AFCI receptacle trips

[Knuckle Dragger]

Hi All,
I hope you can help me out.
My customer is experiencing a Leviton AFCI receptacle that trips when the dimmer controlled recessed lights are on for about 20 minutes although it has never happened when I am there. (I have been the twice well over an hour).
He says it doesn't seem to matter which set of lights are on, "it could be one set the other set or both sets"

I installed 2 sets of two dimmer controlled recessed lights last November in a second floor bedroom (accessible attic crawl space above second floor ceiling). I tapped off of an existing branch circuit circa. 1970's romex. and used a Leviton AFCI receptacle to protect the new wiring.
I replaced the receptacle once and checked all the splices, hot, neutral and egc wiring from where I tapped off of to the last fixture. (It has never tripped when I was there.):?
Wiring method: NMB
4-Light fixture:LOL 1004ICR, BR30 incandescent lamp
Switch box: Plastic P&S 18 cubic inch.
2-Dimmer: Ariadni 600watt single pole
1-Leviton AFCI receptacle
Possible Faults? Thermal cut out in recessed lights, 2nd AFCI receptacle, lamps, dimmer.

This is all info I can think of right now.
Thank you!!

 

[Nutmegger]

I wish I could be more helpful here, but if you megger the wiring and come back with nothing "bad", the culprit is most likely the receptacle itself.
Those Leviton receptacles are still first generation, and, just like AFCI breakers, they suffer from false trips.
Try replacing that Leviton with an Eaton (Cooper Industries) made one, and see if the issue stops.

 

[ramsy]

Try replacing that Leviton with an Eaton (Cooper Industries) made one, and see if the issue stops.

Thanks for that critical tip, which identifies some major differences in product quality.

Another idea is to temporarily replace the AFCI receptacle with a GFCI, to see if it still trips. Which could Identify the GFCI function as the source of the fault.

I have seen GFCI's trip after the circuit passes Megger tests, regardless of switch position, especially when protecting bath fan / lights.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Thank you both for your input.
Do you believe the cooper brand is more superior to the Leviton? None of the supply houses in my area seem to carry any dead front or receptacle style AFCI's except for Leviton or nothing at all.

The GFCI is an idea I didn't think of. Just asking. will a ground fault trip an arc fault device?

It is the randomness of the tripping that is getting to me. I will megger it out and also look into the cooper brand device.
Thanks again!!

 

[Little Bill]

The GFCI is an idea I didn't think of. Just asking. will a ground fault trip an arc fault device?

I can't speak to AFCI receptacles but most AFCI breakers have ground fault protection in them. It is not the same as a GFCI which trips on 5-6ma of current leakage. It is more in the 30ma range. But that is what most nuisance trips on AFCI breakers are. Usually ground touching neutral somewhere or maybe a staple driven in too tight.

But given your situation seems to trip at random I wouldn't think it would be tripping on a ground fault. But it is a cheap way to rule that out, by replacing the AFCI receptacle with a GFCI. If that trips it is certain that it is a ground fault. Could be a neutral and bare ground close to each other and vibration (or similar) is causing them to touch at times, resulting in a tripped AFCI.

Something else to try would be to replace one or both dimmers with a regular switch for a while to see if maybe something in the dimmers is causing the trips.

 

[kwired]

Dimmer not playing well with the AFCI seems like a good possibility to me.

best solution I have is

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I can't speak to AFCI receptacles but most AFCI breakers have ground fault protection in them. It is not the same as a GFCI which trips on 5-6ma of current leakage. It is more in the 30ma range. But that is what most nuisance trips on AFCI breakers are. Usually ground touching neutral somewhere or maybe a staple driven in too tight.
...

None of the current GE AFCIs and some of the current Eaton AFCIs no longer have any form of ground fault protection.

 

[Little Bill]

I can't speak to AFCI receptacles but most AFCI breakers have ground fault protection in them. It is not the same as a GFCI which trips on 5-6ma of current leakage. It is more in the 30ma range. But that is what most nuisance trips on AFCI breakers are. Usually ground touching neutral somewhere or maybe a staple driven in too tight.

None of the current GE AFCIs and some of the current Eaton AFCIs no longer have any form of ground fault protection.

That's why I said "most" as I knew some mfg had taken the ground fault out.
I still don't know whether any/all of the receptacles have any GF protection in them.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Hi All,
I went back to my customers house, determined to find the fault to the "AFCI receptacle trips" and it was mine.:ashamed1:


The neutral wire in the 1004ICR junction box was pinched between the cover and the box. The cover opened when I was installing the unit in the ceiling and I remember closing it blindly (using the brail method to make sure all wires were in) so much for that.:happysad:
I typically treat an electrical fault as if it is my own doing but I have had such ridiculous experiences with arc faults that I went on to blame the device and possible other factors instead.
I used a GFCI receptacle to help me determine if it was an arc or ground fault. Once I tied in the GFCI it tripped immediately, and from there it was just a process of elimination.


I am relieved to have fixed the problem and so is my customer.
Thank you all for your input and advice!!

 

[kwired]

Hi All,
I went back to my customers house, determined to find the fault to the "AFCI receptacle trips" and it was mine.:ashamed1:


The neutral wire in the 1004ICR junction box was pinched between the cover and the box. The cover opened when I was installing the unit in the ceiling and I remember closing it blindly (using the brail method to make sure all wires were in) so much for that.:happysad:
I typically treat an electrical fault as if it is my own doing but I have had such ridiculous experiences with arc faults that I went on to blame the device and possible other factors instead.
I used a GFCI receptacle to help me determine if it was an arc or ground fault. Once I tied in the GFCI it tripped immediately, and from there it was just a process of elimination.


I am relieved to have fixed the problem and so is my customer.
Thank you all for your input and advice!!

Megger is your friend when trying to resolve AFCI and GFCI problems sometimes, and should have found this fault.