Thread: GFCI Trips

House this morning the kitchen GFCI receptacle circuit tripped when the disposer was turned on - but, the disposer continued to run. Any ideas?

Aaron

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Aaron, was this repeatable?
Maybe just vibration or a multi wire circuit... just brain storming here.
I have never seen this and is a real "head scratcher".
Was the power actually off to the GFCI circuit? I have seen several of the older style GFCI outlets that would trip but not actually interrupt the power when the line and load wire connections were reversed.

Originally Posted by Jim Luttrall

Aaron, was this repeatable?
Maybe just vibration or a multi wire circuit... just brain storming here.
I have never seen this and is a real "head scratcher".
Was the power actually off to the GFCI circuit? I have seen several of the older style GFCI outlets that would trip but not actually interrupt the power when the line and load wire connections were reversed.

Jim:

New house. Tripped GFCI was not hot. Happened every time I tested it.

Aaron

This is going to bug me until I know the answer

I would vote for multi wire circuit with an improperly wired GFCI.

Let us know if you find out the answer.

Originally Posted by Jim Luttrall

This is going to bug me until I know the answer

I would vote for multi wire circuit with an improperly wired GFCI.

Let us know if you find out the answer.

I'm no electrician, as Peck will attest to, but this is also irritating me. Never seen it before, and the report is going out as we speak. I'll let you know if I find out.

Aaron

Sounds like the kitchen receptacle and the disposer are on a multi-wire circuit instead of the dishwasher and the disposer.

EVERY TIME the disposer is operated, *there will be* a "different" amount of current through the common neutral on the multi-wire circuit. The GFCI *is supposed to* trip on that difference.

The GFCI is working and doing its job. (Jim was half right - it's a multi-wire circuit, but the GFCI is wired correctly and doing its job ... except that the GFCI should not be on a multi-wire circuit, which, I guess, would make it wired incorrectly, making Jim fully correct ).

The electrician, on the other hand, is not working or doing their job.

If I remember correctly, there is a proper way to wire a GFCI on a multi-wire circuit which would involve wiring it in at the end of run so that the neutral at that point only served that particular outlet. I would have to think about it and draw out the schematic (something I cannot do right now due to this allergy induced headache)
I see very few multi-wire circuits around here, but with the price of copper and the theft, they may become more popular.

Jim and Jerry:

Thanks for the clarification.

Aaron

Originally Posted by Jim Luttrall

If I remember correctly, there is a proper way to wire a GFCI on a multi-wire circuit which would involve wiring it in at the end of run so that the neutral at that point only served that particular outlet.

Correct, but in most cases, you are not lucky enough' to have the GFCI at the end of the branch. More often, it would be as Aaron described it.

Of course, what that is also telling me, and as I alluded to before, is that the dishwasher circuit and the countertop receptacle circuit have probably been mis-wired and swapped in some manner. Typically, if there is a multi-wire circuit, it will be the disposal and the dishwasher.