OT - GFCI

I have 2 bathrooms, both with one GFCI receptacle each. I have a .5 watt night light plugged into each one. These 2 outlets are on the same circuit, so when one pops the other outlet is dead.

2 questions.

1 - should there, or can there be 2 GFCI outlets on teh same circuit.

2 - one GFCI is popping all the time and all that is plugged into it is the .5 watt night light, but that night light is always on. why would it pop?

GFI's can be wired so every outlet down the line from the GFI will trip the GFI whether it is a GFI or not.

So your GFI's must be wired that way.

You can pull them out of the box and connect the wires so only one will trip where the fault is.

If you do not understand this you may want a quaified electrician take a look.

Gary

just so i didnt mess this up. the 2 outlets are GFCI, neither one is a regular outlet. and there is no GFCI breaker at the breaker box.

You will have disconnect both black wires from the first GFIC. Determine which is the wire coming from the breaker splice the wire going to the second breaker and a short wire to feed the first GFIC and reconnect it.

so make the outlets parallel to each other.

or shoudl i just make one of teh outlets a regualr outlet?

Doc,


1 - should there, or can there be 2 GFCI outlets on teh same circuit.

SURE You can have 2 or more GFCI outlets (just like any other regular outlets) on the same branch circuit.....THE QUESTION IS are they (later outlets) wired independant ORRRRRR is the downstream outlet still protected??????

Often one GFCI is wired while others downstream
that ARE NOT GFCI (just regular duplex outlets) can still be protected. HOWEVER its also possible for the ones downtream to be independant and NOT trip out unless the branch circuit breaker in the panel trips


2 - one GFCI is popping all the time and all that is plugged into it is the .5 watt night light, but that night light is always on. why would it pop?

The GFCI pops if theres like 5 millimaps less Neutral return current then the current going out the hot Line.......Theres a Torroidal coil around BOTH the hot and Neutral but if the line current is equal to the return Neutral current the net is zero and no voltage is induced in the coil and the trip out mechanism doesnt function

PRACTICAL ANSWER: if BOTH receptacles are GFCI types I WOULD wire them both hot so one or the other can still function independantly.....

Tnere may be a lil diagram on the GFCI indicating which sets of wiring terminals to use, ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE they will show where to wire the source (branch circuit from panel) and downstream. Basically to be wired independant (both work on their own) the hot wire to the second downstream outlet (be it GFI or regular) is spliced so it stays hot regardless if the first GFI trips out ......

Hope this helps, let us know

John T Too long retired Electrical Engineer

It is a good idea to make them parallel, You already have two GFICs

I'm no expert, but if they are poping you have issues, as regardless that light should never pop that GFI. You can hook up a electric heater to it and it should pull 15 amps without poping. I would think you have a bad one or your light is bad?

They are touchy, as you want them to be, I must add. But I would suspect you have a bad one or a bad wire, or bad light.

Other than testing mine every other month they have been in for twenty five years and have many things hooked to them and never pop including (electric space heaters & electric blackets). One has electric heater, cell phone, talk back pager for me, another for my son, and a 2 way radio charger...no poppey ever.

The downstream receptacle won't be protected if connected to the wrong terminals on the gfi.
Do the night lights have electronic dimmer/auto on sensors? If so the noise and harmonics will sometimes trip a gfi.

the one on the GFCI that trips is a light sensor one, it never gets enough light though to turn it off.

Don't matter. The electronics inside make "electrical noise" and the gfi's detector circuit see's the noise as somebody getting a ground fault shock.And trips the protective circuit.
Toss the auto night light and install a good old fashioned 7W night light with a manual switch.

ok thanks

do you possibly think that the constant current through teh GFCI might make it warm inside and that could trip it?

There is only way to correct this and still maintain the GFCI protection of BOTH outlets, AND have them operate independantly of each other.

1. turn off your breaker.
2. remove both outlets from the boxes.
(do not remove the wires yet)
3. Identify which of the 2 receptacles has
2 sets of wires attached to it. (that's 2
blacks and 2 whites)

on the outlet that has 2 sets of wires attached to it - is one set of wires attached to screws at the top of the receptacle (load side) and 1 set attached to the bottom set of screw (line side)

if so, remove the set of wires from the screw terminal labeled as LOAD. this WILL be identified on the back of the receptacle - and place them under the screw terminals labeled as LINE. you will now have 2 sets of wires on the line side of this GFCI. the screw terminals are labeled which is black and which is white

If the other receptacle has only one set of wires (1 black - 1 white) then you are done.

However, GFCI number 2 (the one with one set of wires) should have been the one that has been tripping. If I were you I would replace it.
also make sure the ground wires are connected on each of the GFCI's


friendly advice from a master electrician

They have many failures.Lightning strikes on the power line can kill them.Ive seen a lot that wont test.Gfis are full of parts that can fail.

You have a loose connection. It is probably the ground wires that are loose in the box that the GFCI is mounted in. Look for a crimp collar that has multiple wires in it and that will be your problem area.

Try this before you do anything suggested below. Switch the night lights around and see if the other one pops. It could just simply be a bad night light. Although every one below has very good suggestion, we tend overlook the obvious when we begin to troubleshoot.

no

check out my post at the bottom. If you want them to not be connected it is the only way to do.

as a matter of fact the ground wires are crimped together with a collar.

have to redo that connection.

thank you