gfci breaker on lighting trips

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electricalist

electricalist

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dallas tx
customer has gfci breaker that feeds 12 42 watt 4 pin florescent[ i believe 7in] cans. this is in a country club. 5 cans are in a locker room that has 2 sinks[ gfci outlets @ sinks] on seperate circuit. 5 cans in changing room. 2 are in shower.
each room has 1 single pole switch. in each room 1 can is a emergency / night [in case im saying it wrong,,,can is wired to stay on until power outage then battery takes over]
can over shower has shower trim, e can does not. shwer is only ada min,,about 4' wide 15 ' long,, e can is in center of door and is about 12 ' from center of shower, switch is imediately to the right inside door,,,,10 ' 6 " from center of shower....this lighting circuit is on gfci breaker because shower switch was last switch fed and the glass shower wall seperating shower from switch was never done.
maintenance man called said breaker trips some time between evening and morning. [ 5 pm and 5 am ]... i blanked off switch in shower, it showed no signs of having been wet , but i gottastart some where,,, its still tripping.
any suggestions,,,,,,,the problem being ,,how good am i at finding the actual problem, if it trips due to water then its doing its job,,[they should pay for service calls,,this is by plans new work] if its something else then we warranty it..so i need to find it pretty quickly....
as always thanks
 
Are the cans on a gfci circuit or is it tripping a gfci on a different circuit? If they are on a gfci then why are the cans on a gfci?
 
electricalist said:
customer has gfci breaker that feeds 12 42 watt 4 pin florescent[ i believe 7in] cans. this is in a country club. 5 cans are in a locker room that has 2 sinks[ gfci outlets @ sinks] on seperate circuit. 5 cans in changing room. 2 are in shower.
each room has 1 single pole switch. in each room 1 can is a emergency / night [in case im saying it wrong,,,can is wired to stay on until power outage then battery takes over]
can over shower has shower trim, e can does not. shwer is only ada min,,about 4' wide 15 ' long,, e can is in center of door and is about 12 ' from center of shower, switch is imediately to the right inside door,,,,10 ' 6 " from center of shower....this lighting circuit is on gfci breaker because shower switch was last switch fed and the glass shower wall seperating shower from switch was never done.
maintenance man called said breaker trips some time between evening and morning. [ 5 pm and 5 am ]... i blanked off switch in shower, it showed no signs of having been wet , but i gottastart some where,,, its still tripping.
any suggestions,,,,,,,the problem being ,,how good am i at finding the actual problem, if it trips due to water then its doing its job,,[they should pay for service calls,,this is by plans new work] if its something else then we warranty it..so i need to find it pretty quickly....
as always thanks
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this is a gfci breaker on 12 can lights 5 in one room 5 in another 2 in a shower. ..circuit is h/r to room 1 jumper to room 2 jumper to room 3 [shower].
plans show circuit to be done this way. shower shows switch then glass wall with door then shower. they didnt put glass wall with door.. its basically open. on trim out we wanted to avoid liability and the switch was in a finished tile wall,,ceiling was sheet rock and closet was back side of switch..we installed gfci breaker......now it trips and they dont like it.....
the big picture is i have to find out whats going on,,,i cant assume its the shower area but i did start there... this was a 5 hr away out of town job...in 11 months of a 12 month warranty , this has been my only trip,,,,the leadman who did this job has been bulletproof on every job he has done. his jobs dont have go backs.. i called him and while he s running 4 in conduit through a airport he tells me what circuit what panel what lights how many and what circuit the gfci plugs are on just in case i wanted to know......
i need some sound suggestions to find this problem customer isnt gonna pay for any thing no matter what i find and were not looking to go broke trying to solve it either..
 
Dose it trip when a set of lights are turned on? Dose it trip after lights have been on for a while? I would bet on a ballast going/gone bad.
 
ceb58 said:
Dose it trip when a set of lights are turned on? Dose it trip after lights have been on for a while? I would bet on a ballast going/gone bad.
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yes sir i would say so. im not there when it happens.. didnt happen for 11 mo.all the lights were on when i was there,,i agree when problem x is working for so many hr then stops the solution will be what is going on at that time...he says people shower mostly at night after they leave the gym. so i started with the switch getting wet ,,that wasnt it. now maybe the e can by the door,,,condensation builds up then cools and forms water that run down on socket. it trips sometime between midnight and probably 7 am when no one is there.
im gonna call the maintenance guy and locate him a shower trim for the e can and see what happens,,,
 
I suspect there is a bad ballast somewhere that is causing this issue. Again why are these lights on a gfci. They don't seem to need that type of protection
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I suspect there is a bad ballast somewhere that is causing this issue. Again why are these lights on a gfci. They don't seem to need that type of protection
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I think in a previous post he said the plans called for it to be done this way.

There are so many things on the same circuit it might be all but impossible to isolate it.

it trips sometime between midnight and probably 7 am when no one is there.
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You may be on the right path with moisture, but given that it is happening when the place is closed that seems unlikely.

Are the lights even on when the place is closed? You mentioned one or more night lights that are always on. That would be where I would start.
 
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Mr Denis I think you are correct . The distance from the shower may not require protection as well as a switch might not require it. Ive never seen a light over a sink or the disposal swich protected. Having said that. We do jobs close, far, inbetween. There have been times a inspector stood in the shower and reached and grabbed the make up mirror ( it extends and has a light) and said if I can reach it gfci protect it. 2 floors 32 rooms. . Those things make it easier to protect it than argue the point and then someone get hurt. In this shower its wide open and maybe 5 ' from switch to shower. Whats the right call.
I dont want anyone to get hurt so my next step is to put a regular breaker under the condition the shower is closed for a week .. if it doesnt trip have them sign off on liability and leave it.
 
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