I just heard a very loud buzzing (it sounded like a hair shears that was stuck) coming from my kitchen and went to investigate. The GFI outlet that the coffee machine was plugged into was dead. I tried resetting it but nothing happened. The coffee machine works when plugged into another outlet.
There are three other GFI outlets on this circuit and they’re working fine.
I’m assuming it’s dead and needs to be replaced.
My question is this – what caused it (it’s about a year old), and is it dangerous to leave it as it is without replacing it (I’m going out of town). Is it a hazard of any kind?
Thanks
Replies
I've never heard of a GFI recep making a buzzing sound, but it would be good to replace it considering it's "dead" as you say.
I would look elsewhere for a fault (loose wires on terminals, perhaps a nail or screw driven through a wire, etc.) This warrants some investigation.
Be safe... if you aren't familiar with electrical work, hire a pro.
Turn off the circuit
b/4 you go. The frig isn't on that circuit I suppose.
and/or
call the electrician and have him fix it while you're gone.
A buzzing sound I've not heard either from a gfci-from a dimmer control-yes.
A crackling sound would not be a good thing to hear. Shorts sound like that.
Best of luck.
A LOUD buzzing sound is, of course, the sound of a dead short. That you generally don't hear (or want to) for more than a second or two.
A less loud buzzing sound, coming from a GFI outlet, would be the trip solenoid in the outlet being energized. Normally the solenoid would only be energized for a fraction of a second, so a sustained buzzing would suggest that the electronics in the outlet have failed.
My guess is that it's safe to leave it. If you want to be doubly safe, turn off the breaker that feeds that outlet (if you can figure out which one).
But the outlet is toast (so to speak). Even if it starts working again mysteriously, I'd advise replacing it.
Problem Solved?
Hi,
Did you ever figure out what caused this problem? I had the exact same thing happen this morning. I was standing in my kitchen and all of a suddent a loud buzzing sound came from the GFI lasting about two seconds. Now I can't reset it and I'd like to know if the GFI failed or if there is a problem with the wiring. Like you, I had the entire kitchen remodeled and updated about a year ago.
Thanks