Why would a GFCI breaker trip with no load on it?

A Loose Wire in an Outlet
This wiring problem can be maddening. In short, one of your outlets has a loose wire that is causing your breaker to trip and will continue to do so until it’s replaced. This is a somewhat common problem if you have an outlet with a GFCI (Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter).

Will a GFCI outlet trip a GFCI breaker?





They’ll both trip
Both GFCIs will see the ground fault and react the same way to it, snapping off at the same time. When you go to reset the receptacle, it will be dead. You will need to go down to the basement to reset the GFCI breaker, and then, the GFCI outlet will have a chance of being reset.

Why does my breaker keep tripping with nothing plugged in?

Why is a breaker tripping with nothing plugged in? If your circuit breaker is tripping without anything plugged in, it’s probably due to something actually being plugged in (that you don’t know about), a damaged wire (causing a short circuit), or a ground fault.

What causes a GFCI breaker to trip?

If the GFCI detects a ground fault leakage of 5mA it will trip. This leakage is caused by a hot wire touching the ground somewhere on the electrical line such as an appliance or even the outlet itself. This can be caused by water, wires touching, dust or debris, etc.

Will a breaker trip with no ground?

In the absence of the ground wire, shock hazard conditions will often not cause the breaker to trip unless the circuit has a ground fault interrupter in it.

How do I know if my GFCI breaker is bad?





Use your voltage tester to see if there’s an occurring current on the outlet you are testing. If the tester lights up, this indicates that the outlet has a flowing current, but if you reset it and it doesn’t trip (the tester stays on), this means you have a bad outlet.

How do you fix a GFCI breaker that keeps tripping?

3. Overloaded Circuit

  1. Unplug all the appliances connected to the circuit in question.
  2. Reset the circuit on your fuse box.
  3. Wait several minutes.
  4. Plug an appliance back in and turn it on.
  5. Check to see that your circuit has not tripped.
  6. Plug in the next appliance, turn it on, check the breaker, and so on.

How do I stop my GFCI tripping?

What to do:

  1. Unplug all appliances on that outlet’s circuit.
  2. Push the reset button.
  3. Plug in one appliance at a time until the GFCI trips. …
  4. Unplug appliances that were on before the GFCI tripped and see if the last appliance that you plugged in still trips the GFCI. …
  5. Replace or repair the appliance that tripped the outlet.