GFCI Troubles

Feb 07, 2010 12 Replies
M

I recently changed my kitchen receptacles to Pass & Seymour GFCIs. On one circuit, I have a lead receptacle with 2 slaves, each GFCI. The lead receptacle works fine, but if/when I plug anything into either of the slave receptacles, the lead trips and the slaves do not trip. Anything as small as a digital clock causes this. If it is an appliance that needs to be turned on, then the lead does not trip until the appliance is turned on. I have checked each connection and they are all tight and have ~120V to them. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this or possible things to try and troubleshoot it?


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M

------------------------------------- MP

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M

------------------------------------- MP

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R

Because this is kitchen outlets, and NEC requires a minimum of two 20 amp circuits to serve kitchen counter outlets, it's typical to run a three wire two circuit feeder, known as an Edison circuit, or multiwire branch circuit. This type of circuit uses a common neutral for the two circuits. It's very easy to mess up the connection of this neutral when you're trying to use the load side of a GFCI outlet at the point where the multiwire circuit breaks into two 2 wire circuits.

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P

If you have downstream outlets connected to the "load" terminals of a GFCI receptacle, you *do not* use GFCI receptacles at these locations, you use regular receptacles and place the little blue "GFCI Protected" stickers on those regular outlets to indicate that they receive GFCI protection from the upstream GFCI receptacle.

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H

What Pete C said is the correct way to do things, I have never heard of a "normal" connection that put a GFCI downstream of another GFCI.

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G

It happens. One example is a boat lift. There is a GFCI in the cord set and the receptacle is also required to be GFCI. A pressure washer is another, same deal.

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P

Cord connected devices are a bit different than hard wired.

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H

Yes - I guess we should have said hard-wired in-the-wall GFCI duplex outlets.

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G

Not electrically. In the 2008 code you are also going to be seeing GFCIs behind AFCIs. There is no hardware reason why they won't work.

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J

Here's some insight: don't toppost.

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