I ran a new electrical line in my basement to include a GFI receptacle for a portable sump pump followed by a switch that controls four LED can lights. All parts are brand new.
I wanted to have the entire system GFI protected so placed the receptacle first in line. Per the instructions the wiring from the breaker was wired to the LINE side then wired from the LOAD side to send power to the switch then wired the can lights from there.
Doing this I couldn't get power to the switch. I then rewired the receptacle so both the line coming to it and the line going to the switch both were on the LINE side.
I now have power to the switch but without the GFI protection but when I plug in the pump I have to wiggle the plug to get it to work and once the pump shuts off it won't start again without giggling the cord again. I inserted receptacle reader and no matter how much I wiggle it none of the lights light which is suppose to indicate an 'Open Hot'. I've gone over all of the wiring multiple times and everything looks good. My question is, what does 'Open Hot' mean and what might I have done incorrectly? Could it be a bad GFI receptacle? At $25 a piece I hate to purchase a second one if it might be something different.
Best Answer
If you're getting power on the LINE side but not the LOAD side of the GFCI, there's a few possibilities.
Based in your description, it sounds like a defective device.