Clicking GFCI , when fan controll is turned

[Buck Parrish]

In the master bedroom the fan has a Hunter wall controll. When the fan controll speed is turned.

The hair dryer in the M Bath which has a cord that has a built in GFCI.

The GFCI on the hair dryer cord clicks, loud. It's the funniest thing.

I'm perplexed... what causes this ?

 

[mcclary's electrical]

In the master bedroom the fan has a Hunter wall controll. When the fan controll speed is turned.

The hair dryer in the M Bath which has a cord that has a built in GFCI.

The GFCI on the hair dryer cord clicks, loud. It's the funniest thing.

I'm perplexed... what causes this ?

RF,,,,,,,,,is the controller wireless?

 

[Buck Parrish]

RF,,,,,,,,,is the controller wireless?

No, thier are no RF switches in the house. It is a normal Hunter Fan controll.

 

[buffnitup]

Hmm. Are they on the same circuit?

 

[mxslick]

Hi Buck,

The device in the hair dryer is an immersion protector, not a gfci and it behaves differently than a standard GFCI. Most use a fine "sense" wire in the line cord which is attached to the H/D internal shell so if it sees any current at all it will trip.

You're most likely getting an inductive spike from the fan control which is inducing voltage spikes in the H/D cord, which the ID is picking up and reacting to.

Still a very interesting thing to have happening.

Oh, on a safety note: Unplug that H/D when it is not in use. A few hair salons have had them fail when unattended and burn out (usually the Immersion device.)

 

[Buck Parrish]

Hi Buck,

The device in the hair dryer is an immersion protector, not a gfci and it behaves differently than a standard GFCI. Most use a fine "sense" wire in the line cord which is attached to the H/D internal shell so if it sees any current at all it will trip.

You're most likely getting an inductive spike from the fan control which is inducing voltage spikes in the H/D cord, which the ID is picking up and reacting to.

Still a very interesting thing to have happening.

Oh, on a safety note: Unplug that H/D when it is not in use. A few hair salons have had them fail when unattended and burn out (usually the Immersion device.)

Cool, thanks...

 

[A/A Fuel GTX]

I just went through this with a range hood vent fan that was connected to the line side of a GFI recept. The GFI would trip when the fan was turned OFF. I replaced the off brand GFI recept with a Hubbell and the problem weny away. Could be a quality issue with the hair dryer.