Load side GFI question

[Jerry Brown]

Had a GFI that will not reset after tripping in a garage. Two hots and two neutrals are tailed and tied to the load side of the GFI. These are for two bathrooms. Upon inspecting the first bathroom, I found a 3 gang box with one light dimmer, one switch for the exhaust fan and a duplex receptacle. The neutral for the GFI protected receptacle was tied in with all the other lighting neutrals in this box. Shouldn't it have a separate neutral coming from the GFI and not tied in with all other neutrals???
That was my thought. Thanks for any input...

 

[davedottcom]

You are correct, remove it from the splice and connect it to the duplex.

 

[augie47]

Short answer: Yes, the GFCI load neutral must remain isolated from all other neutrals.
Longer answer: Look at the function of the GFCI. It monitors current flow by comparing flow in the ungrounded conductor to flow in the grounded conductor. By connecting the neutral to another source you have provided an alternate route for the power to flow and setup an in-balance for the GFCI to monitor.

 

[davedottcom]

The GFCI Recp. in the garage is not permitted to feed the Bathroom GFCI circuit.

I missed that at first, I was thinking it was a GFCI breaker in the panel.

How old is this house?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Had a GFI that will not reset after tripping in a garage. Two hots and two neutrals are tailed and tied to the load side of the GFI. These are for two bathrooms. Upon inspecting the first bathroom, I found a 3 gang box with one light dimmer, one switch for the exhaust fan and a duplex receptacle. The neutral for the GFI protected receptacle was tied in with all the other lighting neutrals in this box. Shouldn't it have a separate neutral coming from the GFI and not tied in with all other neutrals???
That was my thought. Thanks for any input...

Not only will this cause tripping of the GFCI, it will also cause unwanted electrical magnetic fields in the house (emf's)

 

[ceb58]

Had a GFI that will not reset after tripping in a garage. Two hots and two neutrals are tailed and tied to the load side of the GFI. These are for two bathrooms. Upon inspecting the first bathroom, I found a 3 gang box with one light dimmer, one switch for the exhaust fan and a duplex receptacle. The neutral for the GFI protected receptacle was tied in with all the other lighting neutrals in this box. Shouldn't it have a separate neutral coming from the GFI and not tied in with all other neutrals???
That was my thought. Thanks for any input...

Is the dimmer and fan on a separate circuit from the GFCI circuit?

 

[slick 50]

Not only will this cause tripping of the GFCI, it will also cause unwanted electrical magnetic fields in the house (emf's)

How is that?

 

[Jerry Brown]

I think the house is about 20-25 years old. The lady said that she has lived there since 94 and that it trips most often when it rains hard. Making me think that also some outside outlets are getting wet. They used to wire the homes that way down here. GFI in the garage protecting bathroom and outside outlets.
I didn't get a chance to look into what else was being fed by this circuit.