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Electrical Repair
A Breaker That Trips Is Telling You Something
Most electrical problems announce themselves politely at first. A breaker trips once a month. A light flickers when the dryer starts. An outlet in the guest room stops working and nobody uses it anyway. The temptation is to reset it, ignore it, or plug the lamp in somewhere else. The trouble is that each of those symptoms has a cause, and the cause is usually heat at a connection somewhere you cannot see, which is how electrical fires start.
Radiant’s licensed electricians repair the whole range of it across Austin and the surrounding cities. We trace a tripping breaker to the overloaded circuit, the failing appliance or the short that is actually causing it. We find the loose backstab connection that killed half the outlets on a wall. We diagnose the flicker that is really a loose neutral at the panel or a corroded connection at the meter. We deal with the aluminum wiring in a 1970 home in Crestview or Georgetown that has been quietly loosening at every device for fifty years.
The electrician tests before naming the fault, explains it in plain terms, and gives you a written price you approve before the repair starts. If something is unsafe to keep using, you hear that plainly too. Repairs are backed by the Home Comfort Guarantee, and Care Club members get 5% off with no dispatch fee. If the problem is a house with no power at all, start at power restoration; if it is sparking, smoking or hot right now, go to emergency service.
- Tested, then repaired Voltage, current and continuity readings before we touch a part, so the repair is the real repair.
- One price, agreed first A written quote before any work begins, the same on a holiday weekend as on a Tuesday morning.
- Home Comfort Guarantee If we cannot resolve the issue, you get a 10% inconvenience refund, up to $1,000.
What to Watch For
Symptoms Worth a Repair Call
Anything hot, smelling or sparking means stop using it and call now. The rest should not wait long.
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A breaker that keeps tripping
Overload, a short, a ground fault or a breaker that has worn out. Resetting it over and over is not a fix.
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Flickering or dimming lights
In one fixture, probably the fixture. Across the house, possibly a loose neutral or a service connection, which is serious.
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Dead outlets or switches
A tripped GFCI, a loose connection upstream, or a device that has failed. We trace the circuit instead of guessing.
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Warm plates, a hot smell or scorching
Heat at a device is a bad connection under load. Turn the circuit off and call. This is the one that starts fires.
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Half the house without power
Often one leg of the 240-volt service, at the panel or the utility connection. Dangerous for 240-volt appliances. Call today.
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Buzzing from a panel, switch or outlet
Arcing or a failing breaker. A faint hum from a dimmer is normal; a buzz from a panel is not.
What We Repair
Electrical Repair Services
One licensed electrician for everything between the meter and the light bulb.
- Breakers and panels Failed and nuisance-tripping breakers, loose lugs, burned bus bars and the diagnosis that tells you whether the panel itself is the problem.
- Outlets, switches and GFCIs Dead, loose, warm or intermittent devices, and the connections behind them that usually turn out to be the real fault.
- Wiring faults Damaged cable, open splices, rodent damage in the attic and the loose neutral that makes lights brighten and dim.
- Aluminum wiring Approved connector repairs at every device and splice, which addresses the risk without rewiring the entire house.
- Lighting and fixtures Fixtures that flicker, hum or quit, failed ballasts and drivers, and switches that no longer control what they should.
- Doorbells, alarms and small systems Transformers, hardwired smoke and CO alarms that chirp or fail, bath fans and other low-voltage and small circuits.
How It Works
What a Repair Call Looks Like
Diagnose, price, fix, verify. In that order, every time.
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Describe the symptom
What is happening, where and when. If anything is hot or smoking, we tell you what to switch off while we are on the way.
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Test to the cause
The electrician takes readings and traces the circuit. A symptom points somewhere; the meter confirms it.
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Approve the written price
What failed, what the fix involves and what it costs. If a bigger repair is the honest answer, you hear that too.
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Repair and verify under load
Repairs can often be finished on the first visit with parts from the truck. We test the circuit with a real load before we leave.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Something Tripping, Flickering or Warm?
A licensed electrician will find the cause and price the fix before starting, any day of the week.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
Had a massive undetectable leak in a new home I just moved into... I was losing 1000+ gallons a day and was so worried about what was going to be the outcome. Then Radiant/ DAVID FARMER my saving grace, best plumber I've ever had, came to my rescue. It was a large job with doing all the leak detection and solving each problem but David was kind enough to teach me everything he was doing/what to look out for in the future to avoid issues later. It was an awful stressful situation that he made easy and fixed quickly. I think they are fairly priced and will work with budget constraints if needed. All I know is I know who my plumber is for life and I really appreciated all that Radiant and David did! UPDATE: used radiant for a AC repair and again they didn’t disappoint! April was my technician and she was AWESOME! So patient and kind and I learned a lot about my system that she showed me! Kudos again Radiant!!
★★★★★
We had another incredible experience with Radiant Plumbing & Air Conditioning that left us very impressed. Back in 2013, we hired this exact company to replace our old water heater, and the entire experience was absolutely outstanding. So, as soon as we realised it was time to replace our 2013 water heater, we didn’t hesitate to contact Radiant once more. Once more, Radiant and Christian, the technician, exceeded all expectations with their efforts. Christian is a true professional. We appreciated how Christian clearly explained all the different choices and worked hard to keep us near our budget limits. Our sincere thanks go to Christian and Radiant for their genuine support in helping us remain as close as possible within our financial limits. Christian was not only kind but also very respectful during his time at our house, and he did an outstanding job. Christian and the gentlemen who accompanied him performed their tasks excellently, demonstrating friendliness, kindness, and deep knowledge of their craft, which clearly marks them as true professionals. I want to express my gratitude to Radiant and also to Christian, thank you both!!
★★★★★
If you're in need of a new HVAC system because the one you got from the new home builder has broken down or is not working right, especially in this heat wave, Radiant can get you setup with a new and energy efficient system that keeps you cool and comfortable no matter the extreme temperature outside.
I highly recommend Radiant for cooling and heating. They are very friendly, knowledgeable and professional.
Their technician (Nathan B.) was outstanding and Breana the customer support manager provided stellar service and support.
They even have an annual warranty service program where they come out twice a year ahead of the winter months for heating system checkup along with system maintenance and then again in springtime to check the cooling ahead of the summer months for cooling system check and and any necessary maintenance to keep your system running efficiently and smoothly.
There warranty service is much cheaper than American HomeShield and does not require a copay or deductible. It's quite a bargain and it provides peace of mind.
Give Radiant a try and your heating and cooling worries will disappear. I absolutely recommend them with the highest rating available.
I highly recommend Radiant for cooling and heating. They are very friendly, knowledgeable and professional.
Their technician (Nathan B.) was outstanding and Breana the customer support manager provided stellar service and support.
They even have an annual warranty service program where they come out twice a year ahead of the winter months for heating system checkup along with system maintenance and then again in springtime to check the cooling ahead of the summer months for cooling system check and and any necessary maintenance to keep your system running efficiently and smoothly.
There warranty service is much cheaper than American HomeShield and does not require a copay or deductible. It's quite a bargain and it provides peace of mind.
Give Radiant a try and your heating and cooling worries will disappear. I absolutely recommend them with the highest rating available.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
Electrical Repair Questions
Why does a breaker keep tripping, and is it safe to keep resetting it?
A breaker trips for one of four reasons: the circuit is carrying more than it is rated for, there is a short somewhere, there is a ground fault, or the breaker itself has worn out. Resetting it once to see if it holds is reasonable. Resetting it repeatedly is not, because each trip under a real fault is the breaker doing its job, and forcing it to stay on keeps current flowing through whatever is wrong. If it trips immediately with a snap, or trips with a smell, leave it off and call. If it trips only when a particular appliance runs, that appliance or its circuit is the place to look.
Half of my house has no power. What is going on?
Residential service comes in as two 120-volt legs. When one leg is lost, roughly half the 120-volt circuits go dead and the 240-volt appliances, like the dryer, range and air conditioner, behave strangely or stop. The cause is at the main breaker, inside the panel, at the meter base, or at the utility’s connection on the pole or at the transformer. If your neighbors are fine, it is usually on your side. Turn off the 240-volt appliances to protect them, then call. A lost leg can also come with a lost neutral, which sends unsafe voltage to the circuits that still work, so this is one to get looked at the same day.
Is a warm outlet or switch plate dangerous?
Yes, treat it as one. A dimmer can run slightly warm by design, and a plate near a heat source may pick up a little warmth. Anything beyond that means resistance at a connection: a loose wire on the device, a worn receptacle gripping a plug badly, or a backstab connection that has loosened. Resistance makes heat, heat makes more resistance, and the cycle ends in scorched insulation or a fire inside the wall. Unplug whatever is in the outlet, switch the breaker for that circuit off if you can identify it, and call. The repair itself is usually quick; the risk of leaving it is not worth the wait.
Why do my lights dim for a second when the air conditioner starts?
A compressor pulls a large surge of current for a moment when it starts, and that briefly drops the voltage across the house, which you see as a flicker. A quick, slight dim on a hot afternoon can be normal, especially on an older 100-amp service. A pronounced or lengthening dim is not. It can mean the compressor is straining and drawing more than it should, the panel or service connections are loose or corroded, or the service is undersized for the load. We check the connections and the amperage the unit is drawing. If the AC is the problem, our HVAC team handles that side.
Can you fix aluminum wiring without rewiring the whole house?
In most cases, yes. Homes built from roughly the mid-1960s to the early 1970s often have aluminum branch-circuit wiring, and its problem is the connections: aluminum expands, contracts and oxidizes at terminals in a way copper does not, so devices loosen over time and overheat. The accepted repair joins a short copper pigtail to each aluminum conductor with a connector rated for the purpose, at every outlet, switch, fixture and splice, then lands the copper on the device. It is methodical work through the whole house, but far less disruptive than rewiring. A full rewire is the answer only when the wiring has other damage.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.
