fletcher
Member
- Location
- Detroit Michigan
I was an electrical apprentice for a year and I can wire a house, I can do do service changes, find shorts install electric HW tanks......I am a state certified construction teacher and home inspector....I'm no electrician but hey, I know stuff !
I built a garage a couple of years ago and last year I wired the inside of the garage with 4 lights and 5 plugs. I did not have time to trench for the electrical line so I just ran an extension cord out to the garage and everything worked fine on that extension cord laying on the ground in the rain and snow for a year. It was NOT on a GFCI circuit at that time.
Now, I dug the trench, installed a GFCI at the house, ran the underground line out to the garage and connected everything. I plugged in my radio, no problem. I turned on the lights, the GFCI tirps. I plug in a lamp, the GFCI trips. I plug in my drill, the GFCI trips.
I wiggled the wires in the main junction/switch box where the power comes into the garage, the GFCI trips.....Ah ha...I thought I found a short. I spread apart all the wires so nothing is touching. I turned on the lights again with the switch. The GFCI trips again.
I pulled the cover on one of the plugs on the other side of the garage and wiggled the wires, the GFCI trips again.
I installed a new (different) GFCI plug thinking the plug is the problem. It is a 15 amp GFCI plug, 14-2 wire, all on it's own 15 amp breaker feeding only the garage.
Why don't my radio trip the GFCI....it is a 2 prong ungrounded cord but so is the lamp. the lamp trips it, radio does not.
When I use my plug tester and push the black button, the GFCI trips as it should. My plug tester says everything is wired correctly.
I ran the electric out to the garage using underground feed cable 14-2.....and I put in inside the plastic conduit.
What the heck is going on here?????? Any ideas???????
I built a garage a couple of years ago and last year I wired the inside of the garage with 4 lights and 5 plugs. I did not have time to trench for the electrical line so I just ran an extension cord out to the garage and everything worked fine on that extension cord laying on the ground in the rain and snow for a year. It was NOT on a GFCI circuit at that time.
Now, I dug the trench, installed a GFCI at the house, ran the underground line out to the garage and connected everything. I plugged in my radio, no problem. I turned on the lights, the GFCI tirps. I plug in a lamp, the GFCI trips. I plug in my drill, the GFCI trips.
I wiggled the wires in the main junction/switch box where the power comes into the garage, the GFCI trips.....Ah ha...I thought I found a short. I spread apart all the wires so nothing is touching. I turned on the lights again with the switch. The GFCI trips again.
I pulled the cover on one of the plugs on the other side of the garage and wiggled the wires, the GFCI trips again.
I installed a new (different) GFCI plug thinking the plug is the problem. It is a 15 amp GFCI plug, 14-2 wire, all on it's own 15 amp breaker feeding only the garage.
Why don't my radio trip the GFCI....it is a 2 prong ungrounded cord but so is the lamp. the lamp trips it, radio does not.
When I use my plug tester and push the black button, the GFCI trips as it should. My plug tester says everything is wired correctly.
I ran the electric out to the garage using underground feed cable 14-2.....and I put in inside the plastic conduit.
What the heck is going on here?????? Any ideas???????
