# Tripping breaker Immediately on start.



## StevenHousden (Mar 2, 2017)

I have Coleman Powermate 21 gallon. Model VL0602112. Its a 15a compressor and I have it on a 15a breaker. It is plugged straight into the wall outlet. It started and ran fine about 4 times and then it tripped the breaker one day while it was filling up, not full. Over the next couple of uses it seemed to get worse and now it trips the breaker immediately when I flip the switch, every time. There is no pressure on the tank. I have pulled the check valve and even tried starting it with the check valve off of the tank. Still trips the breaker. I took the cap off of the pressure switch and inspected it..didnt visibly see anything wrong. I have searched the internet wide for a solution and really need some assistance on this before I start slinging parts and money at it...Any Ideas? 15a breaker too small? Pressure switch bad? Thank you in advance if anyone can help.


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## aandpdan (Oct 8, 2012)

Is this on a dedicated circuit?

It could be the breaker. They do fail. Can you plug it into a 20 amp circuit?

Empty the tank and try to start it so that there is no back pressure on it.


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## StevenHousden (Mar 2, 2017)

I have 4 outlets on this breaker. Nothing is plugged in any of them but the compressor. All of the breakers in my garage breaker box are 15a. The tank is empty. I even took the check valve out to check it..that is in a direct hole into the tank itself so there is no air in it at all. I do have 12-2 wire so I thought about getting a 20a breaker but before I did that I wanted to make sure it wasn't something wrong with the compressor itself....It did work a few times before starting this issue.


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## aandpdan (Oct 8, 2012)

Try plugging it into another circuit.

It could be a problem with the motor itself - maybe a bad starting or run capacitor.


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## Mr.Natural (Apr 17, 2017)

Swapping out the breaker is an easy (and cheap) attempt, but I'm thinking it's not the breaker that's at fault. The greatest power demand is from the startup slug, but you were tripping the breaker while it was running (at least, initially), which indicates that the motor is drawing excessive current while running steady-state. The next most likely fixes (which are also easy and cheap) are the start and/or run capacitors, as mentioned by aandpdan. My first focus would be the run cap, since you were tripping the breaker while it was running. Get either or both at Grainger or 'most any A/C supply place and try swapping them out.


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