Dude, your video helped me and saved me money. I was about to call an electrician on a Saturday and watched your video and as soon as you mentioned exterior outlet and gfci tripping I went and check the outside outlet box. Sure enough a spider was living in it and caused a short. I replaced all my outlets and breaker on that circuit and it was still tripping the gcfi immediately. So that is when I found. Your video. Thanks a Million!!!!!!!🎉🎉🎉
I rarely subscribe unless I get genuine advice/helpful info. And, that is rare on Utube. Everyone, is hungry/begging for like and subscribe!! You.. Sir have genuine professional/helpful content that taught me valuable info and helped me save hundreds of $$. The info u provided about testing shorts with multimeter saved me a lot of headache and time. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you for explaining this. We were about to move in to an apartment, but the inspection failed for this reason. It gives me peace of mind that it's an easy fix.
Thank you for an informative video. Have you seen a portable GFCI that has power, but when unplugging it, it trips the circuit with nothing plugged in to the outlet side.
excellent video..i have weather resistant gfci in a box with clear cover on exterior wall. Yr round hot climate ..It just died again (3rd one in 18 cos - new house) after the Beryl rain storm. I am thinking moisture but not certain. Is it ok to seal the cover that the plug is in to try and stop it from getting when during bad rain...not sure if that will trap moisture or prevent moisture..Tx in advance
What worked for me: I had just installed a new GFCI for my refrigerator, it tripped about 1-2 times a day. I found that I had removed the sticker covering the load terminals, and the wires were touching it when it was shoved back into the box. Taping up the terminals around the whole outlet stopped this. No issues now.
My garage GFCI trips everytime it rains. Does this mean water is getting to the gfci itself or could it be that water at the breaker is tripping the GFCI, just for clarification the breaker is not tripping. This can be annoying because my modem is connected to an outlet further down the line and I have to run an extension cord to my modem until the storm is over
I am having the same issue. Every time it rails the GFCI in my garage trips so no power in the garage or the outside outlet....let me know if you find a solution please. Thanks
Hi! So I have the situation where the GFCI outlet is tripped but the reset button doesn’t stay in or do anything. I replaced the outlet with a brand new one and the same issue is happening with the new outlet. Any additional thoughts?
Just moved in to a new rental. Some appliances are fine but my toaster or mixer (both new) trip gfci on all three different Gfci circuits found in the home. Any guesses to cause?
When a device trips multiple GFCI's, the most likely cause is that the device has an issue. That said, if it provides arc fault protection too (AFCI) then it might be overly sensitive. If you look closely, the face of the receptacle should say AF/GF or AFCI / GFCI if it's both.
Any idea why my new Samsung refrigerator is tripping my GFCI it’s in a new home. I’ve had the refrigerator checked out and also tried two different GFCI breakers. The refrigerator is currently running with out an issue in a none GFCI breaker. My electrician says I need a new refrigerator. Samsung says it’s not the refrigerator. Samsung has a note on their website stating if the refrigerator trips a breaker put it in a non-gfci breaker. I’ve been going back and fourth with this for 5 weeks.
@@MoonMatters1 Samsung advice to plug into a non protected outlet is very bad advice and I would not be surprised to learn its illegal to advise people to remove electrical safety devices from their homes that are designed to protect against electrical faults in the kitchen. Its code. The starting current for a fridge is quite high. Have an electrician examine what the peak starting current indicated on the fridges rating panel is and be sure the breaker and wiring are sized appropriately for that peak current. If it is too costly to upgrade the wiring/breaker have Samsung take the fridge back. Are your breakers combo GFCI/AFCI? New homes come with combo breakers for a kitchen. It could be the AFCI circuits in the breaker that is tripping not the GFCI. Follow AFCI troubleshooting guides as well. Anything with a motor in it can trip an AFCI breaker when it starts up, especially if the fridge is faulty. You may have bought a lemon..
I have a single thing plugged in to a dedicated 20amp GFCI on a 30 amp breaker. It says it only pulls 17amp max and have been running on a 15amp GFCI for almost a year with no issue.
Hey bro my gfci is in the kitchen but it’s tripping when my counter top grill begins to pre heat but when the espresso machine is on it doesn’t and when i use my grill it’s the only thing plugged in. Does this mean that it’s bad or should I upgrade to a higher amperage gfci? Its also a century old house and im aware that it might not be up to code. Im an r1 so I don’t know much about electrical work
Sounds like its the grill. If you have another GFCI in another part of your house you could try plugging the grill in there and see if it trips. If it does, that's your answer. Also, always be sure to keep the outlets, breakers, etc at the same amp rating because those are dependent on the wiring. You don't want to draw more current than the wire can handle (fire hazard)
I'm using a 12k BTU A/C in an outdoor building. I have a monitor on the line. The max it's pulled is 10amps, 1000watts. But even at 7amps, it's popped the GFCI. Nothing else was on the circuit at the time. Everything from the power box to the shed, is 20Amps. I'm about to just put the A/C unit on it's own dedicated plug that is not on the GFCI. The A/C unit has it's on built in GFCI on it's plug. Since the unit isn't pulling more then the line can handle, I was thinking it was the GFCI.
Would using a surge protector on my space heater help avoid tripping the GFCI switch. The original GFCI was damage (wouldn't reset) so I replace it. I had 2 laptops plugs in and the space heater running. The heater shut down because of overload and fried the GFCI. My thinking is put surge protector on the space heater to prevent another overload. Any thoughts
Overloads should trip the circuit breaker before they damage the GFCI or anything else.. If it didn't, then I would suggest taking a look at the size of your circuit breaker. If it's a 20 amp breaker that might be the problem.
@@tchevrier So I should replace to 20 amp breaker with a 30 amp? Wouldn't the gauge of the wire have to be thicker to carry the additional load. My dad use to be an electrician but he's been gone for over 20 years now.
@@michaeljones6413 NOBODY suggested replacing a 20 with a 30. If you're tripping breakers you are overloading the circuit. If you're tripping GFCI receptacle or GFCI/AFCI receptacle, then you have a ground-fault or an arc-fault. Either way, stop using the offending device.
What may cause a new GFCI receptacle to be tripping even when nothing is plugged in? It’s end of the run so no wire nuts, only 3 wires in the junction box, wrapped each individually with electrical tape to be sure none were touching if there’s breaks (none visible though) in insulation.
I just had my patio circuit replaced. I bought a new 12 gauge outdoor extension cord and a waterproof protector. I plugged my pool pump into the extension cord and secured them in the waterproof case. The extension cord tripped my circuit. The only way to keep it from tripping is to plug the cord into an outdoor surge protector before plugging it into the actual circuit. Why am I still having trouble? Why is a brand new outdoor pool plug and cord still not operating my pump? Do I need to buy a new pool pump too? It’s only two or three years old. Help!
Your first 2 reasons are wrong. GFCI receptacle does not trip from overload or short between the hot and neutral. It's purpose is to detect a current leakage of at least 5mA from hot to neutral. That current will go to ground and trip the device, hence the name GFCI. With or without a ground wire connection, the user becomes a potential ground and there to protect them. Overload and a short between hot and neutral is the circuit breakers purpose.
GFCI outlets don't trip because of overloads. They trip because there is current leakage after the outlet. There can also be nuisance tripping if you have multiple GFCI outlets on a circuit or a GFCI breaker.
Yea, I was wondering how a GFCI receptacle could even see an overload on the circuit that it is attached to. Best it could do is to see a low voltage on the input terminals, and I don't think GFCIs will trip on low input voltage, right?
There's no nuisance tripping with more than one GFCI protecting another GFCI. Remember a GFCI only measures the sum of the current differential between the hot and neutral (sometimes hot and hot). Measuring current with a current transformer in one GFCI device does not cause leakage current that can be detected by the other GFCI.
My microwave is the only thing plugged into the GFCI that keeps blowing . I put in a new GFCI and after a few it blew again . The microwave plugged in elsewhere works fine . Any suggestions would be great ,hoping to not spend a fortune , thanks .
WHen you say the microwave works fine on another circuit, are they GFCI circuits? Plug it in in the garage for instance and see if that GFCI trips as well. If it does you have a bad microwave. If not you probably have a bad GFCI, new ones can be bad as well.
My gfci for my sump pump malfunctioned and caused my basement to flood. The gfci wouldn't even light up a night light. I have just installed a new gfci and the night light works. However, the new gfci trips as soon as I plug in the sump pump. Any idea what's going on?
@@TopHomeowner Short circuits (line to neutral) do not trip GFCI unless it's a GFCI breaker. GFCIs that won't reset are either defective or there is a ground-fault downstream.
What may cause a new GFCI receptacle to be tripping even when nothing is plugged in? It’s end of the run so no wire nuts, only 3 wires in the junction box, wrapped each individually with electrical tape to be sure none were touching if there’s breaks (none visible though) in insulation.
You said that it is at the end of a circuit. Are there other GFCI outlets on the circuit? Is the circuit on a GFCI breaker? Doubling up can cause nuisance tripping.
What may cause a new GFCI receptacle to be tripping even when nothing is plugged in? It’s end of the run so no wire nuts, only 3 wires in the junction box, wrapped each individually with electrical tape to be sure none were touching if there’s breaks (none visible though) in insulation.
The GFCI itself could be faulty. The first thing I would try is to swap it out and see if it still happens. If it does, then most likely there's an issue in your wiring somewhere.
Dude, your video helped me and saved me money. I was about to call an electrician on a Saturday and watched your video and as soon as you mentioned exterior outlet and gfci tripping I went and check the outside outlet box. Sure enough a spider was living in it and caused a short. I replaced all my outlets and breaker on that circuit and it was still tripping the gcfi immediately. So that is when I found. Your video. Thanks a Million!!!!!!!🎉🎉🎉
Great to hear!
I rarely subscribe unless I get genuine advice/helpful info. And, that is rare on Utube. Everyone, is hungry/begging for like and subscribe!! You.. Sir have genuine professional/helpful content that taught me valuable info and helped me save hundreds of $$. The info u provided about testing shorts with multimeter saved me a lot of headache and time. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Glad it helped you and thanks for the comment and sub!
Thank you for explaining this. We were about to move in to an apartment, but the inspection failed for this reason. It gives me peace of mind that it's an easy fix.
This video agreed with all my assumptions. Plus, I needed an ice cream break.👍
Nice, actual instructions for diagnosing :)
can you used any tipe of caulking around the box or anything specific that can be used?
Nicely done! Well planned and executed video!!!
Thank you for an informative video. Have you seen a portable GFCI that has power, but when unplugging it, it trips the circuit with nothing plugged in to the outlet side.
GFCI breakers will trip from overload, not GFCI receptacles
Yes 100
Came here to say this same thing👍
excellent video..i have weather resistant gfci in a box with clear cover on exterior wall. Yr round hot climate ..It just died again (3rd one in 18 cos - new house) after the Beryl rain storm. I am thinking moisture but not certain. Is it ok to seal the cover that the plug is in to try and stop it from getting when during bad rain...not sure if that will trap moisture or prevent moisture..Tx in advance
What worked for me: I had just installed a new GFCI for my refrigerator, it tripped about 1-2 times a day. I found that I had removed the sticker covering the load terminals, and the wires were touching it when it was shoved back into the box. Taping up the terminals around the whole outlet stopped this. No issues now.
You shouldn't use a GFCI on an fridge.
No way out a gfci on a fridge!
@@yunghed1 what are you talking about?
Local code forces me to use gfci on my fridge
My garage GFCI trips everytime it rains. Does this mean water is getting to the gfci itself or could it be that water at the breaker is tripping the GFCI, just for clarification the breaker is not tripping. This can be annoying because my modem is connected to an outlet further down the line and I have to run an extension cord to my modem until the storm is over
I am having the same issue. Every time it rails the GFCI in my garage trips so no power in the garage or the outside outlet....let me know if you find a solution please. Thanks
Hi! So I have the situation where the GFCI outlet is tripped but the reset button doesn’t stay in or do anything. I replaced the outlet with a brand new one and the same issue is happening with the new outlet. Any additional thoughts?
Just moved in to a new rental. Some appliances are fine but my toaster or mixer (both new) trip gfci on all three different Gfci circuits found in the home. Any guesses to cause?
When a device trips multiple GFCI's, the most likely cause is that the device has an issue. That said, if it provides arc fault protection too (AFCI) then it might be overly sensitive. If you look closely, the face of the receptacle should say AF/GF or AFCI / GFCI if it's both.
Hi, What is likely the problem if there is a burnt mark by the hot load wire on the back of a non-working GFCI? Nice video, Thanks
Most likely it either overloaded, or the connection is loose and it's been arcing. I'd recommend replacing it.
@@TopHomeowner Thank you, that is what we did!
Any idea why my new Samsung refrigerator is tripping my GFCI it’s in a new home. I’ve had the refrigerator checked out and also tried two different GFCI breakers. The refrigerator is currently running with out an issue in a none GFCI breaker.
My electrician says I need a new refrigerator. Samsung says it’s not the refrigerator. Samsung has a note on their website stating if the refrigerator trips a breaker put it in a non-gfci breaker. I’ve been going back and fourth with this for 5 weeks.
@@MoonMatters1 I’m having the same issue. Brand new Samsung fridge is tripping a dedicated, brand new GFCI outlet.
@@MoonMatters1 Samsung advice to plug into a non protected outlet is very bad advice and I would not be surprised to learn its illegal to advise people to remove electrical safety devices from their homes that are designed to protect against electrical faults in the kitchen. Its code.
The starting current for a fridge is quite high. Have an electrician examine what the peak starting current indicated on the fridges rating panel is and be sure the breaker and wiring are sized appropriately for that peak current. If it is too costly to upgrade the wiring/breaker have Samsung take the fridge back.
Are your breakers combo GFCI/AFCI? New homes come with combo breakers for a kitchen. It could be the AFCI circuits in the breaker that is tripping not the GFCI. Follow AFCI troubleshooting guides as well. Anything with a motor in it can trip an AFCI breaker when it starts up, especially if the fridge is faulty. You may have bought a lemon..
I have a single thing plugged in to a dedicated 20amp GFCI on a 30 amp breaker. It says it only pulls 17amp max and have been running on a 15amp GFCI for almost a year with no issue.
You talk about continuity testing for short circuits, but you have your multimeter in the video set to ohms, no?
Thanks 👍
Hey bro my gfci is in the kitchen but it’s tripping when my counter top grill begins to pre heat but when the espresso machine is on it doesn’t and when i use my grill it’s the only thing plugged in. Does this mean that it’s bad or should I upgrade to a higher amperage gfci? Its also a century old house and im aware that it might not be up to code. Im an r1 so I don’t know much about electrical work
Sounds like its the grill. If you have another GFCI in another part of your house you could try plugging the grill in there and see if it trips. If it does, that's your answer. Also, always be sure to keep the outlets, breakers, etc at the same amp rating because those are dependent on the wiring. You don't want to draw more current than the wire can handle (fire hazard)
Its my pleasure to like 👍🏾 videos like these greatly appreciated
I'm using a 12k BTU A/C in an outdoor building. I have a monitor on the line. The max it's pulled is 10amps, 1000watts. But even at 7amps, it's popped the GFCI. Nothing else was on the circuit at the time. Everything from the power box to the shed, is 20Amps. I'm about to just put the A/C unit on it's own dedicated plug that is not on the GFCI. The A/C unit has it's on built in GFCI on it's plug. Since the unit isn't pulling more then the line can handle, I was thinking it was the GFCI.
Would using a surge protector on my space heater help avoid tripping the GFCI switch. The original GFCI was damage (wouldn't reset) so I replace it. I had 2 laptops plugs in and the space heater running. The heater shut down because of overload and fried the GFCI. My thinking is put surge protector on the space heater to prevent another overload. Any thoughts
Overloads should trip the circuit breaker before they damage the GFCI or anything else.. If it didn't, then I would suggest taking a look at the size of your circuit breaker. If it's a 20 amp breaker that might be the problem.
@@tchevrier So I should replace to 20 amp breaker with a 30 amp? Wouldn't the gauge of the wire have to be thicker to carry the additional load. My dad use to be an electrician but he's been gone for over 20 years now.
Surge protectors do not cure overloaded circuits, nor prevent them.
@@michaeljones6413 NOBODY suggested replacing a 20 with a 30. If you're tripping breakers you are overloading the circuit. If you're tripping GFCI receptacle or GFCI/AFCI receptacle, then you have a ground-fault or an arc-fault. Either way, stop using the offending device.
Why is my gfci tripping after good three hours? It is connected to a fridge. Do you think there is a power surge from the fridge?
What may cause a new GFCI receptacle to be tripping even when nothing is plugged in? It’s end of the run so no wire nuts, only 3 wires in the junction box, wrapped each individually with electrical tape to be sure none were touching if there’s breaks (none visible though) in insulation.
1-It was wired to the load terminals instead of the line terminals, or 2- it's defective out of the box.
I just had my patio circuit replaced. I bought a new 12 gauge outdoor extension cord and a waterproof protector. I plugged my pool pump into the extension cord and secured them in the waterproof case. The extension cord tripped my circuit. The only way to keep it from tripping is to plug the cord into an outdoor surge protector before plugging it into the actual circuit. Why am I still having trouble? Why is a brand new outdoor pool plug and cord still not operating my pump? Do I need to buy a new pool pump too? It’s only two or three years old. Help!
Can vibration from a garage door opening and closing cause a trip?. Have a GFCI near door and it trips even with nothing pug into the circuit.
loose wire?
Checked everything. Might just replace@@RogerPack
Your first 2 reasons are wrong. GFCI receptacle does not trip from overload or short between the hot and neutral. It's purpose is to detect a current leakage of at least 5mA from hot to neutral. That current will go to ground and trip the device, hence the name GFCI. With or without a ground wire connection, the user becomes a potential ground and there to protect them.
Overload and a short between hot and neutral is the circuit breakers purpose.
GFCI outlets don't trip because of overloads. They trip because there is current leakage after the outlet. There can also be nuisance tripping if you have multiple GFCI outlets on a circuit or a GFCI breaker.
Yea, I was wondering how a GFCI receptacle could even see an overload on the circuit that it is attached to. Best it could do is to see a low voltage on the input terminals, and I don't think GFCIs will trip on low input voltage, right?
There's no nuisance tripping with more than one GFCI protecting another GFCI. Remember a GFCI only measures the sum of the current differential between the hot and neutral (sometimes hot and hot). Measuring current with a current transformer in one GFCI device does not cause leakage current that can be detected by the other GFCI.
Voltage drop in the power supply can also cause it
my breaker trips when i press the gfci button in. what does this mean?
My Test Button doesn’t stay in. Pushing reset temporarily sends power to switch then reset button pops out.
My microwave is the only thing plugged into the GFCI that keeps blowing . I put in a new GFCI and after a few it blew again . The microwave plugged in elsewhere works fine . Any suggestions
would be great ,hoping to not spend a fortune , thanks .
Is your breaker rated for the same amps as your GFCI? Also what is your microwave rated for?
WHen you say the microwave works fine on another circuit, are they GFCI circuits? Plug it in in the garage for instance and see if that GFCI trips as well. If it does you have a bad microwave. If not you probably have a bad GFCI, new ones can be bad as well.
If you plug the microwave into another GFCI in another location and it does the same thing then there's probably an issue with the microwave itself.
Lutron Sunatra dimmers trip my break panel GFCI.
137 Wolff Burgs
I have one that's tripping. I installed a new gfci and ended up unhooking all downstream outlets and it's still tripping.
I drink your your milk shake *slurrrp
I drink it up!
Daniel- there will be blood
My gfci for my sump pump malfunctioned and caused my basement to flood. The gfci wouldn't even light up a night light.
I have just installed a new gfci and the night light works. However, the new gfci trips as soon as I plug in the sump pump. Any idea what's going on?
It's possible the GFCI is detecting an actual ground fault in either the sump pump or the wiring, especially if a new GFCI is behaving the same way.
My Christmas lights keep tripping mine. Even when I only have one strand plugged in 🤷🏽♂️
The light strand might have a short. Does it trip with a different strand?
@@TopHomeowner Short circuits (line to neutral) do not trip GFCI unless it's a GFCI breaker. GFCIs that won't reset are either defective or there is a ground-fault downstream.
My gfci always be trippin'
Please read your GFCI manual before making a video
You can tell this guy loves milkshakes
50194 Fritsch Center
456 Cole Stravenue
What may cause a new GFCI receptacle to be tripping even when nothing is plugged in? It’s end of the run so no wire nuts, only 3 wires in the junction box, wrapped each individually with electrical tape to be sure none were touching if there’s breaks (none visible though) in insulation.
You said that it is at the end of a circuit. Are there other GFCI outlets on the circuit? Is the circuit on a GFCI breaker? Doubling up can cause nuisance tripping.
What may cause a new GFCI receptacle to be tripping even when nothing is plugged in? It’s end of the run so no wire nuts, only 3 wires in the junction box, wrapped each individually with electrical tape to be sure none were touching if there’s breaks (none visible though) in insulation.
The GFCI itself could be faulty. The first thing I would try is to swap it out and see if it still happens. If it does, then most likely there's an issue in your wiring somewhere.
How do you think a wiring issue somewhere else could cause this? Curious... :)@@TopHomeowner