Electrical – Why won’t the GFCI-protected devices in the kitchen work even though they seem to have power

electricalgfcikitchens

I have a GFCI receptacle that will not reset, and all of the switches — which are to my garbage disposal, dishwasher, and over-sink light — will not work. I checked it with a voltage detector after shutting the power off and I still had live wires. How do I get this resolved?

Best Answer

Is this a new outlet where there was not a GFCI before?

Was the unit working before and suddenly stopped working?

There seem to be too many downstream devices on the load side of the GFCI. I would have expected this list of devices to be on at least 3 circuits. That may explain why there still live circuits after shutoff to the GFCI.

In general, GFCIs won't reset when

  • They are wired incorrectly (power to load terminals)
  • The load side is ground faulted (current leaving the hot side does not fully return on the neutral)
  • The GFCI is faulty

To isolate the GFCI from any downstream problems, disconnect the load terminals and see if it will reset.