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I was attempting to wire in a new GFCI receptacle on the exterior of my house. i ran a new 3wire 12 gauge BX cable and wired it onto an existing junction box in the basement. The junction box is attached to a switch which leads to another junction box then to the circuit breaker. The other junction box goes to a number of light fixtures in the basement.

When I flipped the breaker on then flipped the switch on it tripped the breaker. I thought I saw an arc travel between the box that the switch is on and the ground wire on the BX cable.

I'm pretty certain I wired the GFCI correctly i've wired a bunch before. I'm trying to determine what the most likely cause of the issue is and how to troubleshoot it. I'm thinking it might be the switch it's self ( since it's an old switch ) but i'm also wondering if it could have something to so with the GFCI being in parallel to all of the lights. Any help would be great.

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    Please upload pictures showing the wiring (don't disconnect anything - we need to see how it is now) of the GFCI, the switch and any other junction boxes that you worked on as part of this project.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Nov 7, 2022 at 15:18
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    A hot wire/screw is too close or touching a box/bare ground wire. Seeing the arc, you probably found the first place/device to check. I assuming that you are tripping the breaker and not the GFCI.
    – crip659
    Nov 7, 2022 at 15:18

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