Circuit Breaker in Garage Malfunctioning

Jul 23, 2003 5 Replies

During a lightning storm, my lamp, which was plugged into an outlet on my garage wall, went out, and I heard the relay (breaker) on the outlet click. When I tried to reset the breaker by pushing in the red button, it just popped out again! When the breaker has tripped in the past, I have been able to reset it by pushing in the red "reset" button. There is also a black "test" button, just below the red button. Both buttons are sticking out of the outlet faceplate. All the other outlets and circuits are OK. But this outlet is dead, until I push in the red button, and the electricity only flows for a second, until the red button pops out again. It pops out with or without something plugged into the sockets.



How can I fix this thing? Is something fried inside it ?



ANy clues welcomed !!!



L

OK, here you go!...

Clue 1: It's not a breaker, it's a GFCI (Gound Fault Circuit Interrupter).

Clue 2: It's trying to tell you something, in fact it's just about screaming at you...SOMETHING IS WRONG!, I can't be reset by pushing that button.

Clue 3: Since you needed Clue 1 and Clue 2, you can "fix this thing" by calling an electrician. That is your ONLY option, please don't take it personally, but it's plain as day that you know nothing about this stuff. Go to Yellow Pages. Eletricians, residential. If you do not keep dicking with it (trying to reset it) there is a decent chance that you will be fine with a service call during normal business hours tomorrow or the next day. IOW: Leave it the hell alone before you start a fire. HTH.

Unplug the lamp and then try resetting the GFI and see if it doesn't kick out again..you have a ground short so unplug everything on the circuit until the GFI kicks and you will know what is causing it...try the lamop first though to see if it is it

candice

I hope I helped with your inferiority complex. Now I'll read the other responses.

Forgive me for replying before checking everything hooked up to the circuit, but today ( 24 hours after the malfunction) I was able to push in the 'reset' button, and get it to hold. The lamp worked just fine.

Hmmm. Why today does it reset, but yesterday it didn't ??? Maybe some different devices are off today that were on yesterday. Maybe water was leaking into something yesterday and today it has dried up....

Thanks for the replies.

Maybe the next time you'll have a clue? Or maybe your house will burn down?

No problem, thanks for asking.

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