At Fixya.com, our trusted experts are meticulously vetted and possess extensive experience in their respective fields. Backed by a community of knowledgeable professionals, our platform ensures that the solutions provided are thoroughly researched and validated.
20 A AFCI Homeline trips intermittenly on a outlet circuit with no lighting on it. The circuit does have an GFCI outlet on it. Trips mabe once a week. replaced the breaker and it worked fine for about a month now its triping again.
Re: 20 A AFCI Homeline trips intermittenly on a outlet...
You should not have multiple GFCI devices in any one circuit. Change out the outlet and label it GFCI Protected if necessary...Your problem of nuisance trips should go away.
- If you need clarification, ask it in the comment box above.
- Better answers use proper spelling and grammar.
- Provide details, support with references or personal experience.
Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.
Tip: The max point reward for answering a question is 15.
The first thing to check is to be sure the outlet is not on an outlet with a GFCI or AFCI. Those are protection devices that are used in unfinished areas or wet areas like bathrooms and kitchens. Electrcians can wire outlets some distance away from the actual device (AFCI or GFCI) and when it trips you cannot tell without looking for it. To tell if that is the case in an outlet, there are two buttons on the outlet with R and T on them. R means reset and T means test. Press the R on the outlet to reset it. If that does not change the situation, look in the breaker box for those ACFI and GFCI devices to be incorporated into a breaker and be sure that they are not tripped. IF that is not the case and no ACFI or GFCI is present, then you need to locate the circuit breaker for the outlet that you are working on AND SHUT IT OFF. Once this is done you can remove the cover plate on the outlet and then the screws holding the outlet. Pull the outlet from the box and check the wires. IF the wires appear ok, you need to see where that outlet connects to. THis connection can be to another outlet in the same room of it may connect to the box and the ceiling where the light is located. You need to check for all the connections in the celing box and look at the wire nut that the electricians use to be sure the connections are good. In some cases the connections can come loose and the outlet fails.
Would you ever consider driving a vehicle without functional brakes? Probably not. Driving such a vehicle is simply too dangerous and yet the majority of Americans do something every day that is potentially more dangerous than driving a car with no brakes. We live with home electrical service that is not nearly as safe as it should be. As a result, thousands are killed or seriously injured by electrical malfunction, electrocution and electrical fires every year. What's even more alarming is that most homeowners are unaware of this sobering fact or assume making their home's electrical service safer is unaffordable. Thankfully a recent breakthrough in residential electrical service technology is making it easier and more affordable than ever for homeowners to protect their families from electrocution, electrical fires and other deadly electrical safety hazards.
The Problem with Your Home's Electrical Service
The majority of homes in the U.S. today are approximately 40 years old and unless they have had their electrical service updated to the latest National Electric Code (NEC), they contain either fuses or traditional circuit breakers in their electrical panels. While fuses and circuit breakers look and function differently, they both serve the same purpose. They interrupt the flow of electricity to a circuit in your home if they sense an overload or electrical short.
For decades fuses and circuit breakers have been the main electrical safety component of most home electrical services. The problem with traditional fuses and circuit breakers that most people are unaware of is that they don't provide protection from some of the most common and most deadly of residential electrical hazards, electrical fires and electrocution.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reported that in 2011 that nearly 2000 people were killed or injured in home electrical fires alone. This doesn't include the countless others killed or seriously injured as a result of accidental electrocution. What's worse is that most homeowners are unaware that almost all of these deaths and injuries can now be prevented by an inexpensive and revolutionary new type of circuit breaker, known as the AFCI/GFCI or Dual Function circuit breaker.
What are Arc Faults and Ground Faults and why are they so dangerous?
The acronym AFCI stands for Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter and this device is designed to cut the flow of electricity when it senses an arc fault. If you have ever plugged in an extension cord or flipped a light switch and heard a loud popping sound, then you have experienced an arc fault. The sound that you hear is actually electricity jumping from one electrical contact in the plug or switch to another. Though this might seem harmless, an arc fault causes an excessive amount of heat in your home's wiring which, over time, can actually melt the wiring's insulation leaving the wire exposed. This can lead to an electrical fire. Since the majority of your home's wiring is hidden behind its walls, it's almost impossible to know if your home is at risk.
GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. Much like an AFCI, a GFCI is designed to cut the flow of electricity to a circuit; however a GFCI is triggered not by an electrical arc, but rather a ground fault. This is when electricity travels outside of its intended path as it tries to find the shortest path to ground. An example of this is when a person with a live electrical wire touches the ground or something resting on the ground that can conduct electricity. The electrical current will travel through the person's body as it seeks the shortest path to ground, electrocuting them in the process. It only takes 1/10 of an amp to kill a human being. To give you an idea of just how little power that is, the average 60 watt household light bulb draws 5 times the power needed to kill a person.
Why are these dual function AFCI/GFCI circuit breakers so important?
Prior to the development to the AFCI/GFCI circuit breaker if the NEC called for a specific area in the home to be AFCI and GFCI protected, typically laundry rooms and kitchens, to have both AFCI protection and GFCI protection electricians had to use a GFCI outlet and an AFCI circuit breaker to meet this requirement. The problem was that this was rather inefficient and troublesome, especially when the circuit was tripped because the homeowner had to check both the outlet and the circuit breaker to see which had tripped and then reset it. Not only does the dual function AFCI/GFCI circuit breaker eliminate this problem, it also provides better protection and can be installed on every circuit in your home quickly and easily for ultimate protection. Residential Electrician
GFCI trips when the current in the line does not = the current in the neutral. This might happen if some of the current is flowing in the ground lead.
Run the machine till it trips, unplug it and measure resistance from line (narrow spade) to ground (round). It should be an open circuit.
Any resistance there indicates a problem in the machine and the reason the breaker is tripping.
power off disconnect motion light power on reset gfci. if it trips he problem is between breaker and rec.., or replace gfci with another one.is box dry even a small amount of water will cause it to trip. do not float grounds or neutrals, ensure that the black power wire is on the black terminal on line side.
Christopher, motors starter/capacitor could be faulty, wire circuit/breaker could be insufficient. motor could be faulty or wired incorrectly. Have motor checked out and ensure you are wiring correctly.
Check the attached links,instruction and guides, Good luck
"I hope this helped you out, if so let me know by pressing the helpful button. Check out some of my other posts if you need more tips and info." LEESON Electric Motor Trouble Shooting Chart Motor trips breaker Why http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256105
The washer tripped the breaker once and OR after the breaker was reset it ran additional loads with no problem then it tripped the breaker again.
Intermittent problems are always difficult to diagnose because the problem usually doesn't occur when you're making the checks.
If the washer ran additional loads the problem will not be an electrical short with one of the washer parts. If the lid switch had a short it wouldn't run additional loads.
if the additional loads used the same cycle as previously. A timer can have an internal short that might trip the breaker in heavy duty cycle but not the permanent press cycle.
If you have access to a clamp on amp meter, see the image below, then you can check the amp draw of the washer. The washer normally will draw about 10-15 amps at start up and about 5-8 amps while running. The house breaker for you washer should be rated at 20 amps.
If the washer is running and drawing less than 20 amps and the breaker trips then if can be a weak house breaker.
Mid cycle the washer is most likely draining or spinning and if the bearing or pump locks up then the washer may draw additional amps to try to start and trip the breaker.
The key to this problem is what the amp draw of the washer is when the house breaker trips.
To narrow this problem down, there are three places that could be causing the ( outlet) GFCI to trip, a malfunction in the washing machine, a problem with the downstream wiring (aka load side of the GFCI-other items connected on same circuit), or the GFCI outlet itself. If there isn't anything downstream, then plugging the washing machine into another GFCI outlet, or simply swapping out the outlet for a known good GFCI outlet, will identify if the outlet itself is faulty.
If the outlet trips when the washing machine isn't running and isn't even plugged in, then there's a fault in the wiring on the load side of the GFCI outlet.
If the issue is neither of the above, then running the washing machine and monitoring to see which step is occurring when the trip happens will isolate what part of the washing machine may be leaking current to a ground. It could be a certain water level, a motor being engaged, a transition step in the controller, etc
Beware some techs believe that most Washing machines or any other motor should not be on a GFCI! Should be a dedicated single receptacle. If there are other outlets on the washer GFCI, replace that GFCI with a single receptacle and put the GFCI on the next jump in order to protect other outlets.
Another item to check is ur lid switch which may have gotten moister inside and created a short_ or broken open and the rubber seal dried out over time, and the switch assembly will be exposed. water can splash onto the assembly, somehow causing the GFCI to trip. In any event, if you are having trouble with your washing machine stopping mid-cycle for any reason, test and replacing the lid switchis probably a worthwhile idea, as it is cheap and easy to replace.
By the way my advice is free cuz God is good!
The washer tripped the breaker once and OR after the breaker was reset it ran additional loads with no problem then it tripped the breaker again.
Intermittent problems are always difficult to diagnose because the problem usually doesn't occur when you're making the checks.
If the washer ran additional loads the problem will not be an electrical short with one of the washer parts. If the lid switch had a short it wouldn't run the additional loads.
You don't say if the additional loads used the same cycle as previously. A timer can have an internal short that might trip the breaker in heavy duty cycle but not the permanent press cycle.
If you have access to a clamp on amp meter, see the image below, then you can check the amp draw of the washer. The washer normally will draw about 10-15 amps at start up and about 5-8 amps while running. The house breaker for you washer should be rated at 20 amps.
If the washer is running and drawing less than 20 amps and the breaker trips then if can be a weak house breaker.
Mid cycle the washer is most likely draining or spinning and if the bearing or pump locks up then the washer may draw additional amps to try to start and trip the breaker.
The key to this problem is what the amp draw of the washer is when the house breaker trips.
To narrow this problem down, there are three places that could be causing the ( outlet) GFCI to trip, a malfunction in the washing machine, a problem with the downstream wiring (aka load side of the GFCI-other items connected on same circuit), or the GFCI outlet itself. If there isn't anything downstream, then plugging the washing machine into another GFCI outlet, or simply swapping out the outlet for a known good GFCI outlet, will identify if the outlet itself is faulty.
If the outlet trips when the washing machine isn't running and isn't even plugged in, then there's a fault in the wiring on the load side of the GFCI outlet.
If the issue is neither of the above, then running the washing machine and monitoring to see which step is occurring when the trip happens will isolate what part of the washing machine may be leaking current to a ground. It could be a certain water level, a motor being engaged, a transition step in the controller, etc
Beware some techs believe that most Washing machines or any other motor should not be on a GFCI! Should be a dedicated single receptacle. If there are other outlets on the washer GFCI, replace that GFCI with a single receptacle and put the GFCI on the next jump in order to protect other outlets.
Another item to check is ur lid switch which may have gotten moister inside and created a short_ or broken open and the rubber seal dried out over time, and the switch assembly will be exposed. water can splash onto the assembly, somehow causing the GFCI to trip. In any event, if you are having trouble with your washing machine stopping mid-cycle for any reason, test and replacing the lid switchis probably a worthwhile idea, as it is cheap and easy to replace.
It's definitely not related to the 20 Amp breaker. You do mean GFCI, right? The kind built into the end of the cord on the air conditioner, right? The GFCI is either detecting a ground fault (which means it's doing it's job and there is something wrong with the cord or the unit) or you have a bad GFCI. If the GFCI is in the wall receptacle, that could be a different story.
The neutral for that circuit must be connected under the neutral terminal connection set screw_on_ the GFCI breaker. The (usually coiled) white wire that is permanently connected to the GFCI breaker is then connected to the "neutral block in the panel."
Refrigerators are not designed to run on a GFCI. Try a heavy duty extension cord to the fridge from a outlet that is not GFCI protected. If it still trips you probably have a short circuit in the compressor.
×