GFCI randomly tripping with no load.

[FionaZuppa]

I'm thinking things like service drop connections would not have much impact if there is no load, but some transient voltages from other customers, or substation switching operations, capacitor switching, or things of that nature could be a possibility.

certainly can be, search for my post on this site about ring wave spikes, causes havoc for sensitive GF's.

short of it, i had some GF's in my home service panel tripping for no reason what-so-ever. cause = ring wave spike from utility due to poor-arss cap switching gear on their side. contractor swapped out my GF's for AF's. poor power is still an issue for me (7yrs now).

the advice i might give to OP is, ask utility to install a monitoring panel meter to see what the spikes/dips look like. this meter basically is a data recorder. you might also ask utility how they switch power that may be connected to the feeds that come into your area, etc.

or do like i did, get a DataQ data acquisition device (or Omega, or something) and monitor the power yourself.

 

[kwired]

certainly can be, search for my post on this site about ring wave spikes, causes havoc for sensitive GF's.

short of it, i had some GF's in my home service panel tripping for no reason what-so-ever. cause = ring wave spike from utility due to poor-arss cap switching gear on their side. contractor swapped out my GF's for AF's. poor power is still an issue for me (7yrs now).

the advice i might give to OP is, ask utility to install a monitoring panel meter to see what the spikes/dips look like. this meter basically is a data recorder. you might also ask utility how they switch power that may be connected to the feeds that come into your area, etc.

or do like i did, get a DataQ data acquisition device (or Omega, or something) and monitor the power yourself.

Your "ring wave spikes" and my mentioned "transient voltages" are the same thing. Inductive kick back is also a specific type of transient voltage that can cause GFCI tripping, better brand name GFCI's are more immune to it though then the really cheap no brand name GFCI's you get at some big box stores.


This spike will not originate at poor connections to the service drop, especially under "no load" conditions. Poor connections at the service drop (or anywhere in the circuit) where inductive loads are supplied will have increased possibility of such activity though.