Outdoor Electrical Problem
 

I have a series of 5 or 6 120V AC patio lights, controlled by a ground fault
which has been working fine for years. Now, this season, after 1-2 hours,
the ground fault trips, and I cannot reset it for hours. If there was a
short, it would trip immediately, right? What would be the condition that
would cause it to trip a few hours later, and then not reset? Thanks

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY

Dave Schwartz wrote:
I have a series of 5 or 6 120V AC patio lights, controlled by a ground
fault which has been working fine for years. Now, this season, after
1-2 hours, the ground fault trips, and I cannot reset it for hours.
If there was a short, it would trip immediately, right? What would
be the condition that would cause it to trip a few hours later, and
then not reset? Thanks

It would appear that something is causing a ground fault (not a short)
based on heat. Something may be expanding as it heats up and causing the
ground fault. Try removing some of the lamps from the circuit and see it it
still happens. You may be able to do it by just removing the bulbs or you
may need to disconnect the wires.

It is also possible the GF unit is defective and needs to be replaced.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Since we in NY have been having torrential rains lately, I'd guess your
wiring is getting wet and tripping the gfci. Possibly when the ground water
lowers, the unit can be reset. I'd pick a mid point in the string and remove
the fixture and separate the wires and cap them. This will tell you where in
the string the problem exists. You can keep narrowing it down like this
until you find the location of the fault. Also there are special gel filled
wire nuts that can be used which prevent water entry.


"Dave Schwartz" wrote in message
...
I have a series of 5 or 6 120V AC patio lights, controlled by a ground
fault
which has been working fine for years. Now, this season, after 1-2 hours,
the ground fault trips, and I cannot reset it for hours. If there was a
short, it would trip immediately, right? What would be the condition that
would cause it to trip a few hours later, and then not reset? Thanks

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Since we in NY have been having torrential rains lately, I'd guess your
wiring is getting wet and tripping the gfci. Possibly when the ground
water lowers, the unit can be reset. I'd pick a mid point in the string
and remove the fixture and separate the wires and cap them. This will tell
you where in the string the problem exists. You can keep narrowing it down
like this until you find the location of the fault. Also there are special
gel filled wire nuts that can be used which prevent water entry.


"Dave Schwartz" wrote in message
...
I have a series of 5 or 6 120V AC patio lights, controlled by a ground
fault
which has been working fine for years. Now, this season, after 1-2
hours,
the ground fault trips, and I cannot reset it for hours. If there was a
short, it would trip immediately, right? What would be the condition
that
would cause it to trip a few hours later, and then not reset? Thanks

I expect he is correct. You should understand that nothing has to actually
get wet to trip a GFCI; it is not the same as a short. I had an outlet that
would trip my GFCI every time it rained, eventhough it never actually got
wet. Replacing the outlet solved my problem.
So, you have to identify where the problem is; and then repair or replace.

"Dave Schwartz" wrote in message
...
If there was a
short, it would trip immediately, right?

Right. But then the circuit breaker would trip, not the GFCI.

What would be the condition that
would cause it to trip a few hours later, and then not reset? Thanks

A ground fault, which is what a Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor is
detecting (not a short circuit). Ground faults are typically caused by
moisture, and mean that current is leaking to some source (usually the
earth) besides the neutral conductor/wide slot of the GFCI outlet. This is
a shock hazard, so the outlet is protecting you.

-Tim

How does heat cause a ground fault to trip?
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY


"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
. ..
Dave Schwartz wrote:
I have a series of 5 or 6 120V AC patio lights, controlled by a ground
fault which has been working fine for years. Now, this season, after
1-2 hours, the ground fault trips, and I cannot reset it for hours.
If there was a short, it would trip immediately, right? What would
be the condition that would cause it to trip a few hours later, and
then not reset? Thanks

It would appear that something is causing a ground fault (not a short)
based on heat. Something may be expanding as it heats up and causing the
ground fault. Try removing some of the lamps from the circuit and see it
it
still happens. You may be able to do it by just removing the bulbs or you
may need to disconnect the wires.

It is also possible the GF unit is defective and needs to be replaced.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Dave Schwartz wrote:
How does heat cause a ground fault to trip?

I am not suggesting that heat is causing the ground fault to trip,
although I guess that might be possible, but rater I suspect that heat is
causing a ground fault that trips the GFI. Metal expands and if there is a
close fault, the metal expanding could bridge the gap.

Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY


"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
. ..
Dave Schwartz wrote:
I have a series of 5 or 6 120V AC patio lights, controlled by a
ground fault which has been working fine for years. Now, this
season, after 1-2 hours, the ground fault trips, and I cannot
reset it for hours. If there was a short, it would trip
immediately, right? What would be the condition that would cause
it to trip a few hours later, and then not reset? Thanks

It would appear that something is causing a ground fault (not a
short) based on heat. Something may be expanding as it heats up and
causing the ground fault. Try removing some of the lamps from the
circuit and see it it still happens. You may be able to do it by
just removing the bulbs or you may need to disconnect the wires.

It is also possible the GF unit is defective and needs to be
replaced.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit