Home Page link

GFI not working

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Page 2 of 2       << first < 1 2 Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
GFI not working penegron@gmail.com 06-06-2006
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by mm on June 7, 2006, 4:28 pm
On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 22:33:11 -0400, "Charlie Bress"

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

Well there is 120V there.

But he doesn't say that he tried to test the neutral leg. He probably
didn't try to test it, and that's why when he first posted, he didn't
know it was bad.

He said
"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)."
What do the instructions say that this means? It doesn't mean that
all is well. Are you talking about the yellow chunk prongs at one
end and 3 lights on the ohter end?



>Charlie


Posted by Jim Nugent on June 8, 2006, 8:31 am

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

On all GFI's I've worked with, the test and reset buttons are both
inoperative in the absence of power. The reset button will not "click in."

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

Yes, the GFI is telling the truth. The OP has problem with the neutral
wire:
"I get hot reading when I test either side of the outlet."

Shouldn't get a "hot" reading on a wire (the neutral) that is tied to ground
at the panel.
--
Jim
"Remember, an amateur built the Ark; professionals built the Titanic."






Posted by penegron@gmail.com on June 8, 2006, 9:16 pm
Thank you everyone I finally was able to get back to this posting and
read the feedback. I haven't had a chance to check the neutral wire,
but regarding this

> On all GFI's I've worked with, the test and reset buttons are both
> inoperative in the absence of power. The reset button will not "click in."

This appears to be true, the reset button does not "click in"

And yes I agree that my first mistake was assuming the original GFI was
bad. I didn't check it, but I had another GFI go bad on me recently
and it initially seemed to be the same symptoms, but lesson
learned....I need to be more thorough.

Thanks


Posted by Tony Hwang on June 6, 2006, 10:57 pm
penegron@gmail.com wrote:
> 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.
>
Hi,
How about getting a decent meter for crying out loud. Been working on
wiring without one? Your GFI does not lie. You have wiring problem
upstream if the outlet does not have any load down stream.
Don't get zapped!

Posted by Beachcomber on June 7, 2006, 12:59 pm

>penegron@gmail.com wrote:
>> 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.
>>

Also, check for downstream shorts between the Neutral and Ground.
These will trip a modern GFI in addition to current imbalance on Hot
and Neutral.



Page 2 of 2       << first < 1 2
Similar ThreadsPosted
strange issue: some plugs are working/ then not working June 16, 2006, 2:07 pm
Re: kitchen faucet not working but sprayer is working March 12, 2007, 6:19 pm
Working with PEX August 4, 2008, 2:29 am
is this working? November 9, 2008, 3:44 pm
heat not working October 3, 2005, 1:10 pm
Ceiling fan not working December 3, 2005, 7:55 am
How I got my microwave working again!!!! June 21, 2005, 12:54 pm
furnace not working February 25, 2006, 5:27 pm
home ac not working May 29, 2006, 11:28 pm
A/C Just Quit Working. Why? July 22, 2006, 12:20 am

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap