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Electrical Wiring

Locating a controlling GFCI receptacle

17 years ago

Are there any nifty tricks for tracking down the GFCI receptacle that protects a particular regular (non-GFCI) receptacle?

The back story:

During heavy rain this Christmas, some outdoor decorations plugged into our front porch outlet seem to have shorted. There is now no power to this outlet. At the same time, the outlets in an upstairs bathroom stopped working. My assumption has been that all of these outlets are on the same GFCI-protected circuit. The problem is that, despite trying to check every outlet in the house, I have been unable to find a tripped GFCI receptacle. (The panel does not have any GFCI breakers. Flipping all the breakers had no effect.)

I have found three GFCI receptacles, and all are untripped and test as fine (in the garage, protecting garage outlets; in the kitchen, protecting countertop outlets and a back patio outlet; in the master bath, protecting master bath and downstairs bath outlets).

Are there any pro tricks for narrowing down where the mystery GFCI outlet might be? I'm so tired of walking every wall in this house and asking extended family to join the search. :-)

Thanks,

Ross

Comments (4)

normel
17 years ago
If these are retrofit GFCIs, you may find them anywhere. Look in closets, behind furniture, at non standard heights (have found some 6ft high on the wall).
It may also not be a GFCI problem. Pushin connections on older receptacles have a habit of failing. Check all the receptacles on that circuit, including those that still work, for lose wiring.
itsunclebill
17 years ago
It seems to be a common practice for there to be a GFCI receptacle near the furnace or in a utility room in the basement that protects outside receptacles. This is where I've found about 75% of the GFCIs I've gone hunting for.
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Only unfinished basement receptacles need GFCI. If you are finishing off your workshop they are not strictly required. Here is the definition of basement: (10) "Basement" means that portion of a building that is partly or completely below grade plane. A basement shall be considered as a story above grade plane and not a basement where the finished surface of the floor above the basement is: (a) More than 1829 mm (six feet) above grade plane; (b) More than 1829 mm (six feet) above the finished ground level for more than 50% of the total building perimeter; or (c) More than 3658 mm (twelve feet) above the finished ground level at any point. Also see "mezzanine" and "story."
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I appreciate all the suggestions and information and will pass them along to my friend who is currently without internet access. The permit inspector came out for a field check and gave him several different options but would not say which is better, just what would be acceptable, so we're just doing some resarch. bigbird: Good tip on keeping the fridge etc. off of the GFCI. Nothing like waking up to melting ice cream and warm milk. billhart: interesting information. The AFCI breakers will only go on the bedroom circuits as per code requirement here. homeinspector: not sure if I'm understanding you correctly but this will be an interior application. Not sure if the GFCI breaker would still be more sensitive here and make a GFCI receptacle unnecessary. peter racer: sorry for not being clearer. The GFCIs and AFCIs are separate breakers, not the combos. This is an old house with Siemens breakers.
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Thanks guys. The system consists of autonomous switch replacements throughout the house which 'listen' for pulses sent along the neutral line. Technology is called UPB and is very common in home automation. Effectively this would be like installing a nightlight replacement in the outlet or something like that. Very low power draw device that does not control any load. Admitted I don't understand the inner workings of the GFCI system. Home is 3 years old and there are probably 12 GFI outlets throughout the kitchen and island area. I just wanted to pull power from one of them, hoping to simply 'jump' or connect the gfci from this outlet as if it were never there. I appreciate the advice and warnings though. I certainly have no desire to make the home unsafe.
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and found that it is acceptable to put a 15 amp receptacle on a 20 amp non dedicated circuit. I also checked several existing duplex receptacles on other 20 amp circuits and they are all 15 amps. So now my question is, should I change the gftr to a 20 amp leaving the others at 15 amps or continue to try to connect the ground (#12) to the 15 amp gftr? Lutron tech support recommended 20 amp duplex receptacles if protected by a 20 amp breaker. They also said the ground screw on the 20 amp gftr will back out more allowing connection of the #12. They must very tight specs on the construction of the 15 and 20 amp gftrs.
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tom_o
17 years ago
Another place to look is a crawl space under the house, especially if there are water pipes wrapped with heat tape.
texasredhead
17 years ago
Have you pushed the resets on the GFCIs you can find. No GFCI should ever be placed where it cannot be easily found. It seems that as I read through these posts that GFCIs present many problems especially when they are improperly installed or used for that matter. It is also possible the outside receptacle is fried.

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