GFI tripping


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Old 11-17-11, 02:19 PM
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GFI tripping

Along a kitchen counter there are four receptacles on the same ciruit, one of which is a GFI receptacle. Recently, as a temporary measure to add a little more heat into the kitchen there, I installed a 120V baseboard heater on the wall with a cord running out of it and plugged into one of the receptacles. It had been working fine with no problems for several weeks, with its heat turned up even to maximum. Now, however, whenever I plug it in to any of those receptacles, the GFI trips out the circuit. There is no wetness or moisture in or around any of the receptacles. What is likely the problem,what should I check? Thanks
 
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Old 11-17-11, 02:28 PM
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Check the heater on a different GFCI.
 
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Old 11-17-11, 02:38 PM
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It trips the GFCI immediately when you plug in the heater, when you turn the heater on, or after some period of running? Does the GFCI reset immediately? Does any other appliance cause the GFCI to trip?
 
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Old 11-17-11, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by ray2047
Check the heater on a different GFCI.
Okay tried heater on different GFCI on different circuit. Same result. Trips the GFCI right away.
 
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Old 11-17-11, 02:58 PM
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That leads me to believe there is a fault in the heater. Probable suspects are the cord has a cut in it and is shorting to the case or the heating element has failed.
 
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Old 11-17-11, 03:04 PM
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GFCI trips even when heat dial is turned all the way to "off" position.
 
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Old 11-17-11, 03:34 PM
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Okay, found the culprit. On the opposite end of the heater under the cover panel, (from where I had the cord connected), the plastic mounting doo-hickey that secures the element on that end had loosened somehow, causing some metal to metal contact there where there shouldn't be. Popped that back into place and all is fine again. Thanks for the help here.
 
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Old 11-17-11, 04:14 PM
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Glad you got it. Thanks for letting us know.
 
 

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