GFCI Problem

[Breck09]

I have had 3 outlets in our kitchen go out a few months ago and I am just now getting around to trying to fix the issue. I believe it may be an issue with the GFCI on that circuit. I have pulled the GFCI out and found the hot wire and made sure it was on the correct side of the line. The issue though is when I have all the wire connected and turn the power back on and check the "hot" wire going into the line it shows fine, but the other black wire on the load side doesn't show "hot" at all. I have tried this with two different GFCI outlets as well. Any advice? Thanks.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

What device are you using to test whether the wire is hot? Where are you connecting its other test probe? Is the GFCI outlet itself one of the three that does not function when an appliance is plugged into it?

Note to UK readers: US GFCI sockets typically have outgoing terminals after the GFCI that can be used to provide a protected supply to downstream sockets.

 

[Megawatt]

I have had 3 outlets in our kitchen go out a few months ago and I am just now getting around to trying to fix the issue. I believe it may be an issue with the GFCI on that circuit. I have pulled the GFCI out and found the hot wire and made sure it was on the correct side of the line. The issue though is when I have all the wire connected and turn the power back on and check the "hot" wire going into the line it shows fine, but the other black wire on the load side doesn't show "hot" at all. I have tried this with two different GFCI outlets as well. Any advice? Thanks.

If you are live on the line side and not on the load side your GFCI is bad and needs to be replaced and do you have 3 separate GFCI’s or is the other regular receptacles which is GFCI Protected. They need to be checked once a month. Good luck

 

[Breck09]

What device are you using to test whether the wire is hot? Where are you connecting its other test probe? Is the GFCI outlet itself one of the three that does not function when an appliance is plugged into it?

I am using a non contact voltage meter/pen so there isn't another test probe. And yes it is one of the outlets that does not work. When I used a receptacle tester on it prior to pulling out any of the plugs all 3 of the non working outlets showed Open Neutral. When pulling the outlets out I didn't notice any open neutral. So my first guess was maybe the GFCI was bad and I replaced it and that is where I noticed I wasn't live on the load side. The other two normal outlets did not show being live when tested with the pen either after I had installed the new GFCI (I have tried two different ones.)

If you are live on the line side and not on the load side your GFCI is bad and needs to be replaced and do you have 3 separate GFCI’s or is the other regular receptacles which is GFCI Protected. They need to be checked once a month. Good luck

I have tested two other GFCI outlets on the receptacle and they all had the same issues with not being live on the load side.

 

[Breck09]

So I noticed on the GFCIs that I was trying to replace that they were 15amp as opposed to 20amp so I think that might be why I was getting live on the line side but not on the load side. I have put back the original GFCI that I thought was bad and I am getting my original open neutral from my receptacle tester. I don't see any open neutral lines on the 3 outlets that are on that circuit so I am thinking possible one of the outlets is fried.

 

[Megawatt]

I have had 3 outlets in our kitchen go out a few months ago and I am just now getting around to trying to fix the issue. I believe it may be an issue with the GFCI on that circuit. I have pulled the GFCI out and found the hot wire and made sure it was on the correct side of the line. The issue though is when I have all the wire connected and turn the power back on and check the "hot" wire going into the line it shows fine, but the other black wire on the load side doesn't show "hot" at all. I have tried this with two different GFCI outlets as well. Any advice? Thanks.

Break 09 I want to ask you a question I’m assuming that you have 2 cables coming in the box. When you hook up the line side it won’t work if the exact neutral that in the same cable is hooked to the line side also and I’ve seen people get the neutrals crossed up

 

[Breck09]

Break 09 I want to ask you a question I’m assuming that you have 2 cables coming in the box. When you hook up the line side it won’t work if the exact neutral that in the same cable is hooked to the line side also and I’ve seen people get the neutrals crossed up

There are two wires coming into the box. The way they are coming into the box I can't be 100% sure but one is coming from the top right of the box and the other is coming from the left so I assumed those wires went together if that makes sense. The neutral wire that I have connected to the line side is the one that is paired or what I think is connected to the black hot wire from the breaker box.

 

[Megawatt]

There are two wires coming into the box. The way they are coming into the box I can't be 100% sure but one is coming from the top right of the box and the other is coming from the left so I assumed those wires went together if that makes sense. The neutral wire that I have connected to the line side is the one that is paired or what I think is connected to the black hot wire from the breaker box.

Your live cable terminates on the line side with its paired neutral and the other cable terminates on the load side to feed other outlets which will be GFCI Protected

 

[Breck09]

Your live cable terminates on the line side with its paired neutral and the other cable terminates on the load side to feed other outlets which will be GFCI Protected

So are you saying that if I have the live hot and neutral on the line side I am correct?
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Here are a couple of pics of the outlet. The circle labeled 2 is the hot wire coming from the box. The one labeled 1 would be the out outlets being protected.

 

[Megawatt]

So are you saying that if I have the live hot and neutral on the line side I am correct?
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Here are a couple of pics of the outlet. The circle labeled 2 is the hot wire coming from the box. The one labeled 1 would be the out outlets being protected.

Is that the GFCI that’s giving problems or are they others on that circuit

 

[Breck09]

Is that the GFCI that’s giving problems or are they others on that circuit

That is the only GFCI on the circuit. There are two other normal outlets.

 

[Megawatt]

That is the only GFCI on the circuit. There are two other normal outlets.

Have you replaced the old GFCI which has to be your problem andonce power is applied you have to push the reset button. It will not reset without power

 

[Breck09]

Have you replaced the old GFCI which has to be your problem andonce power is applied you have to push the reset button. It will not reset without power

I tried replacing it but noticed the ones I had on hand were 15w as opposed to 20w. I was going to go to the store and pick up a 20w today to see if that was my issue.

 

[Megawatt]

I tried replacing it but noticed the ones I had on hand were 15w as opposed to 20w. I was going to go to the store and pick up a 20w today to see if that was my issue.

What amperage was the bad one because they make 20 amp and 15 amp. If you have already replaced the old one the new GFCI should work regardless of the amperage as long as nothing else is plugged into one of the other receptacles which is GFCI Protected also. Did you check the wiring on the other receptacles, the neutrals cannot be swapped.

 

[Breck09]

What amperage was the bad one because they make 20 amp and 15 amp. If you have already replaced the old one the new GFCI should work regardless of the amperage as long as nothing else is plugged into one of the other receptacles which is GFCI Protected also. Did you check the wiring on the other receptacles, the neutrals cannot be swapped.

Yes I did try replacing it with 2 of the 15amp GFCIs I had already. Neither of them worked. Wasn't sure if the amperage could cause it to not work. Nothing was plugged into any of the outlets at the time. One outlet has just a black, white, and ground wire so I am assuming that one is fine. The one that the gas range is plugged into has two neutrals if I am not mistaken so that may be the culprit then. I will take a pic and load it here in a minute. I haven't tried anything with that outlet yet.

 

[Breck09]

Here is a pic of the outlet for the gas range. As you can see it has two black and two white wires. If for instance one of the black wires wasn't matched with its correct neutral could that be causing the issue? Only reason I ask is because all 3 of these outlets worked at some point so having a neutral suddenly get mixed up would seem weird to me. That is why I think it may be a faulty GFCI outlet.

 

[Breck09]

Update: I have replaced the other two normal outlets on the circuit and tightened everything so I shouldn't have any loose connections. Still showing an open neutral. I can see the wires coming from the wall on the range outlet so I am positive I have the black wire matched up with the correct neutral. Could a faulty GFCI be throwing a open neutral even though things look to be connected correctly? When I use the pen to check the live wires all the black wires light up and show as having power to them.

 

[Megawatt]

Update: I have replaced the other two normal outlets on the circuit and tightened everything so I shouldn't have any loose connections. Still showing an open neutral. I can see the wires coming from the wall on the range outlet so I am positive I have the black wire matched up with the correct neutral. Could a faulty GFCI be throwing a open neutral even though things look to be connected correctly? When I use the pen to check the live wires all the black wires light up and show as having power to them.

If all the black wires are hot have you plugged in to see if they work

 

[Breck09]

If all the black wires are hot have you plugged in to see if they work

I just plugged something in and it didn't turn on at any of the 3 outlets. Again the black wires are showing hot with the voltage testing pen I have been using. That being said when I stick the pen in the actual socket on 2 of the 3 (GFCI included) I get a rapid beeping. On the outlet that would normally have the gas range plugged into it I get a slower beep. Not sure if that means anything.

 

[Megawatt]

I just plugged something in and it didn't turn on at any of the 3 outlets. Again the black wires are showing hot with the voltage testing pen I have been using. That being said when I stick the pen in the actual socket on 2 of the 3 (GFCI included) I get a rapid beeping. On the outlet that would normally have the gas range plugged into it I get a slower beep. Not sure if that means anything.

You have lost your neutral somewhere and if you are just having problems with 3 receptacles it has to be the GFCI