1

I read a previous question regarding a GFCI outlet and a washing machine, but my issue is slightly different.

I have 2 GFCI outlets in a washroom in the downstairs of my home. One is obviously feeding power to the other, as well as an additional standard outlet (directly) above the washroom in my daughter's nursery.

I first noticed the problem, when I plugged a baby monitor camera in the upstairs standard outlet. The moment I plugged anything in to that outlet, the GFCI downstairs would trip.

This was the first time that GFCI had tripped since I bought the home 5 years ago. I changed the upstairs outlet, and it worked just fine, when I would plug something in.

"Daddy fixed it! He's obviously a master electrician!!"

Not so much.

Now, when we would run the washing machine prior to this whole charade, there was never any issue. I changed the upstairs outlet, and now (not every time, or at any particular point of a wash cycle) when we use the washing machine, it trips the GFCI outlet (the main, obviously).

Improve this question
7
  • 2
    Have you replaced the GFCI receptacle itself? If it keeps tripping I would start there. It's most likely your receptacle, or the washing machine is leaking too much current to ground. It's much easier to start with replacing a receptacle than a washing machine
    – mjohns
    Jun 24, 2015 at 13:55
  • Yes, I replaced the gfi receptacle as well. The main one, anyway, not the second one on the load side. Thebload side gfi is the only component out of the 3 that has not been replaced. I also plugged the washer into THAT gfi receptacle, to see if possibly that would make a difference, but it still tripped the main gfi.
    – Mike d
    Jun 24, 2015 at 15:28
  • I JUST finished a load of clothes that tripped 3 times during the process. But there are times when we go a week without it tripping. We have a 7 month old, so we basically do at least one load a day..
    – Mike d
    Jun 24, 2015 at 15:30
  • 1
    Are you saying you have a GFCI receptacle on the load side of another GFCI?
    – Tester101
    Jun 24, 2015 at 18:28
  • 2
    What @Tester101 is getting at is that a GFCI protects everything that is served off the load terminals. All downstream receptacles are GFCI protected (and should be labeled as such--GFCI's usually come with little stickers in the box). There's just no point in wiring two GFCI receptacles in series, and there might be a possibility of nuisance trips with them wired up that way. It's different if you pigtail the wires and feed the GFCI's independently. Either way, don't label a downstream receptacle GFCI protected unless you've tested it to ensure that it really is wired up like you think.
    – Craig Tullis
    Jun 25, 2015 at 4:28

0

Reset to default

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.