Why does my GFI keep tripping?
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- čas přidán 24. 08. 2024
- Explaining common problems of GFI receptacles, and how to wire correctly on line and load size. you will have better understanding after watching this.
Thanks for watching!
- David
David@DavidJonesAC.com
Follow me on Facebook: / david-jones-ac-1010702...
You said a mouthful in a moment regarding new construction. I am wiser for the wear. Thanks!
I like the viewer comments and responses. My question was answered by a response comment. Thanks for posting. God bless.
Thanks for this info. Really saved me today. I had mine keep tripping out of the blue and then when you mentioned the moisture could trip from a receptacle down the chain, it reminded me I still had my Halloween lights on an auto timer and it was raining.
Thanks again!
David the biggest reason the gfci trips is because the ground wire is not pushed to the back of the box and is touching the neutral, clear the ground from the grounded conductor and it will work.
Mine has been tripping for a few weeks. I swapped it out, new one did the same. I Started pulling all the outlets on the load side. Sure enough, the ground wire on the second to last one had pulled loose and was touching the neutral screw. Problem solved.
Fantastic tip. Simple solution to a vexing problem. Thank you.
Thank you!!!!
I would freaking buy you a beer if you lived near me. Have been slamming my head up against the wall trying to figure out why this thing kept tripping. That was the problem. THANK YOU
3/23/22. Thanks a bunch! Bought myself a tester,followed your line-load instructions…and yes!
We have a working GFI. 🥳
Thank you for this video!! One of my kitchen GFIs just blew and I think it is because it had a shared neural with a light switch. I’m going to rework it so they are separate. Really appreciate the help.
Great video. My understanding is that Leviton gfci's come out of the box tripped, and can't be reset if there is a fault. Also the internal circuit is normally open and the test circuit must stay powered to close the circuit to give power to the receptacle, so if the internal electronics fail then it will fail into the opened state.
Thank you very much. I did have the power and the load wire backwards. I swithed them and BAM!!! Everything works as it should. Many thanks
Some years ago I installed a GFCI outlet in a bathroom of a 1950s house that was wired with 2-wire NM cable, except there had evidently been some remodeling, as the bathroom had 3-wire grounded NM cable in it. Inexplicably, the GFCI kept tripping every hour, or so. It turned out that the kitchen circuit was sharing the neutral with the bathroom and every time the refrigerator compressor started or the refrigerator door was opened, the GFCI sensed a current imbalance and would trip. The problem was solved by removing the drywall and running a dedicated NM cable from the main panel to the bathroom.
Grounding on bathrooms was mandatory in the 50s.
@@okaro6595 He CLEARLY said there "evidently been some remodeling".......... SMH
A lot of things are "mandatory".. just like its "mandatory" to drive the speed limit but people get tickets all the time.. and there will always be a Mr. Smartfart Mcgee who was so smart he became a master electrician while working full time for roto rooter and argued with the inspector that he swears he didnt bond the sub panel and it didnt come with a bonding screw as their standing over a dead dog in a puddle of water around the post light. Its always the new guys fault even though he wired it all by himself..
I want to thank you very much for this video after pulling my hair out all day and spent $85 on new circuit breakers and still not getting it to work your video showed me that both my bathrooms are linked together and all I had to do was push the reset button in the guest bathroom and that fixed my problem ,thank you very much,I wish I watched this video first.
Only you mentioned that a common shorted or connected to ground, could trip the GFCI repeatedly upon installation of a new GFCI. Breaker off, I rechecked the receptacles down stream. After removing the cover, I immediately saw the problem thru the left gap of the mounted GFCI in the box. Apparently, when I pushed the new GFCI it into the box, the BARE ground wires moved around and went forward and was touching the common screw on the side of the GFCI. Breaker still off, I pushed the ground wire away so the bare ground wire stopped touching the white wire common on the silver screw. I turned on the breaker, hit reset, and this time it stayed on.
Thank you for mentioning that in this video regarding common getting linked to ground.
A simple solution is to tape every receptacle.
When I hear electricians talk about AFCIs and GFCIs and "nuisance tripping", most of the time I find a simple problem like this.
Very informative video on the proper way to install a GFCI and troubleshooting issues.
Just want to say you're always clear with your info whether it is electric or hvac. I watch many how to but you're the best!!!
The GFI tester can save your life or your family. If you work on other people houses always tell them they need to check bathrooms, kitchen, outside. Always be safe my friend.
Thanks Dave, good answer & observations that i can use. You gave me some insight of what I may do for my client outdoor patio bar.
THANK YOU . SHARED NEUTRAL WAS MY PROBLEM
A GFI, or GFCI - Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter device protects us from receiving electric shocks from faults in the electrical devices we use in our home. It works by comparing the input current on the hot side to the output current on the neutral side.
Very good for troubleshooting GFCI.
Great video bud very clear and concise...
Very informative video! Easy to follow and understand. Thanks!
thank you
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I have a GFCI outlet in my garage which seems to be protecting 4 internal receptacles and 5 exterior receptacles. NOrmal load on these receptacles is zero. Over the last couple of years I have troubles with this GFCI outlet tripping, especially after a rainstorm.. It may happen instantaneously in a rainstorm, but the GFCI may be good for a day or two if the weather has been dry. I have replaced the original GFCI, but the problem has not changed at all. I do not have a circuit diagram of my house wiring, but my inclination is to install new GFCIs in each outside receptacle and to replace the existing GFCI inside the garage with a conventional 20A outlet. What do you think?
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the garage receptacle must be a gfci it the floor is cement. replacing the outside receptacles with individual gfci's will probably solve the tripping problem as you probably have multiple sources of current leakage in them due to moisture during inclement weather.
I appreciate your comment, thanks my friend.
Damn lazy ass home builders out here always cutting corners....I'm glad this guy is calling out these bad electricians
I can't tell you how many gfi's I hqve found not wired correctly! Good video
Pj
My refrigerator in the garage was tripping the gfci around every 30 minutes or so. Something about vapor compressor building up emi. The garage outlet was connected to the bathroom's circuit.
Deduced it to the fridge after I cleaned the dusty boxes, checked all the wire nuts, and googled for about 3 hours.
can you explain the vapor compressor? I've replaced mine switch twice in my garage because of it randomly tripping. The only thing I have plugged into it is an old refrigerator I was wondering if it was causing to trip..
@@cprogress basically from what I learned is that refrigerators were not built to be put on a gfci circuit.
I don't know what you mean when you say you replaced the switch. You reset the circuit breaker that tripped?
I ended up running a new circuit, from a new breaker in the circuit panel, to a new outlet in the garage.
Thank you for your help. It was water inside my outlet that was tripping the power off. :)
Hey, how did you discover that you had moisture inside? Also, after drying did things go back to normal?
Obinna Ezebuiroh i used my leaf blower inside the outlet for 30 second. that took care of any moisture and it started working.
Bhoumik awesome - thanks a ton for your speedy reply!
I have found many myself, either old or never wired correctly. Thanks for comment.
have you ever found all 3 lights on the tester lite on? if so, what is the problem why all 3 lights on the tester is on? thanks
Here in the UK we have an equivalent called a Residual current device.(RCD)
Normally found in the fusebox. One RCD can protect the whole property. Newer boxes have two RCDs and then the power goes through individual circuit breakers for the various circuits and then out through the cables to the various circuits.
RCD (GFCI) breakers at the fusebox are used more and more these days and are fully code compliant. It's just most electrical contractors don't use them for whatever reason. I think the reasoning is that it is much easier for the consumer to be able to look at his electrical outlet and press a button than it is for him to go fumbling through his fuse box. Part of it, too, is just tradition. GFCI outlets came out in the 70's, have massively cut down on electrocutions, and therefore electricians and the code making board just goes with what has always worked. Also, we don't require RCD protection on all circuits here -- only in areas where water might come in contact. (Our rule is 6 feet from a water source as well as all outdoor outlets). If we required them on all circuits, then breakers would make more sense (we are heading that way).
We did steal one thing from you Brits recently, though. We now require all new receptacle outlets to be "tamper resistant." New receptacles have little plastic shutters in them that keep foreign objects out (mostly to childproof it) The receptacle manufacturers call it "new technology", but I guess no one told them the UK has been doing this since 1947.
Thank you so much David jones
I had an issue with a gfci randomly tripping out.. only running some led lighting and a mini fridge.. fridge is ran through a transient suppressor, surge protector then to the outlet.. turns out anything with a motor can trip the gfci's just because of the startup.. since fridges have a much bigger fla on startup then use the whole thermal relay to switch over windings put a back emf up the line and sometimes can tickle it just enough to trip the thing.. and i know its wired correctly because i did it myself.. is a home run dedicated on the ceiling of the garage with an over rated conductor sizing.. had me scratching the ole bald head..
how did you resolve the tripping?
Thanks a lot. I couldn't figure this one out for anything. Keep up the good work
You may have provided a possible solution for my fountain’s intermittent “tripping” of the GFCI outside. I will ask my electrician to isolate the “neutrals”.🙏👍👏
Thanks so much for this video. You were exactly right. Mine was wired wrong.
Good explanations and advice. Thank you.
Im installing a GFI for an outdoor circuit. I had run wire through conduit a couple years ago and now when I attach that new circuit to the load side of my GFI, it trips the GFI upstream. Sounds like a problem with my wire, like it has some insulation exposed or a short somewhere? Any other thoughts? How can I test my wire run to make sure it doesnt have issues? Thanks for the great video!
If you disconnect or open the black wire and then touch the bare ground wire to the white neutral wire, the GFCI will trip. The only way to fix a GFCI tripping when you rewire and the black wire is open, is to open the white power source wire or the bare ground wire during rewiring or new work. That second open wire stops current differences in the bare and white wire from being detected. If you shut off the entire GFCI circuit at the breaker, the chip in the GFCI should not be powered and can't trip. If the GFCI won't reset, one possibility is the bare and white are touching somewhere in a box.
Hi David
I have a fridge in my garage that is working fine. The GFCI started tripping maybe a year after the fridge was connected to it. The fridge is working fine because I tested it on a normal circuit and nothing happened. I even put electrical tape around the outlet because I thought moisture might be the problem. But the outlet is still tripping.
Zaid Jamal hey Zaid how did you resolved your problem with the fridge if you don't mind me asking. thxs
I put a new GFI outlet in the garage :)
i dont know
sorry
All refrigerators and freezers need a dedicated circuit to them. They tell you not to plug them into GFCI outlets. You are allowed to have a dedicated single plug (not a duplex/reg outlet) outlet that is not GFCI protected in a garage as long as they occupy that space that the outlet is installed at.
Article 210.8 (A) (2) Exception (2)
excellent video david thank's for sharing!!!! I had a question is it pretty tuff to get a c20 license for hvacr!!!!
how do you wire the gfi wheb there is 2 black and 1 white wire
very good info. Ty.
This is very helpful and well-explained. Thanks.
Great video David, been using them for years !! Great tool and it is in my tool tote at all times. Take care, Brett
Thanks for the great information.
Hello! I have a GFI outlet in my garage, and it feeds other outlet outside. when it rains it trigger the GFI. I am sure is because there is moisture getting into the outlet box outside. my question is how do i know which out has a problem? Thank you for your help in advance.
All of a sudden, when I turn on my Christmas lights in the backyard (about 10 strands of 100 lights) it trips my gfi in the kitchen. It's been working fine, but we've had a lot of rain lately and you mentioned moisture could be an issue. What do I do????? Thanks!
Thanks
I have multiple gfci outlets in my house that constantly trip. Like if you use it, 75% of the time its gonna trip. It trips at the outlet, not the breaker box. The outlets are on different breakers, 1s in kitchen, 1s in garage, 1s in bathroom. Light bulbs in my house go out constantly to. House is only 10 years old. Any idea what might be causing this? Thanks alot for any info
Thanks for the comment hope it helps those new in the trade.
Good job David, some good info here
Nice explanation of the Load side.. it's been a mystery for me as I switch out old outlets. I leave the tape on unless the original was wired using the load, but I wondered about them. Thanks!
GFCI kept tripping when the ground was connected to the output side of the GFCI. When disconnect ground from the output side of the GFCI, the voltage reads approximately, i think, somewhere around 68vac to neutral. Checked for shorts, but none, yet it's 68vac. It started to happened out of the blue. Nothing was recently changed. What might be causing this other than possibly a leak from hot to ground on the output side of the GFCI? The first receptable is working fine, checked the voltage and used tester.
So I have an external garage with 3 circuits. One is a receptical circuit with a GFCI. I have one of those yellow circuit testers. My GFCI is tripping. I noticed one of the recepticals has the hot-neutral reversed (red-yellow-off lights...). Could that be causeing the GFCI to trip? It doesn't trip all the time though???
Great info David, I have the polarity checker but it don't have the GFI test button on it, guess I will see if Home Depot has the one like you recommend.
harbor freight has one and it is a good quality works well and is cheap
That particular brand of tester can give a false reading that all is correct. Sperry testers have a higher resistance test that indicates a grounding problem.
is it good or bad to plug a UPS into a gfci outlet? or will it cause it to trip ?
I had a gfci out door that burnt up and I replaced it. I turned power back on and reset the outlet and it makes a zap noise and kicks off. It is connected to my worlpool tub and it is not working eather. what do you think?
Helpful, thanks
BTW, that yellow color device is a quick and dirty method to test. I can fool it easily. I use a multi-meter.
Good advice.
if I ran a 6/2 to central air unit n 10/2 wire to hot water heater both dedicated circuits n soon as I turn on breaker meter starts spinning what would cause that??? also no ground Rob on panel but I do see 2# copper going under house most likely bonded to cold water copper pipes n does main bonding jumper connection make a difference
Great video!
I've ran into GFI's on exterior walls that didn't reset simply because the metal mounting frame of the GFI was tweaked too much. When you straighten them out, they work fine again. They're very sensitive.
What did you mean by "tweaked too much"? And what's a "mounting frame", on a GFI?
@@Seemsayinprobably the wires behind it were to much, or too stiff, then when you bolt it down, the unit does not want to move, but the metal bracket on the unit will bend and twist, basically twisting the whole unit
@@jakefriesenjake Jake... There's a strong possibility that your ground wire is coming in contact with the hot wires, where they screw onto the GFI. Even if it's just close by... the simple act of plugging and unplugging could move the unit just enough, where it would touch. Stiff wire (12 guage) can be a hassle when installing when, as we all know... the box has limited space. GFI's will take up a lot off room.
Tripping would be caused by shorting, a broken GFI device, too much amperage on the circuit, another device, on the load-side of the circuit, or a loose connection somewhere on the circuit. Loose connections can cause wire to overheat. Packed wires, or improper seating shouldn't have anything to do with it.
Also... anything that uses power on that circuit, especially if old/worn out, could be drawing more amperage than the breaker can handle. I had a customer complain that his pool pump was tripping his breaker. Wanted to know If he had a bad breaker, and if installing a higher amp breaker would solve the problem. I asked how old the pump was, and it turned out that it was over 10 years old. As things things like that start to wear out from usage & age, the tend to draw more amperage. It was time for a new pump. Installing a larger breaker would have strained the wiring, and would eventually have overheated it. That's how fires start.
Hope that helped you out.
@@Seemsayin thanks!
My issue is that my master bedroom bathroom gfic breaker will trip every few months and blow out the bathroom light, when i try to reset the breaker in the panel it keeps tripping. If i shut that gfic breaker off for a few hours then turn it back on the bathroom light will be fine for a few months, then out of no where it trips again and i have to repeat these steps. I put a brand new gfic breaker in the panel and i am having the same issue.
WOW, BanApple Gas is making a come back : )
I use an 1875 watt hair dryer in my bathroom GFCI, but I run this dryer for a while every two days.. should I be getting one of these GFCI testers to ensure I'm not creating danger to myself over time or something...?
if you have any receptacles within 6 feet of any possible water, then a gfci is required.
I am installing a 20 amp GFCI where a regular outlet currently exists - in the kitchen. There is power to the box on a 12 gauge wire. There are two load wires. One is 12 gauge and the other is 14 gauge. When I install the GCFI, it will trip when the 14 gauge is connected. When disconnect the 14 gauge, it works fine. Does a 14 gauge wire load on a 20 amp GFCI with 12 gauge hot, cause the trip? I will have to replace the 14 gauge with a 12 gauge, I know. But I just want to make sure the 14 gauge is the problem - I don't have any load (plugged in) on the 14 gauge circuit that I can tell.
There must be some kind of a 5 mA or greater short in the 14 circuit
If you’re able try a separate GFI on just that circuit and see if it works always tied to the line side
Thx
Pretty sure mine has neutrals connected together somewhere on the load side of the GFCI, came here hoping to find out how to track it down/test for it. Any tips?
Very good info. Thanks.
and some gfi have a end of life won't reset
My line side coming into the bathroom Gfi has a contaminated neutral (50v) in a 25 yr old condo. This is on the 3rd floor from the main panel on level one. Impossible to run another new circuit from the panel box. Current Gfi circuit has two load outlets downstream that are used only occasionally. There is a 20amp outlet circuit available to pull power from and tie into the line side of the Gfi... Is this a good alternative
Good info!
Very good info. Probably the most miss understood device in anywhere would be the GFI. Safety first very nice video!!! :)
Depending on the Gfi circuit is run, or how many it is best to tried the outside to line side. That way only that one will trip out.
Should be replaced not working correctly
only time you would install a gfci, is when a water source is like a meter and a half away from the plug it self. and out side plug, covering all plugs with out side moisture water proof cover. Other than that all other plugs should be standard plugs, as in 20 amp plugs for 12/2 wire and 15 amp plugs for 14 /2 wire , and as for ARK FAULT Breakers, now by code in Canada, you have to have one for each plug home run
thanks for watching
I had an ARC fault Breaker in bedroom per my states requirement at time of build....it constantly buzzed and whatnot...replaced...still did it....removed and replaced with NORMAL breaker...PROBLEM SOLVED...I won't have government mandated fire hazards in my home...SCREW THAT!
question please. In this kind of oulet the bottom was working and the top wasn't working. Keep tripping my microwave
3 outlets on the same kitchen side wall same braker..... wow pratical...
HI David. if I replace a two wire outlet in my bathroom with a gfci and then test it with a gfci tester is it supposed to trip it. because I replaced it with a gfci and it does not trip it. no ground
Thank you for your video. Here is my question:
There is a GFI & light switch combo for over-the sink VANITY lights which are almost never used & where shower is run only a handful times a year, so moisture issue very unlikely.
There is a light switch for the bathroom CEILING light located on the wall OUTSIDE the bathroom. About twice a month, when this ceiling light is switched off, the GFI will trip.
As a DIY, I have some electrical experience. I haven’t opened it up to look at the wiring yet, & don’t have a 3 wire tester yet, but what do you think is the most likely problem given the fact the GFI trips so infrequently & it is with a light switch not associated near the GFI. ?shared neutral
thank you man
In this modular home they jumped the neutrals off a few lights. Now i cant get the gfi to work above stream as it should
Thanks for the comment my friend.
'multi branch circuits", "shared neutral" I think that my problem.
Replaced a regular outlet with a GFI it will trip if I plug something in "downstream" on the same circuit.
I'll replace it with a regular outlet as it was originally built.
The GFIs I have in the bathrooms (3) work just fine.
I’m having the same issue in my kitchen. I can’t find a solution.
Very helpfull thanks
My GFI (that my microwave is plugged into) trips when the microwave is not in use. It never has tripped while the microwave is in use. However, a different GFI in the kitchen trips when I plug something into it. My house was built in 2005, but I think the previous owners did some remodeling, and most likely either made some errors or put in used items. Should I just replace all of the GFI's or get a tester to test them first?
My GFI outdoor receptacle keeps showing an amber/yellow light. How do you fix it?
Which light is it? That will tell you what bad connection you have. Instructions are right there above the lights.
@@LightGesture Thanks, LightGesture. We sold the house...
my garage GFCI keeps tripping and what could be the cause any idea? do i have to replace it?
some thing is causing it to trip, unless its very old keep looking
ok thanks.
if it's 20 years old, do you consider it old?
Wired two separate circuits with 12/3 wire. On the one going to the bathroom, I could not get the GFCI to work at all, although my voltmeter reads 120 between the hot(red) wire and both the neutral and ground. I think you may be correct as the two circuits share neutral and ground. Any way around this without redoing the entire circuits?
you can not share a neutral, has be separate
have to have seprate neutrals
Turned out to be a faulty GFCI. Shared neutrals worked OK.
So they put ours outside now my room plugs do not work and the red light is on outside and will not reset so does that mean it's bad
Newly built home owner.. do all gcfi outlets have a test & reset button? One bathroom has it but the switches near sinks in other bathrooms and kitchen look like a normal outlet (like the ones in livingroom /bedroom) with no test/reset button however it does have a gcfi sticker
Hey I’ve got a short somewhere in my outdoor yard lamp. Previous homeowner added a motion light to a backyard light and the thing kept tripping the circuit. I removed the motion light and found the bare ground wire arcs when I touch it to the housing from the old motion light. How do I find the nick in the line? Thank you for your input
what is it best GFI tester?
Nice
I have come across a few kitchen ones that the receptacle was faulty.
Been quite a few yrs now that if you wire the line side on the load side. The GFI will not work. UL made them change the GFI to not work if the line side wiring got wired to the load side.
Thankkkkkkkkkkkkkkk you. You are the best
Thanks for the video. I have a TV, sound bar and PS4 plugged into a 4 socket outlet. That line runs down to my panel and connects into a GFI outlet before continuing into my panel box. It was installed a year ago when I mounted my tv on the wall. Every few weeks, the whole line goes dead.. the GFI won't reset down by the panel. The breaker on the panel does not appear tripped. I reset the breaker off then on.. and GFI can be reset. Any guesses?
FYI- the wires are wrapped around the screws in the wrong direction. As the screw tightens the wire will be forced up and/or out from under the tightening screw. Wires should *always* be wrapped around the screw in the same direction as the screw tightens.
the wires are not wrapped around the screw they are stab set and the screw is tightened.
Thanks for the comment, I hope it helps my friend.
Thank you
Bought a GFi with a switch and a plug on same receptacle. It has 2 black wires coming out of the bottom. Where should these be plugged in order for the plug to work properly? I plugged them with the load but it does not seem to be the correct way as plug only works when switch is in the off position
Depends on how you want to use it. If the switched item should be protected such as a garbage disposal then you connect the "hot set of wires, the ones bringing power to the outlet" to the line connections. You then connect the neutral wire going to the disposal to the load screw (neutrals are the ones on the side with the bigger slot in receptacle) 1 of the 2 black wires is then connected to the other load screw and the 2nd black wire coming from the gfi connects to the hot wire going to the disposal.
Another situation is with a switch going to a light that does not need to be on gfi protected. For this you pigtail the incoming and outgoing neutral wires with a 3rd short wire that you connect to the line side neutral screw. You then connect the hot incoming wire with one of the attached wires and a 3rd added "pigtail" wire. The other attached black wire you connect to the hot wire (usually black) going to the light.
Just installed a GFCI . 2 hot black, 1 neutral white & ground come into box. GFCI tests perfectly with 2 yellow lights on the tester. Next non GFCI down the line test perfectly but when I plug something - the first GFCI trips. Any ideas?
Bruce McFadden it’s the neutrals u need 2 white
I have the same issue. There’re one neutral for two hots. How can we have two neutrals? You mean one independent neutral for each hot? That would be the ideal solution but I would have to retire everything correct?