What happened when the new breakers were installed and turned on?

Is there a GFCI somewhere in the circuit? Do you have a voltmeter to use? What would have helped you determine if the breaker was working or not.

Did you turn the breaker ALL the way off before turning it on?

Breakers typically disconnect the handle from the trip mechanism to prevent them from being held 'on' by the handle.

Putting the breaker fully to off re-connects the mechanism.

Moving it from off to on then cocks the spring used to trip the breaker off.

Use a volt meter to check the breaker output to neutral in the panel.
If the breaker has 120 V on the output in the on position, start following cables.
You likely have a bad connection in a junction box.

This post was edited by brickeyee on Mon, May 6, 13 at 14:44