Hi, was hoping someone would know what is going on here...
I wanted to replace my outside light with a new motion light.
My current setup is as follows. The light is on a switch which is coming from a GFCI located next to my breaker box. The line from the breaker goes to the GFCI which then has a run to the sump pump and basement lights, a run to an outlet in my living room and one outside on my deck and a run to the smoke alarm in my hallway...besides the switch for the outside light. The old light was a halogen flood, the new motion light is a dual flood but I am using 2 23w CF's.
I decided to add the light because I needed to take the switch out of the box to pull for my living room recessed lights (totally different project which looks awesome by the way). So to add the dimmer in that location I put in a bigger box and wired the switch back up, this was when i still had the old light in place and everything worked fine.
I removed the old light today and added the motion light, restored power and turning on the switch instantly trips the gfci. I double checked all the connections and the same thing happens. Thinking that perhaps there was a knick in the old wire or the old cramped small box was an issue I removed everything. I got a larger outside box and ran a new 3ft section of 12/2 from the light to the switch. Connections at the switch are blacks to the switch, whites spliced and grounds spliced with a pigtail to the ground on the switch, even tried switching the blacks from top to bottom can vice versa. Connections are the motion light are white to white, black to black and grounds spliced and pigtailed to the metal box.
All connections have now been tripple checked and are good. I removed the bulbs from the motion light and it still trips the gfci when I turn the switch on.
So, what am I missing, this is driving me crazy. The only things that were touched were the wall switch and the outside light, so i am inclined to think that the gfci is wired correctly (I had my central AC replaced 2 months prior and they tested the gfci on the outside outlets which are on this circuit and it was fine) also, the gfci is obviously working.
Well, thanks for the help, going to go recheck the wiring again while waiting for any ideas.
I wanted to replace my outside light with a new motion light.
My current setup is as follows. The light is on a switch which is coming from a GFCI located next to my breaker box. The line from the breaker goes to the GFCI which then has a run to the sump pump and basement lights, a run to an outlet in my living room and one outside on my deck and a run to the smoke alarm in my hallway...besides the switch for the outside light. The old light was a halogen flood, the new motion light is a dual flood but I am using 2 23w CF's.
I decided to add the light because I needed to take the switch out of the box to pull for my living room recessed lights (totally different project which looks awesome by the way). So to add the dimmer in that location I put in a bigger box and wired the switch back up, this was when i still had the old light in place and everything worked fine.
I removed the old light today and added the motion light, restored power and turning on the switch instantly trips the gfci. I double checked all the connections and the same thing happens. Thinking that perhaps there was a knick in the old wire or the old cramped small box was an issue I removed everything. I got a larger outside box and ran a new 3ft section of 12/2 from the light to the switch. Connections at the switch are blacks to the switch, whites spliced and grounds spliced with a pigtail to the ground on the switch, even tried switching the blacks from top to bottom can vice versa. Connections are the motion light are white to white, black to black and grounds spliced and pigtailed to the metal box.
All connections have now been tripple checked and are good. I removed the bulbs from the motion light and it still trips the gfci when I turn the switch on.
So, what am I missing, this is driving me crazy. The only things that were touched were the wall switch and the outside light, so i am inclined to think that the gfci is wired correctly (I had my central AC replaced 2 months prior and they tested the gfci on the outside outlets which are on this circuit and it was fine) also, the gfci is obviously working.
Well, thanks for the help, going to go recheck the wiring again while waiting for any ideas.