My original thread seems to have been hijacked, so I’ll start fresh. I have a 20A GFCI breaker (square D homeline) serving the following in this order; outdoor duplex, shop duplex, shop duplex, outdoor duplex, outdoor duplex. The last one in line is not yet hooked up, it’s just a taped wire hanging outside. It was recommended that I swap in a non GFCI breaker. I did that, and the circuit did not trip. I then put in a different GFCI and it trips. What do I check now? When the standard breaker was in, a plug in tester showed correct wiring at each of the 4 devices that are in. Could I have a ground hitting a neutral screw somewhere? Is the open wire at fault? Thanks, Chad.
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Replies
You could have the ground hitting the neutral somewhere, or have neutrals crossed with another circuit. Also, double-check that the breaker is wired right, with the black and white FROM THE SAME CABLE wired in to the two terminals on the breaker.
If the breaker appears to be wired correctly, the next thing to do is to split the circuit somewhere -- divide and conquer.
There are no devices pluged in. This is new construction. What does it mean to have my neutral crossed with another circuit? Are you saying I have the wrong neutral wired into the breaker at the panel? Both white and black are from this circuit, I did check that. I'll start disconnecting from the end when I have a chance...to me, starting at the end closest to the breaker would seem quicker, because I could eliminate everything dowstream at once. Does that make sense? I guess I could miss the proplem though and need to start over from the end.
Some place in the middle, if two circuits come into the same box, you may have the neutrals from the two circuits joined.
It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. --Rollo May
Ah, thanks. I could see how that is possible in a few multi-gang switch boxes where two circuits share a box, but in this case, only the one circuit is present anywhere. I do have the GFCI breaker properly wired. I'll slice and dice and see what shows up...it may take another month with the time we have available! Thanks.
The first box I opened had the ground wire touching the neutral screw. Problem solved. Thanks for the tips.
Nice when the fix comes quick, isnt it?
I had a problem with an arc fault circuit once. Two bedrooms on one arc breaker. One room was ready for finish the other not yet. When I tried to turn on the light in the finished room the breaker tripped. Took me a half hour to think to check the boxes in the other room.
The light box had a neutral wire touching. Problem solved.
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
In terms of disconnecting, the theoretically fastest technique is to start in the middle, cutting, say, eight receptacles into two fours, then cut the offending four in two, then one more cut and you have it nailed.
It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. --Rollo May
Just to verify this.The neutral from the cable connects to the GFCI breaker. Then a pigtail from the breaker connects to the neutral bus..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
What devices do you have plugged in? Does it trip with nothing plugged in, or only when something is running? If the latter is the case, try plugging in a different device and see what happens.
We once had an outdoor recpt that wasnt sealed properly. The box flooded and tripped the GFCI.
I would start at the end of run disconnect one at a time till the breaker doesnt trip anymore. Then you will have found your starting point to look for the problem.
Family.....They're always there when they need you.