Defective Eaton AFCI

[Mike Lamb]

I pressed the test button on this Cutler Hammer - Eaton BRAF - AFCI and it immediately started to sizzle and smoke. I manually shut the breaker off. I did some googling and did not see anything about recalls. Anybody else have this experience?

[Jim Katen]

I've never had that experience and I haven't heard about any problems with them. These are relatively cheaply mass produced devices, though. It's inevitable that a few klunkers will make it into people's panels. 

[Trent Tarter]

Yes I have had several spark, pop, flash, smoke. I even got shocked pretty good once just by pushing the test button, my shoulder hurt the rest of the day. It always seems to be the Cutler Hammer/Eaton brand. Many times they won't reset to restore power and I have to notify the home owner, which is not a good thing.