GFCI Breaker


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Old 09-01-06, 08:08 AM
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GFCI Breaker

I have a whirlpool tub which has a gfci breaker which trips out of no where i reset it it works after i reset it and then the next day it trips again even before it is able to go on it is a 15 amp cutler hammer panel. The Breaker is about 17 years old. I am hopeing it is just bad. Can someone explain how to change it i have added regular circuits before and am familar with electricity. There are two terminals on the Breaker one with a white pigtail which i believe goes to the neutral bar and another screw which i believe goes to the hot wire. The thing i don't understand is the neutral from the whirlpool does that go straight to the neutral bar?
 
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Old 09-01-06, 08:16 AM
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I assume you mean that you have a 150 amp panel, not 15 amp.

A GFCI works by comparing the current on the hot wire or wires and the neutral wire current. Whenever there is a current imbalance between the wires that is greater than the threshold, the GFCI trips and shuts down. An imbalance indicates the current is going somewhere else, other than back to the source through the circuit. That somewhere else could be through a human body.

A 120 volt GFCI circuit breaker has a white pigtail and two connections for wires. One connection is for the circuit neutral and the other is for the circuit hot wire.

A 240 volt GFCI circuit breaker has a white pigtail and three connections for wires. One connection is for the circuit neutral and the other two are for the circuit hot wires.

The white pigtail gets connected to the panel neutral buss.

The hot wire or wires get connected to the breaker hot wire terminals.

The neutral of the circuit gets connected to the neutral connection on the breaker. If you have a straight 240 volt load which has no neutral then nothing gets connected to the breaker neutral terminal.

The ground of the circuit gets connected to the ground buss.
 
 

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