bath fan/light gfci protected

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nizak

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Does anyone here have problems with gfci's tripping when you have a bath fan/light installed in the ceiling of a shower? I use Broan QT series fan/light combos and seem to be having a lot of issues lately. I have tried using both receptacle type and breaker type gfci's. There seems to be no consistency in the tripping. I can run the shower at the hottest setting and create a lot of steam and it won 't trip. The owner will call a day later and say it tripped as soon as it started to operate. Wasting a lot of time on trying to T/S this issue.Any help appreciated.
 
Any idea whether it goes with operation of the fan or the light?
Possibly condensation in the windings of the fan when it is not operating, that does not happen when it is hot?
If the lamp is a CFL try an LED instead.
 
Very hard to diagnose without more info. If the fan is the issue then I suspect that the moisture has gotten to the fan. IMO it is a bad idea to install a f/l over a shower. If possible leave the unit there for the light and see if you can install a fan unit outside the shower.
 
Old wiring after switch or new circuit (all the way home)?

Did you install a new switch?

Did you take a reading when the motor starts to capture the inrush?
Call the manufacture and ask what the production spec's are.

Tell the manufacture that you got a bad motor period, Call it a monday motor,
Friday, holiday, phone call interupted the correct call that the motor is toast and
not up to their fine spec's.

Let the supplier know that you will be returning one of their fine products guts and that you expect the guts of another unit....
 
We've talked about this before and I to have had this happen but only when the switch controlling the fan is turned "off" will it trip the GFCI.
During our last discussion on this it was determined to be "inductive kickback" from the motor of the fan causing it, as it is random in nature.
Or in other words a current induced by the collapse of magnetic field in the motor momentarily jumping the gap in the contacts of switch in the process of opening them and causing a nuisance trip.
Not sure but maybe better MOV's installed in GFCI may help to correct? Possibly MOV's bad in your GFCI? I think someone even posted to install a small capacitor to help quench the spike.
 
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If instructions don't mention GFCI protection take it out.

Watch for neutrals of other circuits tied into it.

If it is inductive kickback install a MOV across the motor circut in the motor j-box.

mov.jpeg
 
wondering how this can happen when they are requiring dishwashers to be gfi protected because they are so much improved these days. i have seen, as posted above, cfl lights trip them too.
 
bullheimer said:
wondering how this can happen when they are requiring dishwashers to be gfi protected because they are so much improved these days. i have seen, as posted above, cfl lights trip them too.
Click to expand...

I guess I will just have to give up on my idea of putting a CFL in the dishwasher then. :)
 
Have you checked your connection box? You could have a skinned conductor or a stray strand from a conductor that is in close proximity to the grounded enclosure or a bare EGC and only randomly faults causing the GFCI to trip, or even something being pinched that intermittently faults. May want to check out switch box or other potential splice points as well.
 
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