floor fan

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enireh

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Canyon Lake,TX
in the bathroom we have a gfci outlet on a switch which operates two lights plugged into it. I plugged a floor fan in and it works unless I unplug the light unplug light and fan stops
 
fan

fan

enireh said:
in the bathroom we have a gfci outlet on a switch which operates two lights plugged into it. I plugged a floor fan in and it works unless I unplug the light unplug light and fan stops
Click to expand...

gfi does not trip I tried it on the other bathroom gfi and it works when lights are unplugged and in the dark
 
Try moving the plug for the fan to the outlet where the light is plugged in and move the light to the one the fan was plugged in to.
Then unplug the fan and see if the light goes off.
 
wag, but the gfci outlet is bad and one half is being backfed thru the light load. ofc easy way to test is plug both lights back in and then unplug 'line side' light -the other light would go out as the fan stopped.
 
fan

fan

Little Bill said:
Try moving the plug for the fan to the outlet where the light is plugged in and move the light to the one the fan was plugged in to.
Then unplug the fan and see if the light goes off.
Click to expand...

that has all been done at first it is in outlet with light, light is unplugged and fan stops, I move it down the line same gfi circuit with another light, unplug light same thing, took it into other bathroom with gfi oulet and same thing the fan does not have a light sensor
 
enireh said:
that has all been done at first it is in outlet with light, light is unplugged and fan stops, I move it down the line same gfi circuit with another light, unplug light same thing, took it into other bathroom with gfi oulet and same thing the fan does not have a light sensor
Click to expand...

I'm getting confused. You said you moved it to another bath with GFCI and it worked, now you say "same thing" meaning the fan stops.

Is the GFCI receptacle a duplex receptacle (two places to plug in)?

Does the light have a cord that plugs into the GFCI?

If it is a duplex GFCI then do as I suggested and "swap" the light & fan plugs. Then unplug the fan and see if the light goes out.
Or do as jfletcher mentioned, plug in two lights (or 2 of anything) unplug whatever is plugged in to where the light was originally plugged in then see if the other item goes off or stops.

I'm trying to see if the GFCI is bad (mentioned by jfletcher), which sounds like it is if you have a duplex GFCI.

I've seen the neutral fail on the load side before and in your case it works as long as something is plugged in on the line side.
 
enireh said:
in the bathroom we have a gfci outlet on a switch which operates two lights plugged into it. I plugged a floor fan in and it works unless I unplug the light unplug light and fan stops
Click to expand...

enireh said:
that has all been done at first it is in outlet with light, light is unplugged and fan stops, I move it down the line same gfi circuit with another light, unplug light same thing, took it into other bathroom with gfi oulet and same thing the fan does not have a light sensor
Click to expand...

Don't you have a meter or at least a plug-in tester?

Why worry about a fan, you either have power or you don't at a certain location. If you don't have power it's time to trouble-shoot. You can do this with test equipment or just quickly swap out the GFCI. Make sure line and load neutrals are correct when makeing up new GFCI.
 
jaylectricity said:
Now you're confusing me. How do you plug into the line side of a gfci?
Click to expand...

poor wording on my part. gfci (especially older ones) can fail almost every way imaginable, and some that are head scratchers. by line side, i meant that only half the receptacle is hot due to failure (load side neutral is a usual suspect). as long as 2 loads are plugged in, they both work, but unplugging one (line side or better yet "still working half") can kill the other. unless half of the receptacle circuit is switched, which the op didnt mention. i dont see any other viable options, other than damaged fan cord/plug and coincidence with removal of lights/use as test eqpt. could be a good receptacle/bad wiring, tho if it were the lights would not work either.

eta: receptacle could have had line side hot/load side neutral landed on line side terminals or similar wiring error. older gfci do odd things when they fail. new ones just refuse to energize/reset

as far as troubleshooting, i would have already replaced the gfci. op needs at least a gfci plug tester to ensure downstream receptacles are protected; fans, lights, etc do not cut it here.
 
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fan

fan

JFletcher said:
wag, but the gfci outlet is bad and one half is being backfed thru the light load. ofc easy way to test is plug both lights back in and then unplug 'line side' light -the other light would go out as the fan stopped.
Click to expand...


done that the light down stream always works with out the light at line side in, without anything in line side outlet, curling irons, hair dryers, etc., all work only fan does this
 
enireh said:
done that the light down stream always works with out the light at line side in, without anything in line side outlet, curling irons, hair dryers, etc., all work only fan does this
Click to expand...

i dont understand how a hair dryer(basically a small fan+heater) would work and a floor fan doesnt, unless the fan is bad or 3 prong and there is something seriously wonky withe the grounding wire of that receptacle

eta: my motto with troubleshooting: eliminate the likely, easy, obvious and cheap first. What remains will give you grey hairs. yank and replace that gfci, (its a $15 part, not a $4000 breaker) make sure line and load hots ands neutrals are correct, no loose or burnt wires. try another floor fan
 
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JFletcher said:
poor wording on my part. gfci (especially older ones) can fail almost every way imaginable, and some that are head scratchers. by line side, i meant that only half the receptacle is hot due to failure (load side neutral is a usual suspect). as long as 2 loads are plugged in, they both work, but unplugging one (line side or better yet "still working half") can kill the other. unless half of the receptacle circuit is switched, which the op didnt mention. i dont see any other viable options, other than damaged fan cord/plug and coincidence with removal of lights/use as test eqpt. could be a good receptacle/bad wiring, tho if it were the lights would not work either.
.
Click to expand...

Ok, I get what you're saying now.
 
fan

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Little Bill said:
I'm getting confused. You said you moved it to another bath with GFCI and it worked, now you say "same thing" meaning the fan stops.

Is the GFCI receptacle a duplex receptacle (two places to plug in)?

Does the light have a cord that plugs into the GFCI?

If it is a duplex GFCI then do as I suggested and "swap" the light & fan plugs. Then unplug the fan and see if the light goes out.
Or do as jfletcher mentioned, plug in two lights (or 2 of anything) unplug whatever is plugged in to where the light was originally plugged in then see if the other item goes off or stops.

I'm trying to see if the GFCI is bad (mentioned by jfletcher), which sounds like it is if you have a duplex GFCI.

I've seen the neutral fail on the load side before and in your case it works as long as something is plugged in on the line side.
Click to expand...


yes the light has a two pronged cord,
 
fan

fan

JFletcher said:
poor wording on my part. gfci (especially older ones) can fail almost every way imaginable, and some that are head scratchers. by line side, i meant that only half the receptacle is hot due to failure (load side neutral is a usual suspect). as long as 2 loads are plugged in, they both work, but unplugging one (line side or better yet "still working half") can kill the other. unless half of the receptacle circuit is switched, which the op didnt mention. i dont see any other viable options, other than damaged fan cord/plug and coincidence with removal of lights/use as test eqpt. could be a good receptacle/bad wiring, tho if it were the lights would not work either.

eta: receptacle could have had line side hot/load side neutral landed on line side terminals or similar wiring error. older gfci do odd things when they fail. new ones just refuse to energize/reset

as far as troubleshooting, i would have already replaced the gfci. op needs at least a gfci plug tester to ensure downstream receptacles are protected; fans, lights, etc do not cut it here.
Click to expand...

going to change but I was wondering why is it only the fan does not work? other appliances do thank you all of you for your help and I apologize for my wording
 
enireh said:
going to change but I was wondering why is it only the fan does not work? other appliances do thank you all of you for your help and I apologize for my wording
Click to expand...

One really wild speculation: The two hot or two neutral contact surfaces inside the GFCI receptacle are made of one piece of metal which is currently acting like it is pivoted in the middle (because some of the supporting plastic is broken). The blades of the fan plug are thinner than other plugs or are completely flat and straight rather than slightly bent. The result is that the fan plug only makes good contact when there is a blade pushing back the other end of the metal piece in the receptacle unit.
Unfortunately this does not seem to agree with your observations involving a downstream receptacle. :(
 
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