Safety gate
Stop before troubleshooting if there are signs of overheating or arcing.
CPSC warns that faulty or overloaded power strips and surge protectors can overheat and create fire or shock hazards. If the housing, cord, plug, or receptacle is hot or damaged, retire the device rather than cycling it repeatedly.
Step 01
Identify whether it is a surge strip, UPS, or power conditioner.
A UPS or automatic-voltage-regulation device may contain relays that audibly switch during line changes. A simple surge strip may instead have a resettable breaker and indicator circuit. The same “click” therefore cannot be interpreted without the model.
Step 02
Remove the load and inspect the documented indicators.
Unplug connected equipment. Check the product’s protection-present, fault, grounded, and breaker indicators. Eaton/Tripp Lite manuals, for example, distinguish a breaker trip from a protection/fault indication and direct users to remove excess load before resetting a tripped breaker.
If a protection-present indicator is off or a fault indicator is on, follow the manufacturer’s instruction for that model. Do not assume the unit is protecting equipment simply because its outlets still have power.
Step 03
Check the connected load and outlet condition.
Compare connected equipment with the strip’s current/wattage rating. If the breaker repeatedly trips under a supported load, or the wall outlet is loose, discolored, or hot, stop using the setup and have the outlet/equipment evaluated appropriately.
Decision
Do you need a replacement?
If the “click” is documented normal behavior for a UPS/AVR and there are no fault indicators or safety symptoms, follow that product’s manual.
If the surge-protection indicator shows loss of protection and the maker says the unit is no longer protecting, replace/service it.
Heat, smoke, melted plastic, burning odor, sparks, crackling, or repeated unexplained breaker trips are not “keep testing” symptoms.
Sources