I have a Ground Fault outlet in my bathroom and I replaced it thinking it was bad. The new will not reset unless I disconnect the load line. Can I safely use the outlet without hooking the load wires to the outlet? I know my outlets outside will not work as they are connected to the Ground Fault outlet.
Electrical – GFI safety on electrical outlet
electrical
Related Solutions
Based on your description, you cannot do what you want unless you run additional conductors.
It sounds like all you have in the box is a switch loop. Meaning you have a wire coming "from" the fan, and a wire returning "to" the fan. The wire "from" the fan will be electrified, while the other wire will only be electrified when it's connected to the electrified wire through the switch.
In a setup like this there's no neutral in the box, so you can't install a receptacle. If you replaced the cable between the fan and the switch, you could use a cable with an extra wire. That would allow you to included the required neutral.
I would replace the GFCI outlet with a new one. The breakers do go bad and would be more of a pain to reset. I have seen gfci's that tripped every time the power cycled replaced and the problem was gone. If you want one that might last a bit longer get a weather resistant one. The electronics are coated so moisture won't affect the circuitry.
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Best Answer
Yes, it is safe. NO, it is not what you should do.
The proper fix for this is to find out why the GFI is tripping. It is doing it's job and you need to find out why.