30 amp circuit breaker

guys do these circuit breakers stick at times or just quit.i have to keep resetting mine.1987 350 300 hp alpha 1.is there a test for this.thanks.

a circuit breaker tripping, or any fuse blowing, is never the problem. It is a symptom of an electrical problem - a short to ground, or a faulty electrical component drawing too much current. The tripping circuit breaker is preventing a fire on board. You shouldn't ever reset one more than twice without investigating the cause of the overload.

Are you resetting it because it tripped? If yes, then there is an over current draw tripping it. Does it occur during engine start or after starting? Check the heavy battery wire connections for corrosion.

thanks guys, this started today 11-10-12, i tried to start motor no start.motor gets fuel,all cables are clean,all fuses good, all checks out good except for the 30 amp breaker keeps tripping.i will start checking other componets tomorrow.thanks for your explanations.

Pull`the spark plugs out and try cranking the engine see if water shoots out the plug holes.

hystat said:

a circuit breaker tripping, or any fuse blowing, is never the problem. It is a symptom of an electrical problem - a short to ground, or a faulty electrical component drawing too much current. The tripping circuit breaker is preventing a fire on board. You shouldn't ever reset one more than twice without investigating the cause of the overload.

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With the exception to the breaker itself being bad.... I agree.
Excessive Amperage is what trips breakers. Given the same load, a drop in voltage increases Amperage.

Are you certain that this should be rated at 30 amps?
I see the 40 amp Cole Hersee breakers used for this application quite commonly.


Question: when you re-set this breaker, are you able to crank the engine over and fire it up?
If so, then it would be unlikely that the main battery cable Pos or Negative cables have gone bad.
The 30 amp breaker should not be affected by cranking since it does not interrupt or protect the starter motor power.
Plus, the load to excite the starter motor solenoid (engine harness to hull harness to key switch "S" terminal and back to the solenoid) is no where near 30 amps.
Again...... if the starter motor cranks the engine over with no problems, your main Pos and Neg cable connections are likely OK.
None-the-less, check all of your Positive and Negative connections. This is never a bad idea.

This breaker is in the path of the hull harness power and the charging system. A weak connection somewhere.... perhaps within the charging system (I.E., the Negative Alternator cable for example), or any one of the hull harness/engine harness Postive or Negative connections, may be causing this.

Yes.... I'd replace this breaker.
These are typically a Cole Hersee breaker and are not all that expensive.



Make sure that the wires and wire connections are good.


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Has it done this since you owned it?
Have you added anything to the ign circuit,stereo,amps, etc?
What works and what dosent work when tripped?