Another GCFI question - UPDATED -- 03/11/2022

[gh1950]

I am having the siding replaced on my house. If there is anyone who wants to finish the job from Hell, in Athens, please respond. Maybe two full days work. Basically will pay any sum.

Anyway, to add to the misery, numbnuts No. 2 was running his compressor off my outlets in my garage. The garage outlets and bathrooms outlets come off one GCFI breaker. Bath has GFCI outlets, garage standard outlets.

Two circuit GCFI breaker.

So Numbnuts No. 2 has been here months' completing 10 days work. (Please someone help me out of this mess.) So now all the outlets in the garage are dead, and a couple of outlets on the same circuit all dead. Never had any issue in the last 25 years.

Bathroom on same breaker is having sporadic outages, which I can fix by flipping the breaker. Minimum load on the bathroom.

Garage stats dead.

Most of the gargage circuit is in the attic (all of the junctions, nothing visible there, straight run back to the panel.



So the most obvious problem is that the GCFI has failed, dead on one pole, iffy on the other.

Any other suggestions before I start ripping stuff apart?

My "test" procedure is going to be to pull the breaker, to jump the circuit to the main buss, see if anything kicks on.

 

[Blue bio balls]

I think your gfci receptacle is broken.

 

[blazedawg87]

Why do you have a GFCI outlet on a GFCI breaker? If the breaker is bad just replace it with a standard one and let your outlets be your protection.

 

[Blue bio balls]

Why do you have a GFCI outlet on a GFCI breaker? If the breaker is bad just replace it with a standard one and let your outlets be your protection.

Great point

 

[gh1950]

Why do you have a GFCI outlet on a GFCI breaker? If the breaker is bad just replace it with a standard one and let your outlets be your protection.

Because it's there.

Honestly, never had issues, never noticed it before. Your right, it doesn't make sense.

What's funny is the beer refrigerator in the garage has a ground fault, but it doesn't trip the breaker.

Based on the age of the house (1985) I suspect the GCFI were put in for a previous home inspection.

But we agree the breaker is likely the source of my problem?

 

[gh1950]

I think your gfci receptacle is broken.

The receptacles in the garage are standard, but tied to a GCFI breaker. There are 3 standard outlets in 3 rooms on that circuit, they all are dead, which makes me pretty certain it's a breaker issue.

Based on the comments in another thread, I believe numbnuts no. 2 running his compressor for weeks off the breaker fried it.

 

[blazedawg87]

Because it's there.

Honestly, never had issues, never noticed it before. Your right, it doesn't make sense.

What's funny is the beer refrigerator in the garage has a ground fault, but it doesn't trip the breaker.

Based on the age of the house (1985) I suspect the GCFI were put in for a previous home inspection.

But we agree the breaker is likely the source of my problem?

GFCIs can be a booger to diagnose. Your outlets in your bathroom could be causing interference with the breaker itself. Or the breaker could be causing your issues. I've heard nothing but bad things about GFCI breakers. Costly to replace, and they're junk.
I have tripped a GFCI in a completely different bathroom on a different circuit changing a vanity light just from screwing with the neutral wire. They are great but can be a bitch

 

[Blue bio balls]

The breaker is bad..

 

[Meathook69]

I live in Athens if you need some electrical work taken care of let me know I have a review from another odt member I did some work for a few months ago

 

[Blue bio balls]

I live in Athens if you need some electrical work taken care of let me know I have a review from another odt member I did some work for a few months ago

Or we could talk about it on here and figure it out for about 30 bucks...30+ year com electrician.