Home repair: GFCI yellow light on (even after replacement)

[11thHour]

After 8 years, a gfci outlet in the kitchen of an 8-year-old house appeared to go out, with the yellow light turning on and staying on. So I replaced the outlet with a new gfci outlet and used the exact same wiring positions in the new one as the old one. After turning the power back on, it's yellow light is again immediately on.

What could be going on, and what's the proper way to troubleshoot and fix this?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Did you test your ground? That's the only thing I can think about, it might be a ground fault indicator.

A good way to test is take a multi meter and go from hot (the smaller blade hole) to the ground (the big D one) and you should get a reading of 120. You can also take a light with two wires and put the wires from ground to hot, if the GFCI works correctly it will trip.

 

[11thHour]

Did you test your ground? That's the only thing I can think about, it might be a ground fault indicator.

A good way to test is take a multi meter and go from hot (the smaller blade hole) to the ground (the big D one) and you should get a reading of 120. You can also take a light with two wires and put the wires from ground to hot, if the GFCI works correctly it will trip.

I haven't tried testing the ground, so I'll do that.

 

[gorcorps]

They sell cheap circuit testers that will help lead you to the problem, and even give you a safe way to test without sticking wires into an outlet. Every homeowner should have one.

Amprobe ST-102B Socket Tester with GFCI https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008E07HM2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_aY9ZwbRHM690A

 

[gorcorps]

And this is a stupid question, but you didn't mention it so I'll ask anyway... did you reset the new GFCI after installation?

 

[who?]

Mice may be chewing on your wiring. I hope that they don't start a fire.

 

[amicold]

I'm thinking along the lines who? is...if two different GFCIs indicate there's a ground fault then there probably is. The wiring is probably exposed somewhere.

 

[shortylickens]

I never seen one with a yellow light. Only green and red.

Oh, and I bought myself a nice little home tester kit last summer. Its helped me out a LOT.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AGVS8Q

In the Navy we used to call it a Fox & Hound. Good equipment to have.

 

[pcgeek11]

You have a problem with that wiring or something downstream of that outlet.

 

[skull]

You say you hooked them up how they were? Did you pay attention to line and load? They might be in the opposites places on the new gfci. Line to load always burns up gfcis so you'd need a new one.

 

[Micrornd]

I've had "Philips" brand GFCI outlets that had a yellow light that was "on", when the circuit was good and the light went out, when there was a fault.

Very confusing, unless you were aware of it.

 

[11thHour]

They sell cheap circuit testers that will help lead you to the problem, and even give you a safe way to test without sticking wires into an outlet. Every homeowner should have one.

Amprobe ST-102B Socket Tester with GFCI https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008E07HM2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_aY9ZwbRHM690A

Nice. HD has one for $5.99 as well. I'm going to pick one up.

And this is a stupid question, but you didn't mention it so I'll ask anyway... did you reset the new GFCI after installation?

Yes...like pressing an elevator button to make it go faster.

 

[11thHour]

I'm thinking along the lines who? is...if two different GFCIs indicate there's a ground fault then there probably is. The wiring is probably exposed somewhere.

I'd rather get the right gfci outlet that will tell me what I want it to say, ie that it doesn't require repair.

 

[11thHour]

You say you hooked them up how they were? Did you pay attention to line and load? They might be in the opposites places on the new gfci. Line to load always burns up gfcis so you'd need a new one.

Honestly, I didn't. It was exactly the same, size, visual, composite, etc. as what I removed, so I figured go for it. Actual component guts are secondary.

 

[stormkroe]

You say you hooked them up how they were? Did you pay attention to line and load? They might be in the opposites places on the new gfci. Line to load always burns up gfcis so you'd need a new one.

This is 150% the problem. Also, make sure the white and black are paired properly.
Edit I've never had one damaged by being reversed, just try reversing it and it should be fine.

 

[natto fire]

You have a problem with that wiring or something downstream of that outlet.

This is where I would look. A GFCI can function entirely without a "ground". The lay person usually thinks of "ground" being the equipment grounding conductor (green wire). There are actually two "grounds" in modern wiring, although one of them is allowed to be a current carrying conductor and the other is not supposed to be. Your grounded neutral conductor could be touching an equipment grounding conductor somewhere downstream that would trip out a GFCI or AFCI. Somewhere, there is a fault that is allowing power to flow from the line side of your GFCI to somewhere other than the neutral of that same GFCI, and it is causing it to trip.

Not implying you are the lay person in this thread pcgeek11, as I know for a fact it is the contrary.

Basically, OP, the GFCI is doing what it is designed to do, and you either need to figure out what is tripping it, or hire someone that can fix it. Pests chewing on wires is a very unlikely possibility, but they will definitely not start a fire as the GFCI is cutting the circuit out like it is designed to do.

 

[waffleironhead]

Maybe it is supposed to glow yellow when everything is ok. Some of mine do. Some glow yellow or green when ok.

 

[11thHour]

You have a problem with that wiring or something downstream of that outlet.

This turns out to be correct. This tripped gfci outlet is on the right side of the kitchen sink, and there is a problem between it and the outlet on the left of the sink that it feeds.

Whenever I plug something into the left side of the sink (which oddly has no gfci), it trips the right side gfci it's fed from. The left side also feeds somewhere, but I disconnected this load connection, and that didn't solve it.

So it is an issue with the load connection starting on the right side to the outlet on the left side (or this left side outlet itself.) Do standard outlets go bad?

 

[11thHour]

After replacing the outlet fed from the gfci, same problem. It looks like the gfci feeds a couple targets, so I'll isolate the two and test each one of them. This isn't turning out to be quick.

 

[pcgeek11]

Whenever I plug something into the left side of the sink (which oddly has no gfci), it trips the right side gfci it's fed from. The left side also feeds somewhere, but I disconnected this load connection, and that didn't solve it.

So it is an issue with the load connection starting on the right side to the outlet on the left side (or this left side outlet itself.) Do standard outlets go bad?

The outlet on the left side doesn't need to be a GFCI as all loads off of a GFCI outlet are protected by the GFCI in the first outlet.

It could also be a wiring issue ( short circuit ) between the right and left...

 

[11thHour]

What would cause an outlet, directly downstream from a gfci outlet, to test correct but trip the gfci when under even a light load?

The problem outlet's downstream load wires have been disconnected, and I've even replaced this outlet, and it tests correctly with a non-gfci outlet tester. However plugging in and turning something on that draws very minimal amperage trips the gfci that it draws from.