New GFCI outlet not working
- Thread starter wavinwayne
- Start date
Everything is all buttoned up for now, so I can't check at the moment. It's too hot and mosquito-y to do anything else out there today. I may take another look tomorrow.
That's something that will be checked when my helper stops by tomorrow or Monday.
Cool
After we see the voltage at very near zero then measure the resistance in ohms - getting at what @football is saying
I just replaced a GFCI outlet outside. It came out of the box tripped (like I had pressed "test"). I had to push the reset WAYYYY back into the outlet to get it into a functional state. Give the reset button a push way deep inside and it may start working for you.
That's intentional; if you miswire it by reversing the load and line connections, it won't reset.
Its possible that there is a Neutral that is shared downstream from the GFCI. How old is the house?
Problem solved. I wish I could give a more detailed explanation of exactly what the problem was, but the gent who fixed it this evening (who also did the original wiring) is a man of few words, so these are the facts I have:
1. The outside GFCI outlet was wired off of an inside non-GFCI outlet. Is "wired in series" the correct term? Also I have no idea if it being wired this way is good/bad/indifferent.
2. Somewhere in the wiring between the inside and outside outlets, there was a loose connection, I believe in the neutral wire.
3. Guy doing the fix used the new GFCI outlet that he brought with him, which was a 1/1 replacement for the original, so I can't say with certainty if either of the outlets I purchased are good/bad. I saved them for future testing.
4. With everything back together, inside and outside outlets are working properly as far as I can tell.
He told me that the work I did over the last two days was correct as far as wiring the new GFCI switch goes.
1. The outside GFCI outlet was wired off of an inside non-GFCI outlet. Is "wired in series" the correct term? Also I have no idea if it being wired this way is good/bad/indifferent.
2. Somewhere in the wiring between the inside and outside outlets, there was a loose connection, I believe in the neutral wire.
3. Guy doing the fix used the new GFCI outlet that he brought with him, which was a 1/1 replacement for the original, so I can't say with certainty if either of the outlets I purchased are good/bad. I saved them for future testing.
4. With everything back together, inside and outside outlets are working properly as far as I can tell.
He told me that the work I did over the last two days was correct as far as wiring the new GFCI switch goes.
#2 I bet. Nice!
That's not inherently bad, and quite common when folks extend circuits on older homes. The key is that outside outlets absolutely need GFCI and you're covered there. It would make more sense to install the GFCI outlet on the upstream outlet (nearest the panel) and let it feed the subsequent outlets from there so that all are protected. But this is not always possible due to accessibility, box size, etc.
This can be dangerous and sounds like it was source of your problem. If it was on the next outlet upstream, all you have is a defective outlet limited to that one location. Loose neutral further up the chain and bad things can happen.
The new GFCI outlets were likely fine to begin with.
In my experience...GFCI outlets installed indoors last longer than ones installed outdoors.
Now that there are "WR" (weather resistant) GFCIs which have potted circuit boards, stainless steel screws, and other design improvements designed to make them "WR", perhaps they will last as long as the ones installed indoors....
...but only if a "WR" rated GFCI is what is actually installed outdoors. They cost more and most people probably have no idea about the difference.
Current electrical code (which some states have adopted, but all will follow eventually) requires TR (tamper resistant) outlets in most locations requiring GFCI.
WR GFCI receptacles have been required for quite some time now in outdoor locations; certainly not a new thing.
When I wired my workshop this year, I found that dual rated TR/WR GFCI's were less expensive in contractor packs than the only-TR or WR rated outlets. I despise TR outlets as it requires more effort to insert a plug, but they aren't terribly cumbersome IMO. And I saved a few bucks by going with the dual TR/WR rated pack.
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Swap the outlet breaker that powers that outlet with a. GFCI breaker if that one trips then you have ground fault in your wiring with a chance of sparking an a house fire. If you are home and suddenly smell fish when there should be no fish smell then investigate ASAP. You are experiencing in-wall arcing and a smoldering fire.
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TR outlets are required pretty much everywhere in residential construction here, not just places requiring a GFCI.
Most places I see outdoor GFCIs are installations that predate the WR requirement. Probably 75% of those GFCIs are failed or dead.
I've never noticed any great savings with contractor packs. I've been replacing the circa 2017 Legrand GFCIs the builder installed with Leviton GFCIs because the Legrand GFCIs have a serious problem with nuisance tripping, to include tripping on circuits even with nothing plugged in. The problem may be related to nearby lightning strikes. Unknown if current production Legrand GFCIs have the same problem. The Levitons are working fine (and stocked at Home Depot which is the closest store), so I'll continue to buy them.
I replaced 20 trash TR outlets just yesterday. I just cut and strip, it is faster than getting the wires to release on cheapie 14 G 15A outlets. Had the wife helping make sure the circuit was correct and dead. If she wasn’t home I would have just killed main!
A good 3 were dead and 5 or so were borderline
A good 3 were dead and 5 or so were borderline
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Yeap the first thing I did when I moved into my new home is replace the cheap builders TR outlets with hoapital grade leviathan 8300's.
Then I installed a Square D 80d whole house surge protector and then connected all my sensitive electronics to SurgeX surge suppressors and then Liebert OnLine UPS's. SurgeX being a serial mode surge supressor can connect to the parallel mode Liebert UPS without an issue.
I just crush the outlet with a pair of channellock pliers and pull the wires out of the remains. It's amusing how brittle the plastic used in outlets is. (Except the WR ones--those won't crush no matter how hard you try).
Wanted to agree with the quality of Leviton.. When I re-did the parents house before selling it, replaced ALL the outlets.. Around 18-20..They were from the late 60s! The ones in there were Leviton! I couldn't believe it, some were starting to fall apart, others still ok. But for the newer generation buying the house they don't have the skill set to know how to do something like that on their own. And the old ones were black! New ones all white. Makes that generation feel better even though quality to me is more important than color.
The "Warm and Fuzzy" part I got is that the new owners are now safe in their new home, with a brand that's going to last a long, long time. The level of Leviton I used was commercial/pro grade, excellent quality. Plus installed GFCI's in the kitchen, didn't have them before.
I replaced all the outlets in my dad's house before selling it. The house was built in 1987. The outlets were made by "Circle F" (bankrupt in the early 90s). They must have been a cheap builder's grade special because they don't have screw terminals, only push-in "backstab" terminals.
Here's a picture showing one of them where the builder was too cheap to replace this outlet they broke the link off of with a new one, so they just used a jumper wire. (This was originally intended to a switched outlet, but the builder screwed up and put the switch where it would be blocked by a door that could only swing one way due to the ceiling being angled due to it being more or less in an attic space, so they installed a switch on the other side of the door and put the switched outlet right below it. Real useful....)
That doesn't explain why the GFCI outlet isn't working. it should still pass current even if the upstream stuff is messed up.
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