Thread: GFI question
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Jeff Wisnia Jeff Wisnia is offline
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Default GFI question

wrote:
I have a GFI that won't re-set. It's in the garage, but also is linked
to the outlets in one of the bathrooms. Nothing unusual has happened.
I was working in the bathroom last night, but nothing today, and it
only tripped within the past couple of hours. I press the re-set, and
it pushes back against me. Any thoughts, or how I would troubleshoot
it? Thanks!


If I read you correctly, this is a GFCI outlet in the garage with the
bathroom outlets connected to its output teminals. (And, you might want
to make sure there's not something else like an outdoor outlet connected
to it too.)

Is it only the outlets in that bathroom which shut down when the GFCI is
tripped, or are their other things in the bathroom such as lights or an
exhaust fan which quit too?

Was somebody maybe taking a shower in that bathroom about the time the
GFCI tripped? That could be a clue too.

Try disconnecting the leads going to the bathroom from the output
terminals of the garage GFCI to isolate the problem.

If it seems like it's related to the bathroom outlets try taking the
outlet cover plates off and using a hair dryer to blow warm air into
them in case there's moisture there causing the tripping. (You may need
a heavy duty extension cord to power the hair dryer.)

I once had a bathroom GFCI outlet tripping problem caused by occasional
moisture leakage in that bathroom's exhaust fan wired to its output
terminals. I solved that problem by changing the wiring so the fan
circuit took its power from the input terminals of the GFCI. (That fan
wasn't over the bathtub/shower and its housing was grounded BTW.)

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"What do you expect from a pig but a grunt?"