GFCI outlet troubleshooting

[cowboy67]

Howdy all,

I am looking for some info on troubleshooting a GFCI outlet. I have two baths in my home. I believe they are both hooked to one GFCI. The master bath has the outlet and it tripped and will not reset. I have replaced the outlet and also replaced the 2nd bath with a GFCI outlet but still not working.

I have gone to all the outlets in the house and the breaker box but still no luck.

This is driving me crazier than I all ready am(LOL). Anyone have any ideas as where to look?

Thanks in advance!

Jim

[RBM]

The original gfci outlet had two sets of wires on it. The feed or line, and the output or load. Be sure that you connect the wires properly. Loose the second GFCI outlet and reinstall a standard duplex there. Once this is done, check to see if the outlet resets. If not, you should be looking for another outlet that is also protected by the first GFCI. Depending upon when the house was built, it could be an outside outlet, a garage outlet, another bathroom outlet, or a basement outlet. Once you've determined every outlet protected by the original GFCI, you can disconnect each one, one at a time until you find where the fault is

[Charlie Bress]

It is also possible that the GFCI has failed. I had one fail a few months ago.

Charlie

[Tom Horne]

When you replaced the first GFCI are you sure that you connected the wires from the panel to the line terminals and no to the load terminals? If even one of the wires is wrong the GFCI will not reset from the tripped condition that it left the factory in. Also the new GFCIs take a lot more pressure on the reset button then the old ones did in order to reset them.

Since you now have two separate GFCIs I'd suggest that you wire nut a pigtail to all of the hot wires and all of the white wires in the GFCI outlet box then connect the pigtails to the line terminals only. Check first to find any outlet that is now dead. If it's in a bathroom, kitchen, garage, unfinished basement, or outdoors it will also need to be a GFCI receptacle. Connect the white to the silver line terminal and black to the brass line terminal. Do the same thing in the second bath and at each place were a GFCI is needed. That way only a load connected to the GFCI receptacle can trip it. Once you have done that if a GFCI trips the reset will always be at the dead outlet.