- 1). Determine which circuit you are planning to protect, and purchase the properly rated AFCI breaker for that line. For example, if the existing breaker is rated at 20 amps, then be sure you purchase a 20-amp AFCI breaker.
- 2). Remove the panel cover. Have someone give you a hand if your panel cover is large; they can be quite heavy and cumbersome to remove by yourself.
- 3). Locate the circuit you want to protect and turn the breaker off. Loosen the screw that is holding the feed wire in place and slowly pull the wire out of the terminal. Bend it out of the way.
- 4). Remove the existing breaker carefully.
- 5). Trace the hot line you removed from the breaker back to where it enters the panel. Once you find where it enters, find the neutral line that goes with your hot line. Trace it back to the neutral bar, loosen the screw that's holding it in place and remove the wire from the bar. Double-check that both the black wire and the white wire are coming from the same circuit. This is extremely important, so take your time and make sure you have it right before moving on.
- 6). Make sure that the new AFCI breaker is off and install it in the space left open from the breaker you removed earlier. Connect the black wire to the right terminal on the AFCI breaker and the white wire to the left terminal. Secure them tightly in place.
- 7). Straighten the coiled white wire that is attached to the AFCI breaker. Connect this wire to the neutral bar in the space left open from the original neutral wire and secure it in place by tightening the screw.
- 8). Reinstall the electrical panel cover and turn the AFCI breaker on.
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