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Message
Any electricians? - GFCI issue
Posted on 9/9/20 at 9:48 pm
Posted on 9/9/20 at 9:48 pm
all of outdoor outlets + garage + one in attic are on one GFCI.
Over the weekend the GFCI outlet controlling the whole circuit kept tripping..
I thought I had a bad outlet or a malfunctioning mini fridge on our back porch, so I replaced it and installed a GFCI.
Worked fine for a couple of hours, then back to tripping. Thought maybe the main GFCI was bad, so replaced it. Again, fine for a while, then problems start.
I have replaced every outlet on the circuit. When the circuit is working, I have checked every outlet with thr 3-light wiring checking plug. I see no visible sign of moisture or corrosion in any of the boxes. There are no devices plugged into the circuit. When replacing each outlet, I temporarily pigtailed the wires to try and isolate one outlet as the problem
Whats weird is that it seems to get worse as time goes on.. i.e., tripping after 2 hours, then 30 minutes, then 10 minutes, until eventually it trips almost before you can walk away from it. Almost as if there is heat building up somewhere
Any ideas?
Over the weekend the GFCI outlet controlling the whole circuit kept tripping..
I thought I had a bad outlet or a malfunctioning mini fridge on our back porch, so I replaced it and installed a GFCI.
Worked fine for a couple of hours, then back to tripping. Thought maybe the main GFCI was bad, so replaced it. Again, fine for a while, then problems start.
I have replaced every outlet on the circuit. When the circuit is working, I have checked every outlet with thr 3-light wiring checking plug. I see no visible sign of moisture or corrosion in any of the boxes. There are no devices plugged into the circuit. When replacing each outlet, I temporarily pigtailed the wires to try and isolate one outlet as the problem
Whats weird is that it seems to get worse as time goes on.. i.e., tripping after 2 hours, then 30 minutes, then 10 minutes, until eventually it trips almost before you can walk away from it. Almost as if there is heat building up somewhere
Any ideas?
This post was edited on 9/9/20 at 9:49 pm
5
Posted on 9/10/20 at 6:40 am to jmcwhrter
It’s very possible you are missing an outlet you didn’t know was on that circuit. Could you have a bad outdoor light or something like that also?
Posted on 9/10/20 at 7:11 am to jmcwhrter
Bad breaker? That was ultimately my problem.
It felt sung when I messed with it. When I pulled it out, it was rusted and cracked.
It felt sung when I messed with it. When I pulled it out, it was rusted and cracked.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 8:24 am to jmcwhrter
Could be the breaker or you missed one like the poster above said.
What are you plugging in to these outlets? Maybe your equipment is bad. How old is the house as well?
What are you plugging in to these outlets? Maybe your equipment is bad. How old is the house as well?
Posted on 9/10/20 at 8:26 am to baldona
quote:
It’s very possible you are missing an outlet you didn’t know was on that circuit.
Might even be one inside the house. Maybe an outlet in a bathroom that's on an exterior wall?
Posted on 9/10/20 at 8:39 am to jmcwhrter
either bad breaker or another outlet connected to one of the GFCI's is bad
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:32 am to kengel2
quote:
What are you plugging in to these outlets? Maybe your equipment is bad. How old is the house as well?
unplugged everything -- nothing connected
House is 7 years old
The one thing I haven't checked is voltage coming out of the breaker box...
I had a very similar issue months ago with kitchen circuit.. Ended up finding a hidden outlet inside a cabinet above the stove that was bad.
This time, however, I've searched high and low and can't find shite
ETA: i'm now learning that adding a 2nd GFCI on the same circuit (daisy chained) does not "stop" the problem at that circuit.. it will still trip the first/main GFCI
This post was edited on 9/10/20 at 9:35 am
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:42 am to CoachChappy
quote:
Bad breaker
This is what I am thinking.
Unless like mentioned you have a hidden outlet/lights that you are unaware of on the circuit causing it trip.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 10:15 am to southern686
what issue would the breaker have that would trip the GFCI outlet but not trip the breaker itself?
Also what would cause the circuit to work perfectly fine for 2 hours, then -- without changing anything device-wise -- suddenly it starts tripping again..
Also what would cause the circuit to work perfectly fine for 2 hours, then -- without changing anything device-wise -- suddenly it starts tripping again..
This post was edited on 9/10/20 at 10:47 am
Posted on 9/10/20 at 2:21 pm to jmcwhrter
quote:
what issue would the breaker have that would trip the GFCI outlet but not trip the breaker itself?
My breaker was rusted, so it wouldn't trip and did feel loose. Right where the wire came in, it was bad. Different air pressures would make it work vs not work. It was weird. Just check the breaker.
Next, it's possible you have a bad bit of wire somewhere that arcing on a nail in the wall which is obviously not good.
This post was edited on 9/10/20 at 3:31 pm
Posted on 9/10/20 at 4:04 pm to CoachChappy
Are you talking about a normal breaker or a GFCI breaker?
Posted on 9/10/20 at 5:17 pm to jmcwhrter
Normal breaker in the breaker box.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 7:39 pm to CoachChappy
Changed breaker, reset GFCI, everything worked great for 25 minutes... then trip city
This post was edited on 9/10/20 at 7:42 pm
Posted on 9/10/20 at 7:46 pm to jmcwhrter
quote:
Changed breaker, reset GFCI, everything worked great for 25 minutes... then trip city
Crap! Something is arcing somewhere.
Where the wire comes From the breaker panel and up the wall, from that spot in the attic, run the wire by hand. Look for any breaks in the wire all the way to the junction box.
Then, hand run wire from the junction box until it drops into the wall. If that’s not it, my only guess is there something wrong With the wire inside the wall.
I’m out of guesses after that.
This post was edited on 9/10/20 at 7:47 pm
Posted on 9/10/20 at 8:08 pm to CoachChappy
Unfortunately the electrician ran the wire for THIS circuit straight down out of the breaker box into this GFCI..
Makes it very difficult to figure out where it comes back out and goes to outlet 1
Makes it very difficult to figure out where it comes back out and goes to outlet 1
Posted on 9/11/20 at 1:09 pm to jmcwhrter
Well.. turns out on the side of thr house, there's a junction box that is wired for an outlet but has a blank faceplate on it.
Was about half full of water from the hurricane, and hot as shite to touch
Was about half full of water from the hurricane, and hot as shite to touch
This post was edited on 9/11/20 at 1:11 pm
Posted on 9/11/20 at 8:34 pm to jmcwhrter
Posted on 9/13/20 at 2:17 pm to jmcwhrter
I had a similar problem, and changed out every outlet including one above the AC unit outside.
After it kept tripping I finally realized there was an outlet by the front door on that circuit. That one fixed it.
After it kept tripping I finally realized there was an outlet by the front door on that circuit. That one fixed it.
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