electric Hob Keeps Tripping The Power

Want to cook something on your hob but can't because it's tripping the circuit breaker when you turn it on? Discover the various potential causes for this fault.

THE POSSIBLE CAUSES FOR THIS FAULT:

• The electrical power is insufficient

• There is a fault with the supply to the hob

• The plate or ring is defective

WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
Wear suitable protective gloves if you need to dismantle anything.
There is a risk of getting cut or injured

The way solid-plate and radiant or halogen ceramic hobs work is relatively simple: a heating element heats the cooking ring(s)/plate(s). On electric hobs, the heat is generated by the electric current, and a temperature regulator keeps the temperature stable by periodically cutting the current.

The electrical power is insufficient

One issue that can occur with new equipment is that the new hob consumes more energy than your circuit can provide, which means it requires more amps than are actually available (it consumes an amount higher than that indicated on your meter). Because there is a limit to how much power your circuit can provide, it ends up simply cutting out by tripping. If this is the case, you will need to contact your electricity supplier to ask for your amperage to be increased.

There is a fault with the supply to the hob

This could be explained by a disconnected wire, a loose terminal block screw or a burned-out heating element. In most cases, this type of fault is caused by liquid getting underneath the ring or plate (due to milk boiling over from a pan, for example, or because too much water has been used when cleaning) and reaching the wires that connect to the temperature control knob. This will generate an isolation fault, cause current to leak, and trip the circuit breaker.
You might be able to find the cause and remedy the problem by removing the plate/ring concerned and investigating underneath. If the issue is coming from the cables connected to the wall socket, however, you will not be able to attempt the work yourself. Only properly certified professionals are authorised to check and repair the cables and circuitry feeding your hob.

The plate or ring is defective

• Cast iron plates: if you have cast-iron plates on your hob, these can sometimes be the source of current leakage. You can check if this is the case using a multimeter in ohmmeter mode (or megaohm to be more exact): disconnect the wires from the plate or ring (take a photo of how they're connected to refer to when reconnecting them again later). Place one of the multimeter's probes on one of the connectors on the plate or ring (i.e. the heating element), and the other on either the metal body of the hob or the terminal of the earth wire (the yellow and green wire). You should not get a reading. If this is not the case, you will need to replace the plate/ring.
• Radiant and halogen type hobs: though these kinds of hobs are very rarely affected by current leakage, their connecting wires often rust, melt or work loose and end up coming into contact with the metal body of the hob. This results in a major electrical leak, causing the fuse box to trip. Check the condition of the wires, and if they're damaged or in bad condition, they'll need to be replaced.