Multiple GFCI Receptacle trips?

[Angelfire]

Hiya Folks,

Today I discovered a receptacle that had no power. No breaker trip. Reset the GFCI receptacle for that circuit and all is well. A bit later I try a different receptacle on a different circuit and found the upstream GFCI receptacle was also tripped. So far, I’ve found three GFCI receptacles tripped. I am in the process of moving things around and have very little plugged in as I’m just getting ready to work on flooring....literally just a stereo, laptop, and a few nightlights....I found no tripped breakers in my panels and my other circuits all seem fine for the moment. Just wondering what might have caused multiple GFCI receptacles to trip and if there’s something I should be looking into?

Thank you for any advice!

 

[Showkey]

Got kids ????? Curious George pushing the test buttons.........

 

[Dirtydan69]

How old are they? They don’t Las forever.

 

[Angelfire]

They are less than 6 months old.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

if there the cheap Chinese ones from ebay, there probably shot.
I bought about dozen of them off ebay about 7 years ago, Against the better judgement of the GJ crowd I might add..........and there all shot. Some didn't last more than a year

 

[Angelfire]

Nah, these are mid priced Leviton’s gotten from HD. Even if they’re failing, seems odd they’d go at once. Which has me wondering if something more global is going on here.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

could be something else, I wish I had some idea's but I used up my only one....lol

I have replaced my ebay ones with those Leviton ones from homedepot and they have been ok.

 

[James-W]

I don't understand how they would trip and you not know about it. I mean, they don't trip without anything plugged in. If you plug something in and there is a problem with the device you plugged in, the GFCI will trip. But then you will know it tripped because the power will go dead. But it doesn't trip all by itself. I suppose you could say that the GFCI just happened to pick that time to fail on its own. But when you have more than one GFCI failing at the same time and for the same reason, that just sounds wrong to me. I think a kid or some prankster pushed the test buttons and shut them off.

 

[Angelfire]

I’m kind of in the same mindset. My 6 YO wouldn’t know to push the buttons and one of them is definitely beyond his reach. I did have a phone charger plugged into one of the circuits which could have tripped without me noticing immediately. But the other two have me baffled. Just thought I’d check in to see if there’s something serious going on that I need to address. Since resetting them, not a problem with them.

 

[Copymutt]

A branch circuit analyzer will fully test each circuit for :
Voltage ground to neutral (this causes a GFCI to trip)
Line voltage fluctuation
Voltage drop with a 15 amp draw
Voltage drop with a 20 amp draw
Trip test for the GFCI
Proper polarity

Have you recently added any devices to these branches that might generate RF frequencies? The most common cause is failure of the GFCI itself, new or not.
Jim

 

[Angelfire]

A branch circuit analyzer will fully test each circuit for :
Voltage ground to neutral (this causes a GFCI to trip)
Line voltage fluctuation
Voltage drop with a 15 amp draw
Voltage drop with a 20 amp draw
Trip test for the GFCI
Proper polarity

Have you recently added any devices to these branches that might generate RF frequencies? The most common cause is failure of the GFCI itself, new or not.
Jim

I don’t believe so. The funny thing is I have very little actually plugged in at the moment. I’m getting ready to tile my “auto” side of the garage and have moved everything into my “wood” shop with cords unplugged.

 

[cybrdyke]

Are you sharing neutral wires between the circuits?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Do any of these GFCIs feed exterior outlets?

 

[electroman187]

Does your place have modern wiring? Has it been rewired/remodeled? Like others said, shared neutrals is definitely a problem. Also, if your service is interrupted and restored, that will cause nuisance trips. Transients on the line can cause them to trip also.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

It depends on the brand of GFCI whether a service interuption will trip the GFCI. Every GFCI Ive used in recent years has no issues with service interruptions and tripping.

 

[Showkey]

Do any of these GFCIs feed exterior outlets?

Was thinking the same thing.........unknown outside outlets, lamp post, patio lights, garden lights etc on the GFCI .........with water intrusion or too damp.

 

[larry4406]

Nah, these are mid priced Leviton’s gotten from HD. Even if they’re failing, seems odd they’d go at once. Which has me wondering if something more global is going on here.

About a year ago we experienced a rash of problems with the GFCI outlets in our production homes.

Our electrician said that Leviton (brand he uses) had some sort of product deficiency. They swapped out the defective ones as they cropped up and returned them for credit and filed for labor reimbursement. They buy all their devices from an electrical supply house (Rexell).

Sorry no more details.

 

[Angelfire]

Are you sharing neutral wires between the circuits?

No, each circuit has its own neutral.
Thanks

 

[Angelfire]

Do any of these GFCIs feed exterior outlets?

Yes. Two of the 3 serve outdoor receptacles. Do I detect a possible explanation coming?

 

[Angelfire]

Does your place have modern wiring? Has it been rewired/remodeled? Like others said, shared neutrals is definitely a problem. Also, if your service is interrupted and restored, that will cause nuisance trips. Transients on the line can cause them to trip also.

It was originally wired with the bare essentials in 2013 by a very competent electrician. I added a sub panel and several circuits for lighting, 120/240 receptacles, and a mini split. All was done to code (with some help from the experts here!) and received its final about 2 months ago
Cheers

 

[Angelfire]

Was thinking the same thing.........unknown outside outlets, lamp post, patio lights, garden lights etc on the GFCI .........with water intrusion or too damp.

I have two outdoor receptacles on separate circuits. Both are in outdoor enclosures with weather resistant receptacles. One of them is located under a covered porch which further shields it from the elements
Cheers

 

[Angelfire]

About a year ago we experienced a rash of problems with the GFCI outlets in our production homes.

Our electrician said that Leviton (brand he uses) had some sort of product deficiency. They swapped out the defective ones as they cropped up and returned them for credit and filed for labor reimbursement. They buy all their devices from an electrical supply house (Rexell).

Sorry no more details.

Thanks. I’ve reset them and so far so good. If it happens again, I’ll dig into whether Leviton still has issues or not
Cheers

 

[nadogail]

GFCI Receptacle compares the line current and the neutral current, if they don't balance shutdown happens.