GFI receptacle not working

I have two separate GFI receptacles not working.

I replaced the receptacles with newer ones with the TEST/RESET buttons and light indicator but still no joy - no power at all. It seemed fairly straightforward since there were only three wires coming in - black, white, ground. No worries about Line/Load connections.

I was hoping the breaker went bad but I tested it and the breaker seems fine. It's just a normal breaker and not a GFCI breaker.

I have two other areas with GFI and they are just fine.

The thing is that nothing has been plugged into these two receptacles for a while and definitely nothing with risk of tripping it so I don't know why it would have tripped.

I'm trying to reset the GFI receptacle but need help troubleshooting what to do next. There is no other TEST/RESET type receptacle on the same circuit that can reset these two.

I've attached pictures of what the old receptacles looks like and the circuit breakers.

Thanks for any tips!

 

Do you have power with the GFCI off? Meter it out or put your old receptacle on and try plugging something in.
Are you 100% sure you have the right breaker?
Is the receptacle possibly switched?

 

No there was no power at all with the old receptacle on. I tried with plugging something in and also GFCI tester device. No power at all. That's when I decided to put on new receptacles but that didn't help either.

On the new GFI receptacles the warning light does not come on even when TEST pressed.

I'll try checking for power with the GFCI off.

Yes I am pretty much sure it's the right breaker. I have the wiring diagram/plan from when the place was built out (it's a commercial unit). It was supposed to go into breaker #30 but it looks like they used #36 instead.

breaker #30 is the one on the bottom right turned off
breaker #36 is bottom right below it that has the blue wire going into it.


Good idea about it possibly being switched - but it's not. I had to think about it but there's definitely no switch to worry about.

Is it worth putting on an actual GFCI breaker at the panel and see if that resets things down the line?

Thanks for your help so far!

 

You really need to find the correct breaker before going any farther. Until then you are chasing your tail without knowing where the power gets lost.

 

Try turning each breaker off then back on and see if power is restored at the receptacle. Sometimes they trip internally but the handle doesn't move.
If power is restored, voila. If not, you have some figuring to do.

 

Clearly there was no power coming to the original receptacles to begin with. Replacing the receptacles with GFCI will not make any difference. GFCI recepacles will not reset if no power is coming to them.

There are clearly at least two breakers that are in the "off" position (picture). Do you know what these breakers are for?

If there is no power coming to the receptacle whether it is a regular, Decora or GFCI then the receptacle will just not work at all.

Again as mentioned before sometimes when a breaker trips it is hard to determine just by looking at the breaker. The proper method for resetting a breaker is to be sure you push it firmly to the off position and then back to the "on" position. When moving breaker to the "off" position you will need to push it hard enough to feel the resistance of the handle. If it freely moves to the "off" position with hardly any resistance you are not actually shutting it off or resetting it.

 

The fifth white breaker from the bottom looks off.

 

Thanks for your help so far!

I'll have a look at it again later this afternoon.

Yes there are some breakers in the off position:

-the one on the left hand side (5th white one from the bottom) is for the night lights.

-the 5th from the bottom right (first black breaker above the white breaker with the blue wire) is off and has no wire going into it at all. That is breaker #30 that was supposed to have the GFI receptacles wired to it according to the electrical plans.

-any other breaker turned off has no wires going into them.

I'm pretty sure about the correct breaker - the wiring diagram was all numbered - the only discrepancy I saw was that they used breaker 36 instead of 30 at the panel. There is no 36 in use at all on the wiring diagram. 30 was supposed to be for these GFI receptacles.

When I'm back on location I'll fully turn off the suspected breaker in case I didn't flip it fully off before. I'm really hoping that's all it is! If not then I'll go one by one - fully off then on.

I'll update once I get a chance to get the panel again!

Thanks!

 

The other possbility I haven't seen listed yet is a burned off or broken wire somewhere in this circuit. Could be at any of the devices between the panel and this faulty. It's a tedious process, but you can eventually find the problem by opening up each box, checking and remaking connections where needed.

 

Okay so I had a chance to work on it.

There is still no power going to the receptacles.

I double checked the breakers to be fully off then on again.

I moved the wire to a known good circuit breaker and there was no power so I think ibpooks is correct in that it is down the line somewhere. ugh

So it looks like I've got some work to do...