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Harper - Reinstate Monica
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Your devices are NEVER broken

Let's be clear about this. GFCI is a fault-detection device. It detects ground faults, mainly in appliances, but it can happen in wiring too. However, ground faults in appliances only happen to other people. YOUR appliances never ground-fault!

So definitely leave everything in the garage plugged in, and don't go unplugging anything to troubleshoot.

Narrow it down

What's left? It could be a hardwired appliance like a lamp, but it would have to go to a neighbor's house, because your lamps don't fail!

It could also be a fault in the wiring.

A hot-ground hard fault would trip a regular breaker. A soft fault (leakage) might not, but would surely trip a GFCI. This might happen if a box was getting wet, or if outdoor wiring was leaking (perhaps because it is not rated for outdoor use, e.g. NM "Romex" outside or buried).

A neutral-ground fault will not trip a breaker, but will trip a GFCI. This could be a bootlegged ground, or a neutral screw touching a ground wire at a receptacle.

Look at the cable to the garage. Is it /3 cable with a black, red and white wire? That's the problem right there: This type of wiringwiring* is incompatible with single-pole GFCI breakers. First, the black and red wires need to be on a 2-pole breaker with common shutoff, regardless, for safety - they must shut off together. Then, you need to use a 2-pole GFCI breaker, because it need to measure all 3 wires - both hots and the neutral.

Another potential problem is if two separate circuits (not MWBCs) unintentionally mix their neutral wires. That's a perception problem among installers: you should intermix all grounds from multiple circuits, and some people think they should intermix neutrals too. Or they need a neutral wire, so they grab one from another circuit. That's very common with smart switches and in boxes with 3-ways. (Thanks DoxyLover).

All these problems should be observable by opening up the junction boxes (with power off and tested to confirm off, obviously).


* It's called a Multi-wire branch circuit and there's nothing wrong with it, however it does require knowledge and special handling, GFCIs being one such case.

Your devices are NEVER broken

Let's be clear about this. GFCI is a fault-detection device. It detects ground faults, mainly in appliances, but it can happen in wiring too. However, ground faults in appliances only happen to other people. YOUR appliances never ground-fault!

So definitely leave everything in the garage plugged in, and don't go unplugging anything to troubleshoot.

Narrow it down

What's left? It could be a hardwired appliance like a lamp, but it would have to go to a neighbor's house, because your lamps don't fail!

It could also be a fault in the wiring.

A hot-ground hard fault would trip a regular breaker. A soft fault (leakage) might not, but would surely trip a GFCI. This might happen if a box was getting wet, or if outdoor wiring was leaking (perhaps because it is not rated for outdoor use, e.g. NM "Romex" outside or buried).

A neutral-ground fault will not trip a breaker, but will trip a GFCI. This could be a bootlegged ground, or a neutral screw touching a ground wire at a receptacle.

Look at the cable to the garage. Is it /3 cable with a black, red and white wire? That's the problem right there: This type of wiring is incompatible with single-pole GFCI breakers. First, the black and red wires need to be on a 2-pole breaker with common shutoff, regardless, for safety - they must shut off together. Then, you need to use a 2-pole GFCI breaker, because it need to measure all 3 wires - both hots and the neutral.

Your devices are NEVER broken

Let's be clear about this. GFCI is a fault-detection device. It detects ground faults, mainly in appliances, but it can happen in wiring too. However, ground faults in appliances only happen to other people. YOUR appliances never ground-fault!

So definitely leave everything in the garage plugged in, and don't go unplugging anything to troubleshoot.

Narrow it down

What's left? It could be a hardwired appliance like a lamp, but it would have to go to a neighbor's house, because your lamps don't fail!

It could also be a fault in the wiring.

A hot-ground hard fault would trip a regular breaker. A soft fault (leakage) might not, but would surely trip a GFCI. This might happen if a box was getting wet, or if outdoor wiring was leaking (perhaps because it is not rated for outdoor use, e.g. NM "Romex" outside or buried).

A neutral-ground fault will not trip a breaker, but will trip a GFCI. This could be a bootlegged ground, or a neutral screw touching a ground wire at a receptacle.

Look at the cable to the garage. Is it /3 cable with a black, red and white wire? That's the problem right there: This type of wiring* is incompatible with single-pole GFCI breakers. First, the black and red wires need to be on a 2-pole breaker with common shutoff, regardless, for safety - they must shut off together. Then, you need to use a 2-pole GFCI breaker, because it need to measure all 3 wires - both hots and the neutral.

Another potential problem is if two separate circuits (not MWBCs) unintentionally mix their neutral wires. That's a perception problem among installers: you should intermix all grounds from multiple circuits, and some people think they should intermix neutrals too. Or they need a neutral wire, so they grab one from another circuit. That's very common with smart switches and in boxes with 3-ways. (Thanks DoxyLover).

All these problems should be observable by opening up the junction boxes (with power off and tested to confirm off, obviously).


* It's called a Multi-wire branch circuit and there's nothing wrong with it, however it does require knowledge and special handling, GFCIs being one such case.

Source Link
Harper - Reinstate Monica
  • 309.8k
  • 27
  • 294
  • 760

Your devices are NEVER broken

Let's be clear about this. GFCI is a fault-detection device. It detects ground faults, mainly in appliances, but it can happen in wiring too. However, ground faults in appliances only happen to other people. YOUR appliances never ground-fault!

So definitely leave everything in the garage plugged in, and don't go unplugging anything to troubleshoot.

Narrow it down

What's left? It could be a hardwired appliance like a lamp, but it would have to go to a neighbor's house, because your lamps don't fail!

It could also be a fault in the wiring.

A hot-ground hard fault would trip a regular breaker. A soft fault (leakage) might not, but would surely trip a GFCI. This might happen if a box was getting wet, or if outdoor wiring was leaking (perhaps because it is not rated for outdoor use, e.g. NM "Romex" outside or buried).

A neutral-ground fault will not trip a breaker, but will trip a GFCI. This could be a bootlegged ground, or a neutral screw touching a ground wire at a receptacle.

Look at the cable to the garage. Is it /3 cable with a black, red and white wire? That's the problem right there: This type of wiring is incompatible with single-pole GFCI breakers. First, the black and red wires need to be on a 2-pole breaker with common shutoff, regardless, for safety - they must shut off together. Then, you need to use a 2-pole GFCI breaker, because it need to measure all 3 wires - both hots and the neutral.