GFCI Outlet

[Mide]

So I noticed today that all 3 of my bathroom GFCI power outlets aren't working but all outside ones, garage, and kitchen ones are A-OK. I already went out to the breaker box and reset everything...none of them were tripped. Anything else I can try before calling out an electrician?

 

[waffleironhead]

No resets on the outlets themselves?

 

[Mide]

No resets on the outlets themselves?

Oh sorry, didn't clarify. Yes there is a reset and test button. On the outlets that don't work test button does nothing and the reset button does not light up or "click" back into place.

I tested out all of the other GFCI outlets and they all behave properly. Push the test button, the reset button clicks out then it glows red, then I can push the reset button back in and it'll click.

 

[fstime]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-...ster-1-clam-5-clams-master-GFI-3501/202867890

These are pretty handy for testing GFCI outlets or testing out newly wired outlets or checking for bad grounds.

You plug it into your GFCI, push the button, and it should trip the GFCI if its working properly.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sounds like you lost power to those outlets, as opposed to the outlets being tripped themselves. I'd open it up just to confirm that you're getting power to them. If not then you'd have to find where power is lost. Maybe you have multiple GFCIs that are daisy chained. (not suppose to do that but never know). Could be a loose wire somewhere too, hopefully you don't have any hidden junction boxes anywhere.

 

[waffleironhead]

Sounds like there is no power on that circuit at all. If you could pull the cover plate and test the wires with a multimeter, that would show if the circuit is live.

 

[Mide]

Yeah I'll multimeter it...what a hassle.

 

[Imp]

Do you use a regular circuit breaker on that circuit or is it one of those arc interrupters?

 

[Mide]

Do you use a regular circuit breaker on that circuit or is it one of those arc interrupters?

Actually I looked at the breaker box and then googled what an arc interrupter is and I have 2 that look different in that there is a test button and stuff and it is labeled as "bathrooms 1 and 2" so you may be on to something. I messed with the whole test, off, on etc but still no beans. Is an arc interrupter bad?

 

[Imp]

I'm not an electrician and know very little about electricity...

But the place I live had what we initially thought was a bad arc fault interrupter thing at the box for a while. Not sure how they're set up. From what I was told from equally clueless people, the interrupter was hooked up to a bad "regular" breaker. We blew like $80 on a new interrupter but the fix was a much cheaper replacement traditional breaker.

Talk to an electrician.

 

[John Connor]

I would try that GFCI tester. Could be a bad ground.

 

[TheSiege]

I am an electrician. GFCI outlets shouldn't be fed from a GFCI circuit breaker or an arc fault circuit breaker (AFCI). Thats not saying they aren't. AFCIs feeding GFCIs is becoming more common though, although not required. Additionally, if you have multiple GFCIs in one bathroom, traditionally they would be on different circuits. Most electricians would put in 1 GFCI and daisy chain the remaining outlets in that room off of it. They will still have the GFCI protection and be more cost effective. There is no need to have multiple GFCIs in one room unless there is more than one circuit feeding the outlets

 

[Mide]

I am an electrician. GFCI outlets shouldn't be fed from a GFCI circuit breaker or an arc fault circuit breaker (AFCI). Thats not saying they aren't. AFCIs feeding GFCIs is becoming more common though, although not required. Additionally, if you have multiple GFCIs in one bathroom, traditionally they would be on different circuits. Most electricians would put in 1 GFCI and daisy chain the remaining outlets in that room off of it. They will still have the GFCI protection and be more cost effective. There is no need to have multiple GFCIs in one room unless there is more than one circuit feeding the outlets

Greetings. Yeah it's night time so I wasn't able to see clearly. There is one circuit breaker that is marked "Bathroom GFI". It is in the "on position". Resetting it does not assist but yeah all 3 bathroom receptacles do not work. I will probably buy that HD tool that was mentioned before but what would be your feel as to what may be the problem?

 

[TheSiege]

That tool is useless if there is no power to the outlet. I know it sounds dumb, but check every GFCI in your house, its possible some shitty electrician daisy chained them from another room or a GFCI that you arent aware of.

 

[Mide]

Yeah I know that's what I was running around all evening trying

1 plug front yard (working)
1 plug garage (working)
1 plug back patio (working)
2 plugs kitchen (working)
3 plugs per bathroom (not working)

I even went up to the attic to see if that plug was a GFCI one, but it was a regular outlet. I'll keep looking.

 

[who?]

Maybe a mouse chewed through the wires.
Maybe this is an extreme form of suicide prevention.
Maybe some meth head was worried about a spark or worried that somebody would plug something in and throw it in the tub.
This thread belongs in home and garden.

 

[who?]

How long have you lived in this place?

 

[pcgeek11]

I had a similar issue with a friends house Bathrooms had no power to the recepticles, but all else was good. Eventually found a GFCI recepticle feeding the bathroom that was tripped and had been wallpapered over. He didn't even know it was there.

 

[NoTine42]

I have had a GFCI outlet go bad and had to replace it. If you have a multi-meter you might be able to check for power at the outlets screw terminals by just removing the faceplates. (But if the wires are back-inserted the outlet would have to be removed)

 

[Zorba]

That tool is useless if there is no power to the outlet. I know it sounds dumb, but check every GFCI in your house, its possible some shitty electrician daisy chained them from another room or a GFCI that you arent aware of.

I've had this happen to me on outdoor outlets a few houses ago. Very annoying.

OP: If you have a jetted bath tub, it should be a GFI as well, typically its own circuit. It is possible that it is on the same circuit as the other plugs and the GFI is hidden somewhere, either near the pump, or just a blank GFI stuck in an odd place like a closet.

I've also had a string of daisy chained outlets die because the electrician pushed all the wires into the back of the outlets and one came loose. Very easy fix, once I found the issue.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Back stabbed outlets are the worse. They're known to get loose over time. Worth checking. Also check non GFCI outlets around that general area as that one might be fed off say, the one on the wall opposite to the bathroom, and it's loose in there. This sounds like a loose wire issue somewhere, more than a GFCI issue.

 

[Mide]

It's a townhouse that was built in 2008 so not that old. I've lived here since the building date and it's the first time I've experienced this problem. I'll try out the multimeter idea this weekend.

I have scoured the whole house and can't find any more "hidden" outlets that could've tripped but yeah I've verified that all other outlets and lights work besides the 3 bathroom ones specified.

Thanks for the suggestions all.

 

[Zorba]

It's a townhouse that was built in 2008 so not that old. I've lived here since the building date and it's the first time I've experienced this problem. I'll try out the multimeter idea this weekend.

I have scoured the whole house and can't find any more "hidden" outlets that could've tripped but yeah I've verified that all other outlets and lights work besides the 3 bathroom ones specified.

Thanks for the suggestions all.

FYI: The house I had where the back stabbed wire that came loose was only 4 years old at the time. I have no idea why code still allows houses to be wired that way. But tons of houses are built with pushed in wires because it is quicker.

 

[Mide]

So I finally got around to taking apart all 3 GFCI outlets and did multimeter tests.

2 of the outlets are "down the chain" and all mutimeter tests show that it is getting no power from any of the lines. So let's concentrate on the first outlet that has a live wire.

Within the first outlet there are 2 neutrals (white) cables and 2 lines (black) cables.
If I touch the multimeter to the live line wire (black) and then to the ground, it shows 120V. BUT when I touch that same live wire to either of the 2 neutral (white) cables, it shows zero.

I also went down to the circuit breaker to make sure that worked and it does I think. If I touch the appropriate breaker and the neutral bar, it shows up as 120V. If I turn off the breaker and run the same test it shows up as 0. Thus from what I read the breaker itself is OK.

I think at this point I need an electrician, correct? Because if I take away all other variables (multiple GFCI outlets) and concentrate on the first one that gets power and it doesn't show 120V when connected from the line to a neutral, then something is fishy and over my head.

Any electricians in the house who can verify?

 

[Greenman]

So I finally got around to taking apart all 3 GFCI outlets and did multimeter tests.

2 of the outlets are "down the chain" and all mutimeter tests show that it is getting no power from any of the lines. So let's concentrate on the first outlet that has a live wire.

Within the first outlet there are 2 neutrals (white) cables and 2 lines (black) cables.
If I touch the multimeter to the live line wire (black) and then to the ground, it shows 120V. BUT when I touch that same live wire to either of the 2 neutral (white) cables, it shows zero.

I also went down to the circuit breaker to make sure that worked and it does I think. If I touch the appropriate breaker and the neutral bar, it shows up as 120V. If I turn off the breaker and run the same test it shows up as 0. Thus from what I read the breaker itself is OK.

I think at this point I need an electrician, correct? Because if I take away all other variables (multiple GFCI outlets) and concentrate on the first one that gets power and it doesn't show 120V when connected from the line to a neutral, then something is fishy and over my head.

Any electricians in the house who can verify?

So you have power to the GFI but no neutral. Now you need to figure out where the neutral came lose. It should be a dedicated circuit, and if it is the lose neutral should be in the sub panel.