Thank you for viewing Hi-Lo Electric help topics.  If you have any questions or recommendations please take the time to visit our Contact page and let us know how we can Help you. 

 

 

Site Map

__________________

Home

Contact Hi-Lo

About Hi-Lo Electric

Lighting Info

Solar Power

Testimonials

 

 

 

 

More Informative  Articles

__________________

 

 

AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interupter)

 

Under Counter Lighting

 

The Mystery Switch 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Goal with this page is to help DIY's find the important information they need to do a safe and practical installation. From understanding why a "GFI Trips" to finding the source of a "GFI outlet tripping".  Understanding the theory of GFCI Protection.  If you have a senario that is unique to you I would love to hear about it, Post it and see if we can't work it out.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFIC) Troubleshooting, Code and installation.

  

   Welcome to My page on GFCI's  This page contains basic information, wiring practices, NEC electrical Code, Questions and Answers on GFI Protection and what to do when your GFI trips.  The NEC is a publication by the NFPA to which many local jurisdictions adopt as their Electrical Code.  In Washington State for example, We have Adopted the 2008 NEC code. We also follow the WAC (Washington Administrative Code) & some Jurisdictions, such as Seattle, Bellevue and Everett have City Building Codes that we have to follow.  Your Local authority may or may not adopt the NEC as code, however most do.  Check with your local city or county building Departments to find out which codes may apply to your local jurisdiction. If this article Doesn't answer the question you are looking for, feel free to go to our contact page and ask.  I will get back to you as soon as possible. 

The information below is as follows:

  1. Basic Explaination of GFI's and how there used.
  2. NEC (National Electric Code)
    • 100.1 Definitions
    • 100.1 Definitions Explained
    • 210.8(A)&(B)
    • 210.8(A)&(B) Explained
  3. Installing A GFI
    • Installing a GFI Receptacle
    • Installing a GFI Breaker
  4. Troubleshooting a GFI Tripping
  5. Q&A

 

1) GFI Basics

There are two methods of GFI protection.  One is a GFI breaker, which when installed in your electrical Panel (breaker Box) will make the entire circuit GFI protected. This is usually good for dedicated circuits such as Hot Tubs, Jacuzzi's and that type.   The other way is a GFI receptacle, which is great for protection of a single outlet or a couple of outlets in series, without having to GFI the entire circuit.  (There is a maximum number of outlets that a GFI receptacle can control.  Refer to manufacturers instructions for details as this number may vary per manufacturer.)  

 

2) (NEC) National Electrical Code on GFCI's

Here I'm going to discuss and review the NEC code for GFCI protection.  Below you will find the actual code from the NEC2008 National Electrical Code followed by my interpretation of what they are explaining. 

 

100.1 Definition

100.1- Definitions. Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter. A device intended for the protection of personnel that functions to de-energize a circuit or portion thereof within an established period of time when a current to ground exceeds the values established for a class A device.

FPN: Class A ground-fault circuit interrupters trip when the current to ground has a value in the range of 4 mA to 6 mA.  For further information, see UL 943, standard for Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters.

100.1- is a basic definition of the purpose of a GFCI.  Which is to stop current from flowing in the event of a Ground Fault.  Ground fault is when electric current (Amps) flow onto or through the grounding conductor.  An example of this could be an appliance or some type of equipment being submerged in water or getting wet, resulting in current flowing to ground. You getting shocked.  So on and so forth.  The definition goes on to say that a GFI has to shut the circuit off within a predetermined amount of time when a ground fault occurs.  This Time frame is measured in Milliseconds and is vurtually instantaneous.

The FPN or (Fine Print Note) is Explaining the allowable measured Current to trip the GFI.

 

210.8(A)&(B)  Protection for Personnel

210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter Protection for Personnel.

(A)Dwelling Units. All 125-volt, single phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles         Installed in the locations specified in (1) through (8) shall have ground-fault   circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.

(1)   Bathrooms

(2)   Garages, and also accessory buildings that have a floor located at or below grade level not intended as habitable rooms and limited to storage areas, work areas, and areas of similar use

Exception No. 1: Receptacles not readily accessible.

Exception No. 2: A single receptacle or a duplex receptacle for two appliances that, in normal use, is not easily moved from one place to another and that is cord-and-plug connected in accordance with 400.7(A)(6), (A)(7), or (A)(8).

Receptacles installed under the exceptions to 210.8(A)(2) shall not be considered as meeting the requirements of 210.52(G)

(3)   Outdoors

Exception: Receptacles that are not readily accessible and are supplied by a dedicated branch circuit for electric snow melting or deicing equipment shall be permitted to be installed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Article 426.

(4)   Crawl spaces- at or below grade level

(5)   Unfinished basements- for the purposes of this section, unfinished basements are defined as portions or areas of the basement not intended as habitable rooms and limited to storage areas, work areas, and the like.

Exception No.1: Receptacles that are not readily accessible.

Exception No.2:  A single receptacle or a duplex receptacle for two appliances that, in normal use, is not easily moved from one place to another and that is cord-and-plug connected in accordance with 400.7(A)(6), (A)(7), or (A)(8).

Exception No. 3: A receptacle supplying only a permanently installed fire alarm or burglar alarm system shall not be required to have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection.

Receptacles installed under the exceptions to 210.8(A)(2) shall not be considered as meeting the requirements of 210.52(G)

(6)   Kitchens - where the receptacles are installed to serve the countertop surfaces

(7)   Wet bar sinks – where the receptacles are installed to serve the countertop surfaces and are located within 1.8 m (6 ft.) of the outside edge of the wet bar sink.

(8)   Boathouses

 

(B) Other Than Dwelling Units. All 125-volt, single phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles Installed in the locations specified in (1), (2), and (3) shall have ground-fault   circuit-interrupter protection for personnel:

(1)   Bathrooms

(2)    Rooftops

Exception: Receptacles that are not readily accessible and are supplied by a dedicated branch circuit for electric snow melting or deicing equipment shall be permitted to be installed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Article 426.

(3) Kitchens

210.8(A) is an overview stating that GFI's installed in a dwelling (house, apartment, condo) will be installed as it states in (1) through (8). --

(1) All bathroom receptacles will be GFI protected.

(2) All garage, storage sheds, out buildings, etc. with receptacles.  The receptacles will be GFI protected.  Unless exceptions 1 or 2 apply. 

(3) All outside receptacles will be GFI protected, unless the exception applies. 

(4) all receptacles installed in crawl spaces will be GFI protected.

(5) all receptacles installed in an unfinished basement will be GFI protected unless excemptions 1,2 or 3 apply.

(6) All kitchen countertop outlets will be GFI protected.

(7) Any Outlets for a wet bar or within 6ft of a water source will be GFI protected.      Meaning say you decide to put an indoor hot tub in your home, as an example.  All outlets within 6ft. of that tub shall be GFI protected.

(8) Any outlets inside a boathouse shall be GFI protected.  That concludes 210.8(A)(1)-(8).

    210.8(B) is another overview for non dwelling units (non-residential), stating that GFI's will be installed as stated in (1) through (3). 

(1) Bathroom outlets shall be GFI protected. 

(2) Rooftop outlets shall be GFI protected unless the excemption applies.

(3) Kitchen outlets shall be GFI protected. 

 

 

3) Installing a GFI

 

Installing A GFI Receptacle

For this explaination I will assume you are installng a GFI with the intention of controlling additional receptacles.

  •  Identify your Line and Load conductors in your box.  In the electrical trade most of us will twist the line wires (Black & White) together to identify the Line Vs. Load inside a box.
  • Identify the Line and Load Terminals of your GFI Receptacle.
  • First attach the Grounding conductor to the GFI.  (Never attach more than one ground wire to the GFI. If more than one ground wire exists wirenut the grounds together leaving a pigtail that you attach to the receptacle.) 
  • Then attach the Line conductors to the correct terminals. (white to the silver screw and black to the bronze screw.)
  • Next attach the Load conductors. (white to the silver screw and black to the bronze screw.)
  • You are done.  neatly tuck the wires back into the box and screw the receptacle onto the box.

If your Receptacle manufacturer doesn't color code the screws as I described above, another way to remember which side is which is that the ground screw and the Neutral are usually on the same side of the receptacle (left) and the Power is alone on the Right.

 

Installing A GFI Breaker

A GFI Breaker is different than most in that it comes with a Neutral(White) wire attached to it. 

  • You hook and push in the breaker as you would any, then attach the white wire to the Neutral buse of the electrical panel(breaker box). 
  • Then you attach the circuit you intend to control onto the breaker.  The Neutral (white) wire attaches to the silver screw towards the bottom of the breaker, and the Hot (Black) wire attaches to the brass screw. 
  • Turn on your breaker and press the test button to insure that it is working correctly.

 

4) Troubleshooting a Tripping GFI outlet

 

1) When your GFI trips and you cannot reset it.  That is you push the reset button and nothing happens, then it is typically one of two situations.

A) Your GFI has no power.  remove the GFI from its box and test for power across the hot and nuetral poles of the GFI. (Line Side).  If your Test shows that you have no power, then your problem is in the wiring prior to the GFI.

B) If You Test the GFI and your tester shows 120V nominally then you have a Defective GFI.  Replace the GFI with a new unit. 

 

2) If your GFI is Tripping.  You push the Reset button and the GFI immediately trips again then your problem would be one of these 2 situations.

A) You have a Defective GFI receptacle.  Remove any wires attached to the load side of the GFI.  If the GFI continues to trip, then it is defective and needs to be replaced.

B) If you do the test above and your GFI resets as it should, then your problem is a ground fault somewhere down the line from the GFI.  Make sure all receptacles connected to the load side of this GFI have nothing plugged in before you continue.  Anything plugged in could cause a false reading when testing or could also be the cause of your ground fault. 

Once everything is unplugged light switches are in off position and the load wires are still disconnected from the GFI, you may continue.  Plug a continuity tester into one of the remaining receptacles between the nuetral and ground leads.  This should show continuity which confirms the fault.  One at a time open each receptacle box and take apart the wires to that plug.  Eventually you will narrow your search and find the source of your problem.

 

5) Q&A on Ground fault Protection

 

Q:  Can two gfi units be on same circuit. I have two mounted on each side of a sink. i only had one wire from breaker panel. can not get second gfi at end of circuit to work. Appreciate any help you can give me. thanks


A: No you do not need two GFI's. On the back of the GFI it will say line and load. line is usually at the bottom and load towards the top. You hook
up the hot leads from the panel to the line and the leads going to the
next outlet to the load. If hooked up correctly the GFI will control the
outlet on the other side of the sink. If you installed the leads
backwards on the GFI power will not continue to the next outlet. If you
have any other questions feel free to write back.

 

Q: Can you install a GfI breaker on you breaker panel and at the same time install a gfi receptacle on the same circuit. Would this cause any
problems to the circuit?

A: Technically there is nothing wrong with doing this, however on more than one occasion I have had to troubleshoot a situation where one GFI was causing the other to trip for no apparent reason.  Secondly if you wire it correctly you just don't need it.  Putting 2 GFI's on the same circuit is added cost, time, and heart ache if anything goes wrong.

If you have to run more than one GFI on a circuit, for example.  You have a kitchen with 3 outlets.  An outlet before a fridge, the fridge outlet itself and an outlet after.  You don't want to have the fridge on a GFI so you wire the first GFI line side only.  Meaning both sets of wires wire onto the Line side of the GFI.  Then the fridge outlet you wire as a normal duplex receptacle and the last outlet you install a second GFI only controlling itself. 


Q:  Wouldn't installing 2 GFI's be more like a back up protection just in case the other one fails.

A: the reason it doesn't always work is because the GFI monitors the Line and Neutral Conductors, measuring the current flowing out and returning back.  When in balance the GFI believes everything is working correctly.  Sometimes having the second GFI confuses the first GFI and causes it to trip because it acts as if there is Current(Amps) leakage (Ground Fault).  As far as additional protection, thats why the manufacturers recommend testing your GFI once a month.

Q:  What is the maximum number of outlets i can have on the load side of a GFI?

A:  The maximum number of outlets on the load side of the GFI is something that would be determined by the manufacturer if at all.  For example, a 20A Leviton GFI receptacle only states that "All devices rated 20A feed-through".  This means the GFI is capable of a current draw of 20A.    It doesn't matter if you have 2 of 10 outlets after it as long as you don't exceed 20A of current draw.  If your wiring your home and want to know how many you can have I would say your safe with 10.  Not that you'll have that many.  In 10 Years of wiring homes I have never had more than 6 outlets on the load side of a GFI.


 

If you have any suggestions to this article, suggestions for an article, or any questions feel free to let us know by visiting our contact page.

 

 

Hi-Lo ELectric Inc.

Serving Seattle, Everett & Bellevue