GFI wall socket red light on

[woody31]

Like the title says i have a wall outlet in my bathroom ,,the red light is on,,what does it mean??

I havent plugged anything into it,,,,can someone give me a idea on what is wrong?? thanks

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Press in the TEST button, then press in the RESET button (real hard, sometimes I have to use something to push the button with, such as the eraser end of a pencil, etc, to push it far enough in to reset it).

If that doesn't fix it, then you have something tripping it. There could be something downstream of it causing it to trip.

Red light means something has tripped the GFCI and it will not power anything until you reset it.

Other possibility is it just went bad. They have electronic circuitry in them, and they do fail.

Charles

 

[Zeke]

Some GFCI's are working when the light is on. Plug something in and see.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Like the title says i have a wall outlet in my bathroom ,,the red light is on,,what does it mean??

I havent plugged anything into it,,,,can someone give me a idea on what is wrong?? thanks

if u haven't plugged anything into it, how do u know there is a problem in the first place?

 

[woody31]

ok,,i tried plugged in something,,plug seems to be working,,however you cant push the test OR the reset buttons,,,this has been replaced once before and this light has just come on recently,,,thanks for the replies and help...

 

[wyliesdiesels]

ok,,i tried plugged in something,,plug seems to be working,,however you cant push the test OR the reset buttons,,,this has been replaced once before and this light has just come on recently,,,thanks for the replies and help...

What is the brand of the CFGI?

 

[woody31]

dont know what brand,,its still in the wall,,

 

[ishiboo]

Push a bit hard. If the buttons cannot be pressed or the red light means "shot", it simply needs to be replaced.

GFCIs are required to fail "dead", so my guess is the red light is simply an "on" light and not something bad. If it means something bad, the outlets should not work.

It could also be an older GFCI wired backwards. They are now required to be off if the line/load are switched.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Go to Youtube.com and search for "gfci test" (no quotes). You get over 2000 videos on how to test GFCI receptacles and breakers.

Charles

 

[woody31]

ok but this was replaced a few months ago and only recently did the light come on,,anyone know what or why ,,thanks

 

[kenfath]

"ok but this was replaced a few months ago and only recently did the light come on,,anyone know what or why ,,thanks"

Did you save the instructions that came with the GFCI? What does it say?

 

[2ManyProjects]

Like the title says i have a wall outlet in my bathroom ,,the red light is on,,what does it mean??

I havent plugged anything into it,,,,can someone give me a idea on what is wrong?? thanks

For future reference, one of these (or similar):

http://www.lowes.com/pd_292761-12704-61-501_4294722453__?productId=3128411
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-GCFI-Receptacle-Tester-RT200/203195019
http://www.harborfreight.com/electrical-receptacle-tester-with-gfci-diagnosis-32907.html

will come in VERY handy for diagnosing such issues. And they're too cheap to NOT have.

ok,,i tried plugged in something,,plug seems to be working,,however you cant push the test OR the reset buttons,,,this has been replaced once before and this light has just come on recently,,,thanks for the replies and help...

As others have mentioned, sometimes you have to push quite firmly on those little "TEST" and "RESET" buttons. But that said, the combination of a "apparently working" outlet AND a recent change in the status of that light, does not bode well for the health of the device.

 

[ishiboo]

For future reference, one of these (or similar):

http://www.lowes.com/pd_292761-12704-61-501_4294722453__?productId=3128411
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-GCFI-Receptacle-Tester-RT200/203195019
http://www.harborfreight.com/electrical-receptacle-tester-with-gfci-diagnosis-32907.html

will come in VERY handy for diagnosing such issues. And they're too cheap to NOT have.



As others have mentioned, sometimes you have to push quite firmly on those little "TEST" and "RESET" buttons. But that said, the combination of a "apparently working" outlet AND a recent change in the status of that light, does not bode well for the health of the device.

All you need to test a GFCI is the buttons on it, and it's also the only correct way to test them. If the TEST button does not trip the GFCI, it must be replaced. If the GFCI cannot be reset via the RESET button, it must be replaced. If neither button works like the OP says, it must be replaced.

 

[Rookie2]

if the status of the light change from off to on, you have a problem ! If other outlets are wired to the GFI then they could be tripping it or something that is plugged into them or a nail thru the wall. In either case you should not have any A/C output from the outlet.

 

[2ManyProjects]

All you need to test a GFCI is the buttons on it, and it's also the only correct way to test them.

The on-device buttons can/will tell you you have a problem; but they don't tell you much about what sort of a problem it is. Obviously, the plug-in tester does not replace the on-device buttons; but it can sometimes usefully augment them. For the $5-8 bucks the tester costs, I prefer to have as much information as I can get.