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GFI not working penegron@gmail.com 06-06-2006
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Posted by penegron@gmail.com on June 6, 2006, 10:15 pm
I'm no expert, but I've done some basic electrical and I'm having
problems with a GFI in my bathroom. The GFI I had went dead (reset
didn't work, no power). I assumed the GFI was bad so I replaced it,
twice!

In all cases it still doesn't work. Hitting 'Reset' doesn't work. I
tested the wires and the black wire is indeed hot. When I plug in a
Circuit reader (with a GFI tester on it) no lights come on (this is the
model with 2 yellow and one red light). However, when I use a voltage
detector I get a hot reading when I test either side of the outlet.

The outlet has worked for the past 2 years just fine and then this
problem suddenly occured.

Any help would be appreciated.


Posted by RBM on June 6, 2006, 10:28 pm
The black wire is hot, but your neutral wire, the white, is open, so you
don't have a complete circuit. Try to find where the power is coming from
before it goes to that box and repair the loose connection


> I'm no expert, but I've done some basic electrical and I'm having
> problems with a GFI in my bathroom. The GFI I had went dead (reset
> didn't work, no power). I assumed the GFI was bad so I replaced it,
> twice!
>
> In all cases it still doesn't work. Hitting 'Reset' doesn't work. I
> tested the wires and the black wire is indeed hot. When I plug in a
> Circuit reader (with a GFI tester on it) no lights come on (this is the
> model with 2 yellow and one red light). However, when I use a voltage
> detector I get a hot reading when I test either side of the outlet.
>
> The outlet has worked for the past 2 years just fine and then this
> problem suddenly occured.
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>



Posted by Doug on June 7, 2006, 4:25 am
On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 22:28:29 -0400, "RBM" <rbm2(remove
this)@optonline.net> wrote:

>The black wire is hot, but your neutral wire, the white, is open, so you
>don't have a complete circuit. Try to find where the power is coming from
>before it goes to that box and repair the loose connection
>


I agree, I've seen this problem quite a few times.
His mistake was assuming that the original GFI was bad.

Doug


Posted by Charlie Bress on June 6, 2006, 10:33 pm
The GFI is not resetting because something in the branch it is protecting is
causing it to trip.
Unplug every possible item on the branch and try to reset again. If there
are any outlets that are outside,(patio, driveway lights etc. ) check them
out for moisture. Be sure that all outside outlets have weatherproof covers
and good sealing gaskets.

A quick test is to turn off the breaker protecting that branch and see if
reset works.

The GFI tester is telling you the truth. The voltage detector is giving you
a false positive.

Charlie



> I'm no expert, but I've done some basic electrical and I'm having
> problems with a GFI in my bathroom. The GFI I had went dead (reset
> didn't work, no power). I assumed the GFI was bad so I replaced it,
> twice!
>
> In all cases it still doesn't work. Hitting 'Reset' doesn't work. I
> tested the wires and the black wire is indeed hot. When I plug in a
> Circuit reader (with a GFI tester on it) no lights come on (this is the
> model with 2 yellow and one red light). However, when I use a voltage
> detector I get a hot reading when I test either side of the outlet.
>
> The outlet has worked for the past 2 years just fine and then this
> problem suddenly occured.
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>



Posted by RBM on June 6, 2006, 10:48 pm
The GFI tester is telling you the truth. The voltage detector is giving you
a false positive.

Advice like this will get someone killed. He has 120 volts on the hot leg.
He's got no neutral



> The GFI is not resetting because something in the branch it is protecting
> is causing it to trip.
> Unplug every possible item on the branch and try to reset again. If there
> are any outlets that are outside,(patio, driveway lights etc. ) check them
> out for moisture. Be sure that all outside outlets have weatherproof
> covers and good sealing gaskets.
>
> A quick test is to turn off the breaker protecting that branch and see if
> reset works.
>
> The GFI tester is telling you the truth. The voltage detector is giving
> you a false positive.
>
> Charlie
>
>
>
>> I'm no expert, but I've done some basic electrical and I'm having
>> problems with a GFI in my bathroom. The GFI I had went dead (reset
>> didn't work, no power). I assumed the GFI was bad so I replaced it,
>> twice!
>>
>> In all cases it still doesn't work. Hitting 'Reset' doesn't work. I
>> tested the wires and the black wire is indeed hot. When I plug in a
>> Circuit reader (with a GFI tester on it) no lights come on (this is the
>> model with 2 yellow and one red light). However, when I use a voltage
>> detector I get a hot reading when I test either side of the outlet.
>>
>> The outlet has worked for the past 2 years just fine and then this
>> problem suddenly occured.
>>
>> Any help would be appreciated.
>>
>
>



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