LED strip light trips GFCI breaker when cold

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sii

sii

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Nebraska
Promised a friend I would post this, doesn't live near me or I'd check it out myself.

Has an LED strip light installed in his garage, one of three fixtures on the circuit but the only LED. He said he replaced a fluorescent strip because the ballast failed.

When he turns the switch on, if the fixture is cold the 15 amp GFCI breaker will trip. When ambient temperature is warmer, breaker does not trip. He has tried swapping the GFCI with a standard 15 amp breaker and it holds under similar temperature conditions. Says he has inspected the wiring inside the strip and cannot find anything suspicious. He going to try swapping it with another GFCI breaker (although it's a 20 amp) to see if it holds, outside temp is plenty cold today.

Is this just likely a faulty fixture?
 
sii said:
Promised a friend I would post this, doesn't live near me or I'd check it out myself.

Has an LED strip light installed in his garage, one of three fixtures on the circuit but the only LED. He said he replaced a fluorescent strip because the ballast failed.

When he turns the switch on, if the fixture is cold the 15 amp GFCI breaker will trip. When ambient temperature is warmer, breaker does not trip. He has tried swapping the GFCI with a standard 15 amp breaker and it holds under similar temperature conditions. Says he has inspected the wiring inside the strip and cannot find anything suspicious. He going to try swapping it with another GFCI breaker (although it's a 20 amp) to see if it holds, outside temp is plenty cold today.

Is this just likely a faulty fixture?
Click to expand...

Could it be condensation getting into the LED strip?
 
I'm guessing the cold weather is causing either condensation as K8MHZ mentioned, or there is thermal stress (shrinkage, and therefore movement) on a part causing leakage to ground and a trip. A 20A GFCI should not correct the problem because there is still a 6ma+ fault present. and you cannot put in a 20A breaker if the wiring is 14ga.

I would check the wiring to make sure there isnt a nick in the insulation and that it was installed 100%. If that check reveals no problems, I would take the fixture back and get a different model. imho, T5 fixtures are comparable in every respect to LEDs.

and yes, fixtures can be faulty. The first day I started working with my present employer, I had to install a 4' fluorescent light in a basement. Measure the room, put up the supports, wire it, turn power back on. Turn switch on, nothing. I check, have proper voltage to the light. Employer figured I did something wrong, spent half an hour checking everything else, including swapping with known good bulbs. The ballast was bad out of the box.
 
JFletcher said:
A 20A GFCI should not correct the problem because there is still a 6ma+ fault present. and you cannot put in a 20A breaker if the wiring is 14ga.
Click to expand...

That's what I told him, just to swap out to test and that he couldn't leave it that way. He says there's no condensation in the fixture. I guess I'll tell him to return it if testing this weekend doesn't lead to the root of the problem.
 
Temporarily opening and closing the EGC should give a good indication of too much leakage current if there is no other ground path where this is installed.

Megging the LED driver may not be wise, but do meg the supply circuit to make sure there isn't an intermittent ground fault in it.
 
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