GFCI not working

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mstrlucky74

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Hoping I can get a pass here as this is a DIY....and I ask a lot of none DIY questions ;). I tried to plug my xmas lights in the GFCI and they did not work although my electrical tester showed that there was voltage. I switched it to the regular white one that you see and when I plugged in the lights it worked so I figured the outlet must be bad. Went to Home Depot and bought another GFCI and hooked it up and it did not work...obviously it must be something with the wiring but I switched the neutral and hot around. Why is the regular outlet working? Thanks.
 

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G._S._Ohm

Senior Member
Location
DC area
mstrlucky74 said:
I tried to plug my xmas lights in the GFCI and they did not work although my electrical tester showed that there was voltage.

and when I plugged in the lights it worked

bought another GFCI and hooked it up and it did not work.
Click to expand...

Intermittent xmas lights? Jostle the lights and see if they still work.
Intermittent bad connection in the wall? Put a heavy load on the outlet and see how much the voltage drops. 2.5v at 10A is about normal.
 
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mstrlucky74

Senior Member
Location
NJ
G._S._Ohm said:
Intermittent xmas lights? Jostle the lights and see if they still work.
Intermittent bad connection in the wall? Put a heavy load on the outlet and see how much the voltage drops. 2.5v at 10A is about normal.
Click to expand...

But I think it has to do only with the wiring.:? I plugged five different things(non xmas and xmas stuff) and nothing worked. As soon as I used the standard outlet everything that i plugged in worked.
 
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Hv&Lv

Senior Member
Location
-
Occupation
Engineer/Technician
Was the reset button pushed in?

BTW, where is the ground wire? And arent those wires reversed?
 
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mstrlucky74

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Hv&Lv said:
Was the reset button pushed in?

BTW, where is the ground wire? And arent those wires reversed?
Click to expand...

I tried to push the reset. and nothing. The ground wire is attached to the ground screw in the box. I switched the wores back and forth just to see....and nothing. Thanks.
 
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hillbilly1

Senior Member
Location
North Georgia mountains
Occupation
Owner/electrical contractor
cal1947 said:
sounds like you put the wires on the load side of the gfi
Click to expand...

Unless he has moved the sticker covering the load terminals, I don't think that's it. One possibility is an open neutral on a multiwire circuit, but not likely. Another possibility is that is a switch leg, not a power wire. A load could possibly work such as a light if it is in series with a low impedance load, but not enough voltage to power the electronics in the gfi for it to latch, though that's even a stretch. The ground is not necessary for the gfi to work, so that wouldn't be it. Just armchair guesstimating without some actual volt readings.
 
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mstrlucky74

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Hv&Lv said:
Will anything else work when plugged in the GFCI?
Click to expand...

No and actually when I purchased the new GFCI I did not mess around with the reset/test buttons. Maybe I should have pressed them:dunce:......I returned the outlet but I guess I will go back to HD right now and buy it again and try. Just back from Walmart with some lighted candy canes..lol...:):rant:....wife loves me but my hands are frozen....all day out there yesterday and today doing this stuff. Thanks.
 
Dennis Alwon

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
BTW, this is a diy project and we really don't allow this. I think you have gotten enough info- hopefully you won't hurt yourself-
 
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