Another GFCI Question

Hello:
I have 3 outlets on the same circuit. I replaced 2 of them with GFCI type outlets (2 of them were visible, I found the third behind the refrigerator). Now the 2 GFCIs won't work. Should I have replaced all 3 with GFCI type outlets for the entire circuit to work?

If not, then....after changing the outlets, when I turned the power on at the circuit breaker, there was very very a small spark and the switch didn't turn on. I tried again and it was "loose". I left it as is for a while and tried after an hour or so and then it turned on OK. Did this screw up something? Did I do something wrong?

Any help on this will be grealy appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
JShanks.

 

I'm not a pro electrician and one here will hopefully confirm this, but all that you need is one GFCI on this circuit.
If the first outlet in a circuit is GFCI, then all outlets past it in that circuit also will be GFCI-protected.
Remove the second one and replace it with a standard receptacle. Should solve your problem.
Good Luck!
Mike

 

Read the instructions that came with the GFCI. I suspect you didnt or you would have figured out that as Old Guy said you only need one on a circuit. I also suspect that something may be wired wrong for the breaker to kick. The reason it is loose is that it needs to be turned all the way off, then turned back on. After the power is up push the reset buttons on the gfci and they should hold. Another thing to consider in this setup is do you want your fridge on GFCI? Normally it isnt recomended as it may nussiance trip on startup or something and you wouldnt know there is no power on it,, all the food will be spoiled by the time yu figure out it isnt running. It is possible to bypass the GFI in the box you put it in if there is enough space. You may need to rethink this plan a bit.

 

Were there any red wires in any of those boxes? Special procedures are needed for GFCI on multiwire circuits.

 

Thanks for all your responses.

I did read the instructions carefully the first time when I replaced all the GFCIs in the restrooms, but they are not all on the same circuit. This time it is different. I will go through the instructions again. I will try replacing one with regular outlet and just have one GFCI in the circuit and see what happens. The argument for the fridge makes sense.

The switch in the circuit breaker was turned all the way off before I replaced the outlet and then I turned it on after replacing. That is when I saw that spark. Since then it has been turned on but the outlets still didn't work. I also tried to reset the outlets and also all other GFCI outlets in the house just in case.

There were no red wires anywhere. I just have black, white and earth.

I will check and let you know the outcome.

Thanks again!!
Happy holidays
JShanks

 

I would not put the fridge on a GFCI protected circuit. Too easy to trip the GFCI and not notice or be out of the house. The fridge could off for an extended period and the food would spoil.