Why does my bedroom gfci keep tripping? It trips every weekday morning but not on the weekends. What gives?
Question:I just replaced the light fixture with a ceiling fan and I've double checked the wires and made sure their not touching anything. The gfci is on the circuit panel and it trips around 7AM every weekday, but not on the weekends. It trips even though the wall switch for the new fan is turned off. We have not altered our morning routines or done anything different. The house is 1.5 years old. Can the gfci become weak? Does the power company turn up the juice on weekday mornings? Can the new fan trip the circuit even when it's off. I'm stumped. Thanks
Answers:
Your bedroom circuit should not be on a GFI, only kitchen, bath, and outside circuits should have GFI. Bedroom circuits in newer homes have arc fault breakers. When something causes an electric spark whether in an outlet or other, it will trip. Check everything plugged in and make sure cords are not loose. P.S. They do go bad from time to time.
the gfi is connected to your outside outlets including the sprinkler system. this may be the source of your issue. this is common. please review the outlets or even unplug your sprinkler system then check the sprayer heads to ensure the system is not splashing onto an outlet. or just unplug the and leave the system off the night before and see if it still trips or kick it on manual to see if it trips the gfi. email if you have questions
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Ask yourself what happens every weekday around 7am.
Sprinkler?, Alarm Clock?, Is it when the garage door opens? Timer on heater/AC unit? Water pump? Could it be when someone is using the outlet in the restroom? Flourescent light?
Take a good look at the routines in your house on weekday mornings and you should get a clue.
If it is a GFCI branch breaker you can try and research a bit more about what else is connected on that branch.
I had a intermittant case where the wires on an old outlet located inside a closet would occasionally barely touch the metal box and trip. Only way I found it was by tracing the wires under the house.
Well first, you shouldn't have a gfci on the ceiling fan. Usually these circuits are only located on outlets around the bathrooms, kitchen, garage, and outdoor outlets where there is a chance you could drop and electrical device in water. This probably wouldn't happen with your ceiling fan.
And yes, an outlet could go bad (on resettable outlets) or even the circuit breaker if the breaker is the GF device.
Your bedroom don't have a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter). They are usually reserved for the kitchen, bathroom, garages and outside circuits. What you probably have is an AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interrrupter). They first appeared on the 2002 NEC to be connected to bedroom circuits, but not until Jan 2008. Some contractors thought is was a good idea to put in new houses and since your house is only 1 1/2 years old, that's probably what happened. Now, what does an AFCI does? They detect arcing problems and shut down the circuit before a fire could start. The problem is that they are not yet that reliable and almost any arcing, like disconnecting an appliance under load can set it up. But Why? you might ask. Consider that problems, like arcing and sparking are associated with more than 40K home fires each year and these fires claim over 350 lives and injures 1,400 victims annually. Most of the fires start in bedrooms. If your AFCI is faulty that might be your problem, but your builder might had left a condition on your wiring that the ACFI is detecting and you should call an electrician to find it. There is a way to see if you have an AFCI or GFCI. The AFCI button is green or white. The GFCI buttons are red or orange. And also the word AFCI is stampped on it.
Wouldn't happen to have a sprinkler system that comes on at 7am, M-F, would you?
I never heard of a gfci outlet in a bedroom. None the less, if this just started, what is new or different in this area? You have already checked the ceiling fan. Someone else asked about adjacent outside outlets. What about your alarm clock, what time does it ring in the morning? Maybe it has developed a fault? This outlet may provide power to adjacent rooms, check them as well.
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