GFCI keeps tripping


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Old 04-17-21, 04:47 AM
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GFCI keeps tripping

I have a situation that I need some advice with. I have a waterfall that was built in my backyard in which the pump is plugged into a GFCI switch via an electric cord. It was running fine like that for around a year but the GFCI tripped and would not reset. I also have the lights for the waterfall plugged into that same GFCI. I replaced the GFCI and plugged the lights from the waterfall in and they work fine but when I plug the pump back in the GFCI trips immediately. I looked to see what other appliances were connected to the GFCI circuit and I have a freezer in my garage but when I unplugged the freezer, thinking there might be too much resistance from the freezer and plugged the waterfall into the outdoor GFCI the switch tripped again immediately. The strange thing is if I plug the waterfall into a non-GFCI socket from indoor my house using an extension cord via the extension cord that I am now using connected to the pump the waterfall runs fine. Could the extension cord that I have buried in the ground be too much for the GFCI? Any advice would be helpful at this time.
 
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Old 04-17-21, 05:14 AM
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Hi, sounds like you need a new pump, why do you have an extension cord buried underground? is that feeding your GFCI receptacle? the cord would no cause the GFCI to trip if it is feeding that receptacle.
Geo 🇺🇸
 
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Old 04-17-21, 05:22 AM
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The waterfall pump cord is not long enough to plug into the GFCI so I am running an electrical cord from the pump cord to the GFCI. I do not know any other way of doing it. Also, why would the pump run for almost a year before it started tripping the GFCI. I plugged an electric Weedeater into that GFCI and it did not trip at all. The only other thing I can think is that the pump is just going out but works fine plugged into a non-GFCI socket. Not sure what is going on. The contractor who built the waterfall says I need a dedicated socket so the pump can plug right into the socket without the electrical cord. That really made no sense since I am using the buried cord, buried as it is right in front of my patio, and the waterfall works fine.
 
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Old 04-17-21, 06:42 AM
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It's well known that electric motors can cause nuisance gfci tripping. May not happen when the motor is new, but with time it can become a problem. Also possible the buried extension cord is damaged. Have you tried a different cord above ground? If you do and it still trips its likely the motor causing enough voltage drop that it trips the gfci.

And your contractor is correct, since extension cords should not be buried and are for temporary use only.
 
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Old 04-18-21, 08:02 AM
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Where is this GFCI receptacle located?
Geo 🇺🇸
 
 

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