Guide 07 stop, check, call
Shore power keeps tripping
A breaker or ground-fault device that keeps tripping is protecting someone. Do not defeat it.
Stop first
- Keep everyone, including pets, out of the water near the boat and the dock. A tripping ground-fault device can mean current is leaking into the water, and in fresh water that can cause electric shock drowning. Michigan DNR advises not entering the water within 100 yards of a marina or dock.
- If someone in the water may have been shocked: never go into the water after them. Throw a life ring or other flotation, turn off the shore power at the pedestal, and call 911 or the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16.
- Never bypass, tape or replace a tripping breaker or ground-fault device with a larger one.
- Turn the dock pedestal breaker off before you unplug or plug in the cord.
- If you see burnt, melted or discoloured plug ends, or smell hot plastic, leave it unplugged.
Checks an owner can do
- Note which device trips: the pedestal, the boat's main shore breaker, or a branch breaker, and what was switched on at the time.
- Switch off large loads (water heater, air conditioning, charger) and see whether it holds; note the result.
- Look over the cord for cuts and damaged ends. Use only marine shore-power cords and fittings.
Call a certified marine technician when
- Any trip you cannot tie to one appliance, and every trip of a ground-fault or leakage device.
- Burnt or hot plug ends, or any work inside the AC panel, inlet or wiring.
- Ask for a technician certified in marine electrical systems (for example ABYC electrical certification).
Sources
- Electric Shock Drowning informational card (PDF), Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Boater's Guide: VHF MAYDAY procedure (PDF page 47), U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division
- Your boat's, engine's and appliance makers' owner's manuals, The manufacturer
Reviewed 2026-10-08. Your manufacturer's instructions come first wherever they differ from this page.
Keep a record and brief your technician
Log this problem on your boat with the checks above as a checklist. Tick what you have done, then print a one-page technician brief: the boat, engine hours, what happens, what you already checked and the boat's recent work. When it is fixed, it goes into your maintenance log.
The technician brief is part of Skipper: $1.95 a month or $19.50 a year. Free during preview. Pricing