Why do my GCFI switches keep tripping???


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Old 10-02-01, 04:15 AM
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HI,

I have a new home with GCFI outlets installed in the bathrooms and kitchen. I can't tell you how annoying it is to use these outlets because they trip each time we plug an appliance into them...Any ideas of what can cause these outlets to trip so often?? Anything I can do to fix them?

Thanks!!
 
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Old 10-02-01, 04:24 AM
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Do you mean that every recepticle in the kitchen and bath trips every time you plug any appliance into it?? If so, do they trip instantly (i.e., the appliance never does anything), or do they trip after a few seconds?

Or do you mean that they trip some of the time you plug certain appliances into certain receptacles? If so, can you tell us what these appliances are, which receptacles, and how often the GFCI trips?? And how long do the appliances run before the GFCI trips? And can you tell us anything else about the pattern of the trips?

And does a new home mean new to you, or newly constructed? If newly constructed, have you complained to the builder?
 
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Old 10-03-01, 02:30 AM
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Wow...GFCI outlets are installed all over the country in bathrooms and kitchens and are required for safety. If you are looking for a reason why they are driving you crazy, I would suspect the items that you are using when you plug into them and I would suspect that the appliance is causing the circuit to trip.
We need more info here...Does a certain appliance cause the GFCI trip or does anything plugged into the outlet cause a trip. I would suspect you have 1 or 2 appliances that have had grounding problems and now the outlet catches the neutral tied to ground or something similar. You wouldn't notice a neutral tied to ground problem in an unprotected receptacle and the appliance would work fine. But now in a new house, these appliances would constantly trip the protected circuits.
 
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Old 10-04-01, 12:18 AM
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My wife tells me that in the bathroom, almost every appliance trips the GFCI outlets. Although I must say that some of the "tripping" occurs when the plug us pulled out of the appliance (ssems to cause a physical trip of the switch).

In the kitchen the GFCI's do not trip as often and I suspect similar physical tripping is also happening here.
 
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Old 10-05-01, 03:10 PM
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Question

How many GFCI receptacles are there in this house that have this problem?
What brand of GFCI receptacle are these? take the cover off and look, with the circuit off)
Does the hairdryer have a large bulky plug on it with buttons?
there are several types, that is why I do not name th eplug.

gj
 
 

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