Electrician's Help Needed...GFCI ProtectedOutlets

furrycnorm

Well-Known Member
So I have my new grow room up and running and the past few days have been having problems. When my lights and equipment turn on for lights on it instantly trips a GFCI outlet that is not being used at the beginning of the run of outlets. I have 8 outlets in the room and 2 gfci's on the same run/breaker. I have 3 fans, 2 fluerescent fixtures, co2 controller and burner, timer with trigger cable to run 4k ballasts (ballasts on on a 4k light controller from cap and on a different 30 akp breaker.) The breaker for all the outlets is 20amps. If I have the fluerescents and one fan disconnected from the outlets everything powers on fine and when the lights are up and running I can then plug in the fluerescents and everything is golden it just trips the gfci on startup. Am I overloading the circuit? I thought the breaker itself would trip if that were the case, any ideas? It was all working ine before and I haven't really changed anything that I can think o. Any help would be appreciated.
 
You are not overloading the circuit...
You have a "Ground Fault"...
Prob one of your motor/fans has a problem and the interupt blows...
Maybe a fan pluged in with the hot/nutral crossed...
Could be a lamp ballast, could be a pinched fixture wire...
It's all a guess...
Could be a Bad GFI... If you spill water, and step in it with bear feet, the GFI will blow, without you getting a shock... if you are holding a 'Hot' source of electric...
Good Luck...
what does the GFI control? the one blowing...
 
The receptacles downstream from the GFCI receptacle are most definitely supplied from the load side terminals of the GFCI. Turn off the breaker supplying the GFCI receptacle and disconnect the black and white wire (in that order) that is connected to the load hot and neutral screws of the GFCI that keeps tripping and re-connect those wires to the hot and neutral that supplies the line side of the GFCI. This will remove the other receptacles from GFCI protection which is not necessary for permanently installed cord and plug connected equipment (whether or not water is involved). The GFCI is not faulty. It is doing its job.
 
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