Another GFCI issue

[LarryFine]

As far as I can tell, the breaker tripped with no devices connected.

Make sure you had no shared neutral?

Maybe intermittent neutral/EGC contact.

 

[ELA]

If I had to troubleshoot GFCI trip issues with any regularity I would purchase a meter that measures leakage current accurately in the 0 -6 ma range (as a minimum).

Measure the leakage current. It could be possible that the breaker is on the edge of tripping all the time and noise on the power system then causes it to trip in an apparent random fashion.
Measure the load current to help determine if anything else might be on the circuit that was not previously known to be.

 

[eric9822]

OK, so let's just put away my apprehensions about doing destructive testing on older, existing wiring.

A megger test is not destructive provided you set the proper voltage for the insulation. If a 500V megger test causes damage I would think the insulation is already gone. JMHO.

 

[K8MHZ]

A megger test is not destructive provided you set the proper voltage for the insulation. If a 500V megger test causes damage I would think the insulation is already gone. JMHO.

Agreed, if 500 volts were problematic, then the cable was bad to begin with. But in the customer's eyes it currently works, and if I am the one that renders it inoperable I am the one stuck with the bill. At least that how it usually goes.

 

[K8MHZ]

Here's a little food for thought, I had one case where the neutral was grounding out and it wouldn't always cause it to trip, another time it was the neutrals of another circuit got inadvertently connected together with the GFCI neutral, but this other circuit was rarely used so it wouldn't trip all the time. try lifting the neutral for this circuit and see if it still has continuity to the neutral bar, if it does you have either a grounded neutral or a bootlegged neutral.

Thanks, that is great info. Some of the house has 2 wire Romex and some is 2 with undersized ground and some is 3 wire. Nonetheless checking the integrity of the neutrals and the grounds is good advice and won't be a major task.

 

[sameguy]

another gfci issue

another gfci issue

I had one like that; H.O. said ?duhhhno?. I get there 60mi. and find his wife and the mother in law grinding meat with a grinder from 1802, with a food processor pluged into same opening. It was a gfci recept./ not brkr. and was almost melted from being reset by the girls. Thanksgiving was the next day.
I replaced it, free, merry Thanksgiving and plugged the processor into the recept. at the end of the counter; told them that was the end of the warrenty in the kit. area.
Kicker is the H.o. is an Elec. Eng. and I asked him about usage first off.
I did make out on the build (value enging.) getting much more then original bid, so felt it was better P.R. than charging, new housing trac at that time.
Change the brkr. do anything else that might be at fault so you don't go back.
good luck

 

[K8MHZ]

I had one like that; H.O. said ?duhhhno?. I get there 60mi. and find his wife and the mother in law grinding meat with a grinder from 1802, with a food processor pluged into same opening. It was a gfci recept./ not brkr. and was almost melted from being reset by the girls. Thanksgiving was the next day.
I replaced it, free, merry Thanksgiving and plugged the processor into the recept. at the end of the counter; told them that was the end of the warrenty in the kit. area.
Kicker is the H.o. is an Elec. Eng. and I asked him about usage first off.
I did make out on the build (value enging.) getting much more then original bid, so felt it was better P.R. than charging, new housing trac at that time.
Change the brkr. do anything else that might be at fault so you don't go back.
good luck

Not related to this case but to HO's......

Builder doing re-mods on bathroom. Just wants boxes disconnected and reconnected for the tear out and an additional outlet for a TV. There was only a 15 amp circuit serving the bathroom. I practically begged to upgrade to at least one 20 amp circuit and maybe two but was denied.

Later HO complains of breaker tripping. I could not verify. I asked if there was a pattern. No, says HO. Two more trips out. Same thing. Except on the last trip out I noticed a hair dryer laying on the bed. The rating was 1920 watts and had a 15 amp plug on it from the factory. Indeed, the breaker only tripped when Mrs. HO used the hairdryer which was never in sight of the bathroom once when I was there to troubleshoot.

I could go on and on about people not telling the entire story about electrical problems.....

 

[K8MHZ]

This just in....

This just in....

Just talked to GC. NOW he tells me that one day when he was at the site while it was raining the GFCI was tripped and would not re-set. He was there working on the roof above an outdoor receptacle and said something to the effect of "but I think it's all sealed now".

Gee, don't you think it would have been nice to at least have been told that while it was happening, having these things called cell phones and all???

We still are going ahead with the outage alarm.

Film at 11