GFI electrical question?

D.E.Bishop wrote:
Once again, too many folks making suggestions and the guy doesn't seem to know a single thing about GFCI circuits.

Time for him to get a pro before he screws things up.

Hire an electrician, not a handyman. I just went through this with my brother, it's not a game, it's very serious.

There was a time when I knew nothing about GFCI circuits either. So I read up on them and asked questions about them on here and I learned what I needed to know about them and I fixed my own. If that's what the OP wants to do, then good for him.

Licreek wrote:
Good morning, I have a couple final comments about my ground fault issue. I bypassed the gfi and all is working fine. Now for my last question. I just bought a Hughes Autoformers and this is the first time iv used it. What it does is monitor the line voltage into the rig. When I plug in my voltage to meter into an outlet I notice the voltage is changing from 123 to 126 volts. Could that change in voltage cause the gfi to trip? Thanks, Lee

Apparently you either didn't read my post or you don't care about safety. That said, the Hughes will not cause a ground fault. You have a GROUND FAULT somewhere in your circuitry. Bypassing the GFCI only gives you a feel good situation and the DANGER is still present...you just don't know it. Sooner or later you'll find it..your rig will catch on fire (unlikely) or most likely you'll touch the wrong part and fry your hair. Then you'll have a come to Jesus moment where you'll say, maybe I should have done some more checking.

Simply put...you have a ground fault in your system. You replaced the GFCI and the new one still trips. That means the ground fault was not in the switch. It's in ONE of your receptacles. FIND IT AND FIX IT!

Licreek wrote:
Good morning, I have a couple final comments about my ground fault issue. I bypassed the gfi and all is working fine. Now for my last question. I just bought a Hughes Autoformers and this is the first time iv used it. What it does is monitor the line voltage into the rig. When I plug in my voltage to meter into an outlet I notice the voltage is changing from 123 to 126 volts. Could that change in voltage cause the gfi to trip? Thanks, Lee

Glad the perseverance paid off that's how I work also The hughes sounds like it working fine and should not be effecting any GFI
however still need to figure out the gfi reason for tripping
you as suggested by another here may have mixed up the load wires when u put in new one there the direct load wire and line load so u need to know what the supply black wire is(from breaker) and the other one feeds downstream outlets same with white neutral
Bishops deal is a great post showing the systems

First let me say that I did not mean to offend anyone and that I did leave things hanging instead of giving an explanation of what would be a safe and method of troubleshooting.

63 years ago my much older brother told me that I wasn't going to spend my entire summer goofing off. He said he would pick me up at 06:30 on Monday and to be prepared to go to work with him. I have been in one way or another involved in mostly residential wiring ever since. The following is based on my experience and training, it is what I would tell a person with little or no knowledge of wiring, it is safe and systematic.

1. The OP said he replace the GFCI and it is still tripping, as suggested, first disconnect all fixtures or appliances attached to the protected circuit, retest. If the the GFCI does not trip, reinstall one fixture at a time until the fault device trips the circuit. Repair or replace.

2. If the device trip without anything attached to the circuit, open any outlets that are expose to the elements and blow off any dirt or moisture and retest. As suggested, this is often the problem. dust will absorb moisture and cause a grand fault.

3. Next, disconnect the wires from the load side of the GFCI and retest. No fault, continue with step 4

4. Unless you know specifically the order in which your outlets are in the circuit, disconnect all of them. Reset th GFCI and test each wire until you find a hot. That should be the first from the GFCI. Write that down should there be a problem in the future. Next, manually trip the GFCI and hook up the hot or line side, neutral and ground wires and retest, if no fault hook up the load side wires and retest. If still no fault, start this step and find the second and third etc.

For illustration only, the two following diagrams show how to wire a GFCI and several protected down stream outlets.





To me this is a simple and safe way of isolating a problem and doesn't assume anything. After finding the problem, repairing it requires another process of elimination. If you are a professional, you will have tried and true shortcuts, if not try the safe way.

Good morning, I have a couple final comments about my ground fault issue. I bypassed the gfi and all is working fine. Now for my last question. I just bought a Hughes Autoformers and this is the first time iv used it. What it does is monitor the line voltage into the rig. When I plug in my voltage to meter into an outlet I notice the voltage is changing from 123 to 126 volts. Could that change in voltage cause the gfi to trip? Thanks, Lee

dougrainer wrote:
1. I have NEVER seen an Icemaker trip a GFCI (39 years)
2. I HAVE seen a Refer (RV) trip a GFCI due to a faulty 120 element
3. If you suspect the refer is ON the GFCI circuit, just turn the refer OFF. If the GFCI fault goes away, then replace the refer 120 element/s. Doug

PS, if you have NO idea what and how various wires are used/connected. STOP. You can create more problems and when you decide to have a professional look at it, it will be harder for him to get various receptacles wired up. It will increase your bill.

Listen to Doug. His advice (both times) are right on. You DO NOT want to replace a GFCI with a regular receptacle. It's tripping to protect you. Changing it means that protection goes away. I will also second Dougs suggestion of getting a professional to look at it if you're the least bit hesitant or if you don't understand how it works. GFCI circuits are pretty simple but mfgs make them more difficult. Monaco uses GFCI protected breakers which are a lot easier. If you're going to keep playing with this yourself, be sure to ask questions as you go. If you're not sure, stop and ask. There are no silly or dumb questions, especially when you're working with electricity. BTW, you do have a meter for testing yes?...Dennis

1. I have NEVER seen an Icemaker trip a GFCI (39 years)
2. I HAVE seen a Refer (RV) trip a GFCI due to a faulty 120 element
3. If you suspect the refer is ON the GFCI circuit, just turn the refer OFF. If the GFCI fault goes away, then replace the refer 120 element/s. Doug

PS, if you have NO idea what and how various wires are used/connected. STOP. You can create more problems and when you decide to have a professional look at it, it will be harder for him to get various receptacles wired up. It will increase your bill.

D.E.Bishop wrote:
Once again, too many folks making suggestions and the guy doesn't seem to know a single thing about GFCI circuits.

Time for him to get a pro before he screws things up.

Hire an electrician, not a handyman. I just went through this with my brother, it's not a game, it's very serious.

the guy is on here asking questions; theres lots of people on here that know whats what and are giving him a guiding hand ;;its how we learn things;; its not your business to suggest two many people making suggestions? that's what this forum is all about you ask for help and we try and give it ;;

Fulltimers wrote:
Bullydogs1 is right. It's your ice maker. Remove the outside refrigerator cover and unplug the ice maker and see what happens.

my 1210 norcold icemakers on a regular 15 amp breaker not on a GFI protected circuit so who knows if his is or is not obviously there not all on GFI

Once again, too many folks making suggestions and the guy doesn't seem to know a single thing about GFCI circuits.

Time for him to get a pro before he screws things up.

Hire an electrician, not a handyman. I just went through this with my brother, it's not a game, it's very serious.