Ground problem on lighting circuit

[Junkman]

I installed Halo recessed fixtures in my new garage, and was attempting to wire them to a switch. When I put power to the black and white wires, all the bulbs light up. When I put the ground wire to the ground on the metal electoral box, the breaker trips. Without the circuit being grounded, everything is fine. I opened up all the junction boxes, and every one of them is wired correctly, and I can see no problems with the fixture grounding wires, which are all tied together and connected to the ground wire. the lights are daisy chained to each other. Where do I start looking for this problem, and how? thanks Junk

PS... I have installed LED bulbs in all of the fixtures.

 

[kd3pc]

you have a swapped wire(s) somewhere...be real careful touching things until you get this sorted out.


it could be a switch is miswired...a single switch?? Or two-ways or ??

If you have a meter...check some voltages, and then disconnect the hot from the breaker and use the ohm scale to make sure there is no short to ground...

 

[Junkman]

I have checked every light, white to white, black to black, and grounds to grounds. The only thing that I can think of is that there is a defective fixture, but how do I locate it, short of disconnecting them all, and then hooking them back together one at a time. I think that I will try that with the 3rd one in the line to see what happens.

 

[sberry]

Staple etc. Had one a helper wire where the jacket pulled some thru the clamp and a nick in the insulation at the exact spot it went thru etc. Half a dozen times over the years missed some deal that shorted.

 

[bobmulry]

Do you own an ohm meter???????

Just disconnect the lights from the wire runs and check white to ground and black to ground at each fixture and each wire run and there should be no continuity......

If you have continuity, you have a short in that fixture or wire run....

Find it, fix it and be good to go...

Bob

 

[Dadillac]

I installed Halo recessed fixtures in my new garage, and was attempting to wire them to a switch. When I put power to the black and white wires, all the bulbs light up. When I put the ground wire to the ground on the metal electoral box, the breaker trips. Without the circuit being grounded, everything is fine. I opened up all the junction boxes, and every one of them is wired correctly, and I can see no problems with the fixture grounding wires, which are all tied together and connected to the ground wire. the lights are daisy chained to each other. Where do I start looking for this problem, and how? thanks Junk

PS... I have installed LED bulbs in all of the fixtures.

Please explain what you mean by this. You should only be powering the black wire. The white goes to the neutral bar. Unless you are running 220v.

Don

 

[bobmulry]

AND

I am confused by daisy chain....

In a daisy chain, power goes to the first light black lead and the white from the first fixture goes to the black lead on the 2nd fixture and on and on....

The problem with a daisy chain is when 1 light bulb goes out, the power down the chain is lost and all off the other lights go off.....

That's how they wire cheap x-mas lights.....

So I have no idea on how to help you unless you take some pictures or make a drawing of what you have done??????

 

[checkthisout]

Junk, yes, the only way is to disconnect each fixture.

Start in the "middle" of the circuit.

Disconnect that device and see what happens when you activation the circuit. It nothing trips then work downstream from there disconnecting each device one at a time until the breaker stops tripping.

If it trips, work upstream.

Starting in the middle means you only half to disconnect at most, half of the devices to find the problem.

 

[Dadillac]

My guess is he used daisy chain for in series.

Don

 

[grantw]

Wow, the terminology gore in this thread is amazing.

 

[mm08822]

Junk, makeup the entire circuit including all grds connected. Grounds should have been the first thing made up in each box.

Disconnect last half of lights as previously said.

Turn on breaker then close switch. If breaker trips, open switch, disconnect all lights. Turn on breaker and close switch. If no problem then, start adding lights back in one by one.
If no problem when last half of lights were disconnected, then add them back one by one.

An ohmmeter with leds disconnected using each quick disconnect opened could also be quicker. Depends on how many fixtures you have and access to them.

 

[larry4406]

AND

I am confused by daisy chain....

In a daisy chain, power goes to the first light black lead and the white from the first fixture goes to the black lead on the 2nd fixture and on and on....

The problem with a daisy chain is when 1 light bulb goes out, the power down the chain is lost and all off the other lights go off.....

That's how they wire cheap x-mas lights.....

So I have no idea on how to help you unless you take some pictures or make a drawing of what you have done??????

Never seen a house wired this way. Christmas lights yes. House no.

 

[Junkman]

I will admit the errors of my ways below....

Staple etc. Had one a helper wire where the jacket pulled some thru the clamp and a nick in the insulation at the exact spot it went thru etc. Half a dozen times over the years missed some deal that shorted.

This is exactly what had happened, there was a bur on the metal romex clamp that cut into the wire when tightened. Don't know how it was missed, but like everything that you do when you are old, is to start a project and forget about it for a while, and then go back to it. Don't know if it was me or a friend that was helping. Can't ask him, because he died 4 years ago.

Please explain what you mean by this. You should only be powering the black wire. The white goes to the neutral bar. Unless you are running 220v.

Don

Wrong choice of words. I put power to the black lead, and neutral to the white wire, and the bare copper grounds on the bus bar that is connected to the grounding rod.

AND

I am confused by daisy chain....

In a daisy chain, power goes to the first light black lead and the white from the first fixture goes to the black lead on the 2nd fixture and on and on....

The problem with a daisy chain is when 1 light bulb goes out, the power down the chain is lost and all off the other lights go off.....

That's how they wire cheap x-mas lights.....

So I have no idea on how to help you unless you take some pictures or make a drawing of what you have done??????

Once again, wrong choice of words. I knew what I meant, but picked the wrong terminology to describe it. I am old, so I have been told that it is ok to misuse words, since the correct word doesn't always come to mind. Someday, you and everyone else will be old also, and will understand how these things happen.

Junk, yes, the only way is to disconnect each fixture.

Start in the "middle" of the circuit.

Disconnect that device and see what happens when you activation the circuit. It nothing trips then work downstream from there disconnecting each device one at a time until the breaker stops tripping.

If it trips, work upstream.

Starting in the middle means you only half to disconnect at most, half of the devices to find the problem.

Thanks for the suggestion, albeit a bit late, but this is exactly what I did to locate it. Even after disconnecting the fixture, I still had the fault, and that is when I realized it was in the connecting wire from one fixture to the next. Started by pulling one end apart, and it was ok. When I took the other end apart, that is when I found the fault in the clamp.

My guess is he used daisy chain for in series.

Don

Yes, my fault, for not using the correct terms...

Wow, the terminology gore in this thread is amazing.

What is amazing is that I still have the desire and ambition to finish jobs that have been languishing for many years, when I myself am running out of years. My wife and my doctors tell me to slow down and rest. I say that when they let me down, I will be at rest, and until that time, I will keep on doing that which I can, until I can't any more.

Never seen a house wired this way. Christmas lights yes. House no.

There are lots of things that you have yet to see in your lifetime, but if you live long enough, you will see some amazing things. Some will astonish you and others you will just shake your head in amazement or despair!

Thanks for all the help and encouragement. Junk

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Defective fixture or bad wire...

 

[Junkman]

Defective fixture or bad wire...

Faulty installation. Tiny bur on metal Romex connector cut into the black wire of the Romex, causing the problem.