Any electricians here?

Kinja'd!!! "mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
10/24/2015 at 15:51 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 9

7 year old house, gfci outlets in the kitchen and garage ghost/nuisance trip constantly. 4 separate circuits, gfci trip 1-2 times per day. Any tips to trace the problem?


DISCUSSION (9)


Kinja'd!!! Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 15:53

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Convert to nuclear power.


Kinja'd!!! CB > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 15:57

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What normally causes them to trip? Is something turned on and then shut off? Or does it happen on a routine schedule?


Kinja'd!!! Agrajag > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 15:58

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I don’t know how to test them, but gfci outlets are prone to failure.


Kinja'd!!! Brickman > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 16:07

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Replace the outlets. Make sure the power is off from the fuse/circuit breaker box :)


Kinja'd!!! JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 16:13

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Sometimes they just...go bad.

We had to replace all the ones in our kitchen and bathroom about 3 years ago because they just kept randomly tripping.


Kinja'd!!! ly2v8-Brian > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 16:21

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I know at my mom’s the gfci connects the bathrooms and outdoor outlets. If we get to much rain, no power in that circuit. What I’m getting at is you may have a localized issue at one of your outlets. Maybe one is worn out? Maybe there's a fried mouse that tried to chew through a wire?


Kinja'd!!! shop-teacher > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 17:34

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Could be a bad ground. Are you in an area that requirrs hard conduit? Or is it romex?


Kinja'd!!! jo6pac > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/24/2015 at 17:43

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Install regular plugs and then install gfi breakers in the main panel.


Kinja'd!!! tpw_rules > mkbruin, Atlas VP
10/26/2015 at 13:22

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GFCIs trip when the current going out does not equal the current going in. They only measure the line and neutral and are thus not affected by bad or missing ground. It’s also common for them to be chained to also be protecting non-GFCI outlets. We had a GFCI breaker that kept randomly tripping until we figured out it ran the upstairs bathroom and also an outside light fixture that had water in it. It could also in theory be electrical noise. I’d start with unplugging as much as possible and seeing what other outlets fail when a GFCI is tripped.