How do I know if a circuit breaker is bad

[maddie123]

My garage door won't gone down and there seems to be no electricity to the garage. The light doesn't work and when i plug in the vacuum that didn't work either.
I checked the breakers they all seem to be in on position but one is in the middle, when i pushed over it clicked but doesn't go all the way in line with the other ones.
Does this mean the breaker is bad?
I don't know if I should call a electrician or a handy man.

[Joey P]

You have to push it all the way to the off position then back to on.

Try that...report back.

[beowulff]

Turn the breaker all the way Off, then back to On.

ETA: Ditto.

[panamajack]

The breaker being in the middle is the indication that it has tripped. That means it's most likely good. Something causing it to trip is a problem if you don't know what it was. (It is not impossible that a faulty breaker will trip "on its own", but that is almost the last component you should check).

[Snnipe 70E]

Agree with what has been said. The breaker is tripped and has to be reset before it will turn on. Push it all the way to off then back on. If it trips again you have prblems. Unplug everything in the garage and try resetting again. If it trips again call a Pro.

[johnpost]

in Square D QO breakers the handle will move and a visible indicator will show in a window when it trips. you have to move the handle to the off position and then to the on position to reset it, when you do this the indicator will no longer be visible in the window. if you move the handle from the tripped position to the on position the breaker will not be reset and the indicator will still be visible.