I just powered up the (dual function, 20A Siemens) circuit for my new laundry room, which is on a new subpanel. The circuit tests fine with my trusty 3-prong, 3-light tester. But whenever I plug anything else into it, the breaker trips. What could be the problem?
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
This sounds remarkably familiar.
Is the neutral wire correctly connected TO THE BREAKER? Insta-trip on device plug-in is very common with GFCI or GFCI/AFCI (and many but not all AFCI-only) breakers where the neutral is connected to the neutral bar, rather than the neutral connected to the (correct) breaker and the breaker connected to the neutral bar.
It could also be from an incorrect connection (or short) between neutral and ground in the wiring, which the "trusty 3-light tester" can't detect. The tester does not draw enough current to trip the GFCI circuit protection while just running its lights.
answered Sep 15, 2023 at 14:12
-
Thank you. The neutral is definitely connected to the breaker. I suppose it's possible, though somewhat unlikely, that I knicked one of the conductors in one of the gang boxes with the rotozip. I'll check there, but if everything checks out in the boxes, what do I do then? Commented Sep 16, 2023 at 1:38
-
Beware of the bare ground wire touching the neutral connection when putting things in the box, a common enough cause. If you can't find it by inspection, and you have multiple boxes, disconnect the wires from the first box to other boxes and see if the problem remains with just the first box and the breaker, which gives you fewer places to look for a problem. Then reconnect the wire to the next box, and if the problem returns, you'll have a better idea of where it is. I you have lots of boxes (seems unlikly for a laundry circuit) start in the middle to isolate problems.– EcnerwalCommented Sep 16, 2023 at 3:04