# Odd electrical breaker problem, multiple sections of house on multiple breakers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** tools-electric-diy\ **Created:** [December 20, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899 "2023-12-20T19:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899/21 "2023-12-21T14:22:56Z")
> [@andrewm](#): > > The yellow should turn off every space **vertically** below it: that includes the spaces in both the left-hand column and the right-hand column. See the diagram Dr. Strangelove posted earlier. I will have to try it out later on. Everything below the yellow would be all of the house except for the two Siemens breakers that we just added, those are the basement lights and basement bathroom. I thought there were some lights left on the last time I tried turning off the yellow breaker. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899/22 "2023-12-21T14:50:08Z")
> [@andrewm](#): > > The yellow should turn off every space **vertically** below it Ok, so I did just turn off the yellow breaker and it does indeed turn everything off below it. The reason I didn’t see that before is because the wiring before we added those two breakers some of the outlets and lights upstairs were also connected to the basement wiring and instead of running lots of extra wires we just left the outlets and lights connected to the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899/23 "2023-12-21T22:26:06Z")
Is there a main breaker on the outside of the house by the meter? (This is indeed a split bus panel, i apologize for jumping to that conclusion earlier). I also have never seen one of these specific models in the wild. You have a Main Lug Only panel (MLO). As oposed to MB (Main Breaker). I would have that mess swapped out and updated at your earliest. And to add, two ground wires can share the same screw if they are both the same gage. Two neutral wires shall not share the same screw, nor can you mix the two (neutral and ground) under the same screw. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899/24 "2023-12-22T12:42:03Z")
> [@Uncommon\_Sense](#): > > Is there a main breaker on the outside of the house by the meter? No, there’s no shut off by the meter. There might have been at one point, but they changed it to the newer digital meter a few years ago. > [@Uncommon\_Sense](#): > > I would have that mess swapped out and updated at your earliest. How long would something like that take? Or about how much would it cost to have a whole new one put in? ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899/25 "2023-12-22T12:55:58Z")
If i was quoting it: 6 hours and $325 in parts. Somewhwere around a G. If the bonding (gas, water, electodes) is good to go, this is a basic panel swap. If bonding is required it would bump up the price a bit. You’ll end up with a clean install, everything on seperate breakers (to the extent the branch circuiting will allow) and gfci/arcflash rated circuit breakers for protection. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899/26 "2023-12-22T15:02:32Z")
> [@Uncommon\_Sense](#): > > Somewhwere around a G You wanna come to Maryland? I think the cheapest hourly rate here is around $300. Thanks, at least now I have an idea of how long it should take. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899/27 "2023-12-22T15:03:54Z")
Please move to RI so I can hire you for jobs like this. Any part of RI will do, I’ll pay your rate for travel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-electrical-breaker-problem-multiple-sections-of-house-on-multiple-breakers/994899.md?page=1)