[Shop-talk] GFCI tripping

[Mullen, Tim]

Karl Vacek [mailto:kvacek at ameritech.net] wrote:
>
> OK - nobody jumped on this one yet...
>
> Why do you have GFCI's in your hose ??
>
>> I have three GFCIs in my hose right now.
>> Tim Mullen

Damn spell checker...   :)

I replaced one of the GFCIs Sunday.  It was the one outside the house in
a sealed water proof box with a cover that closes down over it to keep
water out.  Bottom line, is that there was absolutely no signs of water
damage to the outlet.

After I replaced it, I figured, "What the heck? What's inside it?".
So...   I unscrewed the screws and proceeded to take it apart to see
what was inside (destroying it in the process).  What I found was the
underside of a printed circuit board and some contacts.  Farther
dismantling, showed that the components on the top side were pretty much
"gone" - everything was black and crumbly.  Something had caused some
nice arcing inside that outlet (and it wasn't water).  The outlet still
flowed electricity, it just didn't interrupt.  Not exactly a good
feeling.

I'm going to be plugging in my tester and pressing the button a bit more
frequently from now on...

Tim Mullen