45
Defective receptacle.
Kill it with fire, before it kills you with fire.
And if it has backstab connections (wires jabbed in back holes that auto-grab them) this is a good time to get rid of em. Because they cause this kind of mischief too.
answered Jun 18 '19 at 5:34
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
43
Yeah, the problem is your work methods. When you hit a problem, you're not stopping to iterate on the problem until it's fixed, as you should. You are ignoring it and dashing off to do yet other work. So now you have a set of compound problems that are all interacting with each other.
You seem to think that one thing breaking breaks another thing, for ...
answered Oct 24 '19 at 8:54
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
33
Some brands of GFCI’s trip on power loss. I first found this when putting them in on a bathroom sink outlet that was switched. Every time the light switch was turned off the GFCI tripped when the switch was turned back on. I switched brands and the problem went away. I think this was an early safety that today some new GFCI’s make you press test then reset ...
27
Stop what you're doing. Hire a licensed electrician.
I may well be downvoted for this, but I think it needs to be said. You're messing around with wiring that's a hundred years old and not up to modern codes without proper training, and you're liable to burn your house down. Electricity is dangerous, and you've already managed to create at least one ground ...
26
Not worth the risk
GFCI (whether in receptacles or breakers) are sensitive, life safety electronic items. As such, you don't want to mess with them. In fact, the whole purpose of the TEST/RESET buttons is because they can fail, even without obvious problems such as a flood. Newer models even test automatically.
Is it possible that there is simply still ...
answered Apr 2 '19 at 17:35
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
22.6k3 gold badges28 silver badges70 bronze badges
25
Yes you can be electrocuted even with an operating GFCI. A GFCI will only trip if current goes from the hot and does not return on the neutral. That means it will trip if you stick a fork into the hot and jump into the bathtub / touch the fridge while holding it (because the current on the hot is NOT seen on the neutral - the power is escaping through the ...
25
There's more than one type of GFCI
Aside from the ubiquitous GFCI receptacle, there are also
GFCI circuit breakers
GFCI standalone devices (called "deadfronts" as they look like a GFCI recep with no holes)
GFCI switches (the GFCI is the switch; it's a deadfront rated for daily switching)
GFCI switch-receptacle combos (a plain switch and a 1-socket GFCI ...
answered Nov 10 '19 at 16:21
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
24
An underwater GFCI doesn't matter
That is to say, it doesn't perform any useful function underwater. It does nothing to prevent the water from being electrified, which is its one job. Here's how a GFCI is laid out.
As you can see, if water can get to the "Line" side of the device, then it electrifies the water. And the GFCI cannot do a thing about it.
...
answered Jun 30 '19 at 17:09
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
23
MultiWire Branch Circuit
What you have is a MultiWire Branch Circuit, or MWBC. That is a neat trick that lets you get double the total power, with only 50% more wire (3 wires instead of 2). If you look at your outlets, you should see that the tab on the hot side which normally connects the top and bottom receptacles has been removed. That separates them ...
answered Nov 1 '19 at 6:24
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
22.6k3 gold badges28 silver badges70 bronze badges
22
You should never chain two GFCI circuits together. When you install a GFCI circuit, you should only ever chain standard outlets off of them. Multiple GFCI on the same circuit can cause each other to trip.
So yes, what you want to do is actually what you should do.
What you do need to do, however, is make sure you connect the new outlet to the LOAD ...
22
This happens all the time if an exterior GFCI is not weather-resistant. I've never had a weather resistant GFCI go up in smoke.
Yes, they can be in a metal box, but they still should be marked WR (weather resistant) - this means the electronics inside are coated to reduce the chances of moisture causing exactly what happened with your GFCI.
If it had ...
21
It doesn't need to be a GFCI outlet. It needs to be GFCI protected. GFCI protection is conferred by having any particular outlet obtain power power from the LOAD side of a GFCI device somewhere. On most string-topology circuits, a single well-placed GFCI device will protect the whole circuit.
If you stick a GFCI tester in there, push the button and the ...
answered Jan 21 at 3:38
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
20
Why play with electricity like that? Install one of these:
For use while connected:
or, for occasional temporary use where it can be closed and unused during wet weather:
20
It's worse than that. The cables are done too.
Most houses are wired with Romex (NM) cable. That's not rated for getting wet. It has paper packing inside the sheath that just wicks water like crazy.
If the people who built the house were flood savvy, they built with UF cable, which is wet-rated and notably does not have that paper packing. It will ...
answered Apr 2 '19 at 21:00
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
19
Chances are about 90% that you have a loose connection in the outlet. If I had to guess, I'd say it is a "stab-in" wire connection on the back of the outlet (as opposed to the wire attaching with a screw), so that when you plug something into that outlet, it pushes the connector tighter onto the wire to complete the connection, but when you remove it, the ...
18
If wired correctly, this is fine.
GFCI outlets typically have line terminals (power input) and load terminals (power to other outlets, which will be protected by the GFCI.)
Your contractor will have wired the outlet in the second bathroom to the load terminals of the GFCI in the main bathroom. There should also be a sticker on the outlet stating that it is ...
18
This whole thing is a hot mess.
That breaker MUST be changed to 15 amps immediately.
First, you have 14 AWG wire in the curcuit, yet the breaker is 20A. That's not allowed. Since the smallest wire in the circuit is 14 AWG, the breaker can be no larger than 15A. The fact that it's downstream of a 12AWG section makes no difference at all. The GFCI does ...
answered Dec 26 '16 at 21:42
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
17
GFCI receptacles have two sets of contacts, line, and load. The Line side of the receptacle is used to power the device, while the load side is used to power other devices down the line. Any device connected to the load side of a GFCI receptacle, will be protected by the GFCI receptacle.
For example, if you have a setup like this (which I assume you have)....
17
Finding the first
There's really no substitute for opening boxes, unhooking wires and turning the circuit on and taking measurements.
You open up your believed-closest box, and remove the wires you think are downstream (away from the panel). Tape off the loose wires so they can't short against anything, and plug a 3-light tester or nightlight. Then go ...
answered Sep 21 '17 at 15:20
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
16
No.
Each type of device serves a distinctly separate protective purpose.
Breaker
A circuit breaker detects overcurrent faults, it does not detect ground faults. A circuit breaker will stop your house catching fire when the wiring in the walls overheats from prolonged overcurrent, it wont stop you and your family being killed by electrocution.
A typical ...
16
Overloads don't trip a GFCI. Period. If there was an overload, it would trip the actual circuit breaker. Since this is a GFCI/receptacle (as opposed to a GFCI/breaker) and the GFCI trips, that is a GFCI problem - 100% - and not an overcurrent situation.
14 AWG raises the question of the size of the breaker. If it is 15A then everything is good. If it is 20A ...
answered Aug 5 '19 at 18:34
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
22.6k3 gold badges28 silver badges70 bronze badges
14
Not an uncommon problem. I have had a lot of problems with GFI's the last few years myself. There are a few likely causes:
A fault still exists and will not allow the GFI to reset.
The GFI tripped due to an overload and the differential circuit was damaged, thus the outlet is now toast. This seems to be a common complaint with standard 15 amp GFIC's. they ...
14
Device instructions do not have any standing to decide what NEC does or does not say.
However, device instructions can, and do, make declarations about how the device itself may be used. And these have the force of law.
NEC 110.3(B) Installation and Use. Listed or labeled equipment shall be installed and used in accordance with any instructions ...
answered Dec 29 '16 at 2:02
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
14
There's no point
First, a GFCI receptacle can protect regular receptacles downstream (that's why there are LOAD terminals on them downstream). Second, connecting two GFCIs in series creates a race condition if a ground fault is placed downstream of the 2nd GFCI -- it's indeterminate which one trips (it's even possible for both to trip on the same fault, as ...
14
What can happen...
If you look closely at the way many AFCIs behave, they will trip on a gross ground fault. This is no accident; instead, they rely on this behavior to catch arcs-to-ground specifically (it's the same reason IEC systems use RCD protection panelwide). The converse of that is that an arc-to-ground will trip a GFCI as well. This is one reason ...
13
Step One, which I do for every home I occupy, is to do a thorough map of the circuit breakers by simple trial-and-error. Check every outlet, light, and wired appliance in the home. Print a nice list of what each breaker protects and tape it over the cryptic scribbles left by sparky.
Here's my Google sheet for those who'd like it. I left my data in it as an ...
13
Ed's advice is correct. For a time, some builders of GFCI devices considered this behavior to be a "feature". Undocumented, of course.
This is largely gone from the market, so I would cautiously buy one of a particular make/model, and see if it works as you like. If it does, buy more.
Too bad, it would make a nice feature for some applications, like a ...
answered Sep 4 '19 at 17:05
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
13
Never do random things in electrical. You will stumble upon combinations that will work but will kill you.
Pause to learn what exactly it is you are doing. Only then proceed.
OK, so you had a GFCI that was previously installed and worked before, and now suddenly is tripping.
The most important point is that GFCI devices are capable of protecting ...
answered Jan 18 at 6:47
Harper - Reinstate Monica
122k10 gold badges97 silver badges273 bronze badges
12
Sounds like the circuit is sharing a neutral with another circuit.
With your GFCI breaker installed, turn off all other breakers. Reset the GFCI breaker, which should now hold. If it does not hold, then you have a problem with the wiring on that circuit and need to open each box to investigate.
If the GFCI breaker does hold, turn each breaker on one at a ...
12
Residential Kitchen
In a dwelling unit (residential), GFCI protection is only required for kitchen receptacles that serve the countertop surfaces. There's no requirement to GFCI protect receptacles that serve a refrigerator. Unless the fridge is plugged into a countertop receptacle.
National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection
...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
