GFCI no more then 4 wires

bryan1282 · 03-22-2011, 10:38 AM

i was reading the instructions for a gfci and noticed something i never saw before, it says that you cant put the gfci in a box with more then 4 wires excluding ground. but ive seen many many homes new and old that have a gfci with 2 to 4 switches in 1 box with the gfci. so if there is 4 switches in a box there is at least 8 wires not counting the gfci.
so my question is, is the 4 wire rule NOT counting the gfci wires? so i can wire a light switch and gfci in 1 box?
is there another way around this, a bigger box perhaps?
what is the deal with this?

Jim Port · 03-22-2011, 10:42 AM

I think this is referring to the fact that there are only spaces for 2 wires to be terminated to the device on each of the 4 terminals. More than that would require the use of pigtails.

bryan1282 · 03-22-2011, 12:10 PM

this is what it says: Do not install the GFCI receptacle in an
electrical box containing (a) more than
4 wires (not including the ground wires)
or (b) cables with more than two wires
(not including the ground wire). Contact
a qualified electrician if either (a) or
(b) is true.
but from the diagram i guess this means a single box cant have more then 4 wires. if i have a 2 gang box then i guess it doesnt apply. ive put a gfci and a switch in a 2 gang box and ive seen it before. its not unusual right? just didnt make sense at first.

jerseystyle26 · 03-22-2011, 03:15 PM

Ive had a gfci in a 4gang box, theres no rule against it unless you go over box fill. Theres 4 screws not including ground. Two screws for line wires and two for load wires, each screw has two holes for wires. I will pigtail if I have three sets of load wires, I never have more than one line wire.