GFCI troubleshoot question

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ritelec

ritelec

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Jersey
Hi.
Going to head out to troubleshoot a gfci receptacle that’s tripping. Kitchen counter.

The gentleman says it trips in about ten minutes after resetting it.
He has a toaster plugged in to it which I told him to pull out of the plug and it also controls another countertop receptacle.

He says it tripped again.

I will go see if anything else is on that gfci load And hopefully just swap out the gfci device, but I’m curious to know of your experiences with these receptacles.

I’ve experienced that they either were not tripping and stayed on, that they didn’t rest and stayed off, that 1/2 the duplex would stay out and the other would function with gfci protecton.

I’ve never run into a gfci that would just trip by itself after 10 minutes with nothing plugged into it. I “guess” it could with the electronics but was wondering if anyone else had seen this before I go looking into the circuit where a simple replace the receptacle would suffice.

Thank you.
 
That it trips without load points to the GFCI itself, barring other issues like neutral/EGC contact.
 
Defrost heaters on refrigerators and freezers. I had to replace an icemaker in our side by side and it has a small heating element in it. That wasn't our issue, but something to check.

Older homes, you never know where an outside receptacle might have been added. Usually a WP cover that is barely functional. Bugs or moisture.
 
Thank you. Thank you.

The outside receptacle was on my checklist.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I remember exterior receptacles were permitted on the kitchen counter top circuit when exterior receptacle and 6’ of the sink had to be on gfi’s when gfi’s first came out. Mid/Late 1980’s.
 
ritelec said:
Thank you. Thank you.

The outside receptacle was on my checklist.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I remember exterior receptacles were permitted on the kitchen counter top circuit which exterior receptacle and 6’ of the dunk had to be on gfi’s when gfi’s first came out. Late 1980’s.
Click to expand...
I lived thru it but I don't think the 6' had anything to do with it but again, IDRS.
 
ritelec said:
Thank you. Thank you.

The outside receptacle was on my checklist.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I remember exterior receptacles were permitted on the kitchen counter top circuit when exterior receptacle and 6’ of the sink had to be on gfi’s when gfi’s first came out. Mid/Late 1980’s.
Click to expand...
True for bathrooms not true for kitchens.
 
ritelec said:
Thank you. Thank you.

The outside receptacle was on my checklist.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I remember exterior receptacles were permitted on the kitchen counter top circuit when exterior receptacle and 6’ of the sink had to be on gfi’s when gfi’s first came out. Mid/Late 1980’s.
Click to expand...
I don't know if it still in the NEC or not, but there used to be an exception that permitted a receptacle for an electric clock on the small appliance branch circuits.
 
Sparked my curiosity.
 

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As I recall I always used exception 2 to save what was the $7 on a gfci device :- )
Might have been 10 or eleven but I think they started at 7 and change.


Also only one exterior receptacle was required so wherever that kitchen gfi was I would just jump from it to the exterior. I think this 87‘ required one rear as well as one front receptacle
 
When I was a helper, it was common to see every GFCI-protected receptacle (other than kitchen) on a single circuit fed through a GFCI receptacle in whichever outlet was closest to the panel.

That meant, to minimize GFCI expense, every garage, bath, and outside receptacle shared a single 15a breaker. Before then, those receptacles were supplied by whatever circuit was nearby.
 
LarryFine said:
When I was a helper, it was common to see every GFCI-protected receptacle (other than kitchen) on a single circuit fed through a GFCI receptacle in whichever outlet was closest to the panel.

That meant, to minimize GFCI expense, every garage, bath, and outside receptacle shared a single 15a breaker. Before then, those receptacles were supplied by whatever circuit was nearby.
Click to expand...
You are correct. When I started in 1981, that's how it was done in Orlando. 14/2 to the garage GFCI, then off the load side to the bathroom and outdoor receptacles on one circuit.
 
Rick 0920 said:
I don't know if it still in the NEC or not, but there used to be an exception that permitted a receptacle for an electric clock on the small appliance branch circuits.
Click to expand...
I thought it was the opposite, that a clock receptacle was allowed on the lighting circuit.
 
Seen loose connections cause a trip on the daisy chained gfci kitchen receptacles. Even if not loose, the daisy chaining and a bad something upstream will trip the unused gfci.
 
LarryFine said:
I thought it was the opposite, that a clock receptacle was allowed on the lighting circuit.
Click to expand...
It may have been allowed to be on a lighting circuit just as the outdoor receptacles could be, but in the exception to SABC, it specifically mentioned the receptacle for an electric clock could be installed on the SABC.
 
Little Bill said:
What was the purpose in allowing for an electric clock?
Click to expand...
I'm sure it was determined to be a very minimal load to be added to the circuit, same as the outdoor receptacles. At that time, we didn't have the plethora of outdoor electrical features that remained plugged in all the time.
 
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