GFCI Breaker

[pavway]

Hi everyone, my first post here, hope someone can help. I recently installed a 100 amp main lug panel in my barn that is fed from a nearby 200 amp service that has a combo meter/ panel. Ran 4 conductors leaving ground and neutral isolated in the subpanel. In the barn I installed 2 ckts from subpanel to each side of the barn for lights and recepticles. I kept the ckts seperated with there own neutrals. These are the only ckts in the new panel.
My problem is the GFI breakers trip when any load is applied. I can plug in a ckt tester and eveything checks ok but if i turn on the light sw. they will trip. With no bulb they stay on. Any Ideas?
Thanks - Paul

 

[ishiboo]

Hi everyone, my first post here, hope someone can help. I recently installed a 100 amp main lug panel in my barn that is fed from a nearby 200 amp service that has a combo meter/ panel. Ran 4 conductors leaving ground and neutral isolated in the subpanel. In the barn I installed 2 ckts from subpanel to each side of the barn for lights and recepticles. I kept the ckts seperated with there own neutrals. These are the only ckts in the new panel.
My problem is the GFI breakers trip when any load is applied. I can plug in a ckt tester and eveything checks ok but if i turn on the light sw. they will trip. With no bulb they stay on. Any Ideas?
Thanks - Paul

Their own neutrals...

These are GFI breakers or receptacles? If a breaker, you did correctly wire the white neutral wire to the breaker and not the neutral bus, and the breaker's white wire to the neutral bus?

Be sure ground and neutral are not switched anywhere as well. Your circuit tester cannot determine this as neutral and ground are tied at your main panel.

Kudos for keeping a single ground point.

 

[pavway]

Thanks for reply, yes I wired the coiled white wire from the breaker to the neutral bar and the load neutral to the breaker.
Thanks again

 

[ishiboo]

Thanks for reply, yes I wired the coiled white wire from the breaker to the neutral bar and the load neutral to the breaker.
Thanks again

Somewhere neutral and ground are touching?

 

[pavway]

I will check everything again, thanks.

 

[hillbilly1]

Make sure you did not accidentally swap the neutrals from the two circuits.

 

[mrb]

Make sure you did not accidentally swap the neutrals from the two circuits.

or accidentally have them connected together somewhere

 

[trythis]

Have you tried s different appliance? Maybe a drill or a toaster? Could it be the lights you are trying are shorted somewhere?

 

[pavway]

Yes I tried a drill with the same result. I will check the neutrals to make sure I did not get them swapped, that sounds like a logical possibility. I will trace everything out today and let you know what I find. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[pavway]

Well I'm embarressed to say that I did have the neutrals swapped. Sometimes we don't check the easy things first.It was an easy fix and I want to thank everyone for the help, it all checks out fine now. This is a great forum.

 

[ishiboo]

Well I'm embarressed to say that I did have the neutrals swapped. Sometimes we don't check the easy things first.It was an easy fix and I want to thank everyone for the help, it all checks out fine now. This is a great forum.

That'll do it... at least you know the GFCI really works The current returns through a different breaker, so the GFCI breaker sees X amps going out and 0 AMPS returning and assumes (correctly) it is going somewhere it shouldn't.

Easy mistake to make when the wires are the same color

 

[hillbilly1]

Well I'm embarressed to say that I did have the neutrals swapped. Sometimes we don't check the easy things first.It was an easy fix and I want to thank everyone for the help, it all checks out fine now. This is a great forum.

No biggie, it happens more than you would think. Thats my job, figuring out what is wrong with something, it's usually something simple. I have to do nationwide troubleshooting over the phone with other electricians.