GFI circuit problems...

[tboss]

My problem is when I turn my refrig on elect. it kicks the GFI receptacle in the bath room ..I think the problem lies in the refrig. for if I unplug the refrig and and reset the receptacle in the bathroom it will not kick the gfi until I turn the fridge to elect. If I remove the gfi from the recepti. replace the gfi with a regular recept and turn on the fridge. it works fine..Im on my 3rd GFI recept.. I think my problem is I went to Lowes the other day and stumbled up on a Haier 10.11-cu ft top freezer refrig combo...that fits rite in da cut out for my norcold.$388.00 ..can someone save me here cus I don't have the 388.00 for the haier refridg.

[BFL13]

Doug knows! But first I would have tried to see if it was just the outside receptacle behind the fridge it is plugged into. IE, unplug the fridge, run an extension cord into the stick house bathroom GFCI receptacle and see if it pops. If not, then I would trouble-shoot that back of the fridge 120v receptacle.

[tboss]

the heating element ws fried,,unit is to old to try to repair and I don't trust it anymore.. so its in da land fill and Im going to the box store and purchase me a new 9.9 cu ft to replace it with..should be an easy swap

[dougrainer]

The 120 element trips a GFCI, because a GFCI DOES NOT really sense a SHORT. What it does is sense the imbalance between the White(Neutral) and HOT(black) wire. Which a SHORT does make happen. But in this case, the 120 element does not have a ground wire, just the Hot and Neutral. The Element IS inside a metal steel tube which is connected to the RV ground. When a Refer 120 element BLEEDS current(defective element) it will cause that imbalance of current and if ON a GFCI circuit will trip the GFCI. If NOT on a GFCI circuit, the 120 element will operate as designed, as that bleed is not enough to cause a Circuit Breaker trip as from a short. Doug

[road-runner]

Conducting an opinion poll, here are definitions that think it's a short circuit:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/short-circuit.html
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Short+circuit+current
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/short-circuit
http://www.yourdictionary.com/short-circuit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_circuit

And one that thinks it's not a short circuit:

http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae470.cfm

Fortunately, none of this has anything to do with diagnosing or fixing the problem.

[enblethen]

No, a short is when the two current carrying conductors are connected together by means of a fault.
A ground is when one or more of the current carrying conductors (there is some circuitry that is intentional grounded) go to a grounded object via a fault.

[Bobbo]

enblethen wrote:
It is not a short, It is going to ground.
Look closely where the wires go through the sheet metal stack for a black spot.

Silly me. I thought when current went to ground, it was called a "short."

[dougrainer]

Ohming out this type problem will NOT work. This type problem, the Heat Element will work and show correct resistance when plugged into a NON GFCI plug. What you DO, is, disconnect the 120 element from the control board and operate the refer on 120. If it does NOT trip the GFCI, replace the 120 element. This is just to prove to you that it IS the Heat Element. I KNOW it is the heat element from years of fixing this type problem. Doug

[DrewE]

enblethen wrote:
There should be no resistance reading between either of the element wires to ground.
That is normal problem element goes to ground. Part of the load goes through to the ground which trips the GFCI receptacle.

More precisely, there should be infinite resistance (no connection) between the element wires and ground. This, an open circuit, may often be displayed as a non-reading on a digital multimeter, or as an overload or something similar.

Just don't confuse it with "no resistance", which is zero ohms or a short circuit.

[enblethen]

It is not a short, It is going to ground.
Look closely where the wires go through the sheet metal stack for a black spot.

[Executive45]

Fortunately the electric elements are easy to replace. If you have two, replace them both...a short in one is what is tripping the GFCI....Dennis

[enblethen]

There should be no resistance reading between either of the element wires to ground.
That is normal problem element goes to ground. Part of the load goes through to the ground which trips the GFCI receptacle.

[tboss]

wht should the ohm reading be...or just check the continuity

[donn0128]

Likely a dead heating element in the refer. Find it,disconnect the wires and check it with an ohm meter.

[dougrainer]

The problem is the refer 120 element. Replace it. Doug