Strange doorbell transformer wiring


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Old 02-13-18, 07:54 AM
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Question Strange doorbell transformer wiring

I have a case where the doorbell transformer is connected to two different circuits. Before fixing this, I wanted to find out if it could be done for a good reason:

- The neutral is pigtailed with circuit A and hot is pigtailed with circuit B. They are both 15A circuits that have nothing to do with each other.

Question:

- If I leave this as is, will GFCI breaker trip? Should I fix it or leave it?
 
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Old 02-13-18, 08:09 AM
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Short answer: Fix it.

Yes it is possible to trip a ground fault circuit interrupter.

The strange circuit wiring you have is always improper. Can you reconnect one of the wires so the transformer is finally connected to matching hot and neutral (the same circuit) and coming from the same cable?
 
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Old 02-13-18, 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by AllanJ
Short answer: Fix it.

Yes it is possible to trip a ground fault circuit interrupter.

The strange circuit wiring you have is always improper. Can you reconnect one of the wires so the transformer is finally connected to matching hot and neutral (the same circuit) and coming from the same cable?
Yes I can, but the risk I am taking is, that side of the panel is filled with 70 year old cloth cables that are crumbling I have had cases when I started twisting a wirenut to remove it, stuff started coming down in pieces literally like a dry leaf. I am cleaning up the box, might as well fix this as well though and I dont see how bad it can be.

Thanks so much for your help.
 
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Old 02-13-18, 09:30 AM
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Use heat shrink tube to repair that crumbling insulation. Quality electrical tape can be used too, but I find the shrink tube to be a better repair.
 
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Old 02-13-18, 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by ibpooks
Use heat shrink tube to repair that crumbling insulation. Quality electrical tape can be used too, but I find the shrink tube to be a better repair.
Imagine the corner of a breaker box, an area that I would say you can roughly fit 2 cans of coke (the drink). Now imagine, there are 11 cables, that is 36 conductors (including ground), all shoved in there. I'm pretty sure there was a smaller box there and at some point someone put this one (which is a very big breaker box, it has 36 slots I think or 32 not sure, but more than 30). So when wires didn't reach, these people grouped all the cables together 3 at a time and ran a pig tail down to the neutral bar!

This is insane!!!! this house...... I'm --->| |<--- close to calling an electrician and the only reason i am not is because I did so much work on my own already.

If I did what you are saying, I m pretty sure the heating would damage something there. The only right way to do this, in fact the only way to do this is to open up every single wingnut/pigtail there and fix everything at the same time and that is probably a day job itself, it's like doing surgery on a person.
 
 

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