I have an older home without GFCI outlets in the bathrooms. The electrical boxes are too small to fit a GFCI outlet. I was hoping to change the breaker in the electrical panel to a GFCI breaker but when I do it keeps tripping. My tester indicates that all of the outlets are properly grounded and the regular breaker never tripped. Could the surge protector on my computer be causing this problem or what else should I investigate without hiring an electrician to start tearing apart my wiring?
New GFCI breaker keeps tripping
gfci
Related Solutions
Some surge protectors work by "redirecting" surges to the equipment ground, which is pretty much the definition of a ground fault. In this case, it's definitely possible that surge suppressors could be tripping GFCI receptacles/breakers (given a large enough surge).
As for the AFCIs... When electrical contacts separate, they often create an arc between the contacts. This arc spans the gap until the contacts are too far apart, and the arc can no longer be sustained. It's possible (in theory) that the GFCI tripping could create a large enough arc, for long enough to cause the AFCI to trip. It's not likely that a properly functioning GFCI would do this, but if the GFCI was old and worn it could be opening the contacts slow enough that a detectable arc is being produced.
Determining if the GFCI tripping is causing the AFCI to trip, is a simple test. Simply press the test button on the GFCI. If the AFCI trips, you'll have figured out half the problem. If the ACFI does not trip, you could repeat the test using a receptacle tester with a GFCI test function.
If it's determined that the GFCI is causing the AFCI breaker to trip, replacing the GFCI receptacle may resolve that part of the issue.
Figuring out if the surge suppressor is tripping the GFCI, is a more difficult proposition. It will likely require you to monitor the supply voltage over some time, to identify and document possible surges.
Yes, it can be done. There is no problem having a GFI fed from another GFI. The only down side is troubleshooting. If something is causing a trip you have to isolate one first to see where the problem is.
My advice is to replace both receptacles with GFI and install a standard breaker. You get the same protection but more convenience. All for only a few dollars more.
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Best Answer
Mixed Up Neutrals
GFCI does not, despite the name, care about the ground wire. In fact, GFCI can be used in certain circumstances where there is no functioning ground wire in order to improve safety.
GFCI is all about making sure that the amount of current on the hot wire(s) + neutral matches. Anything that doesn't match is current leaking "to ground", which can be "through a person and deadly."
Regular circuit breakers do not do anything with neutral. They don't even check to see if there is way too much current on neutral, the way they do for the hot wires. There are all kinds of ways that neutral can be messed up that won't trip a regular circuit breaker but will trip a GFCI.
In addition, older houses often have a lot of stuff on a single circuit - e.g., lights, receptacles, fans, etc. for multiple rooms. Any problem in any part of the circuit can cause a GFCI trip.
Actually, there is one place where "ground" can mess up a GFCI: If a device uses ground instead of neutral (oops, no neutral here, ground "works" so I'll use that instead...) then GFCI is also guaranteed to trip.
The NEC currently requires bathroom receptacles to be on a bathroom-only circuit, but that has not always been the case, and people break the rule anyway. So this becomes a detective job: