[Help] Home Electrical Assistance

L

Leiawen

Veteran X
Hey all,

I know there are some smart people around that may know something about residential electrical so I'm asking you for help, TeeDub.

I have some kind of fault in my basement that trips out the GFCI outlet that leads the entire basement circuit. Sometimes it lasts 10 seconds, sometimes a couple of hours but it always trips, even with no load.

I thought the GFCI outlet might have gotten old and too sensitive so I replaced it this afternoon, but it didn't solve the problem. I'm kinda at a loss for what kind of steps to take next to troubleshoot so I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas before I call a contractor tomorrow.

I wouldn't mind this shit so much but the only load I have in my basement is the amp for my cable TV, so my signal will be all fucked up until I fix this. This put a serious hold on my BSG last night.

Thanks. And I already tried sandpaper.
 
Sure we have people from all walks of life posting here....we also have people so crippled that they are crawling through life on their hands and knees.
 
isolate the wiring between each outlet that's on the GFCI circuit, use a multimeter to test for a short.

edit: oh yeah, make sure you shut the circuit breaker off for that circuit first
 
Bad ground / short somewhere... if you don't have a multimeter, you can disconnect all the other outlets downstream from the GFCI, then hook them up 1 at a time until the problem arises.

But USE WIRE NUTS to cap off the wires when you break the circuit, electrical tape is not enough (don't want you to get zapped)
 
Yeah, I have to pick up a new multimeter tomorrow so I'm gonna have a fun Sunday.

My outlet tester just revealed that two of the twelve outlets in the basement are still energized, even when the breaker for that circuit is off. A little tracing and a flashlight revealed that the asstard that finished the basement before I bought this place ran these outlets off the circuit that supplies the basement lighting. A nice non-GFCI protected circuit that is supposed to be for...you know...LIGHTS.

Yay for code violations.
 
Leiawen said:
Yeah, I have to pick up a new multimeter tomorrow so I'm gonna have a fun Sunday.

My outlet tester just revealed that two of the twelve outlets in the basement are still energized, even when the breaker for that circuit is off. A little tracing and a flashlight revealed that the asstard that finished the basement before I bought this place ran these outlets off the circuit that supplies the basement lighting. A nice non-GFCI protected circuit that is supposed to be for...you know...LIGHTS.

Yay for code violations.
Click to expand...

You might want to check, but I believe there's a limit to the number of outlets you can have on a circuit, depends on the breaker and the size of romex you use.
 
Leiawen said:
Yeah, I have to pick up a new multimeter tomorrow so I'm gonna have a fun Sunday.

My outlet tester just revealed that two of the twelve outlets in the basement are still energized, even when the breaker for that circuit is off. A little tracing and a flashlight revealed that the asstard that finished the basement before I bought this place ran these outlets off the circuit that supplies the basement lighting. A nice non-GFCI protected circuit that is supposed to be for...you know...LIGHTS.

Yay for code violations.
Click to expand...

Grounds are through the plumbing.
I'd bet that is where the fault lies...get it? fault?
 
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