I have installed a sub panel for a hot tub with a 50 Amp GFCI. The GFCI trips right away. I have removed all the load side wires and it still trips. To review how I have things hooked up after a bit of troubleshooting: The line side hots are attached to the sub panel terminals. The line neutral is tied to the neutral bar. The GFCI load neutral line is tied to the neutral bar. When the GFCI is snapped into place and the breaker set, it's trips right away. No wires are attached to the load side at all. So why does it trip?
50 Amp GFCI tripping
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
Joined
·
47 Posts
The load neutral should be attached to the GFCI.
Joined
·
17,249 Posts
Yup - Keith has it, the way you have it wired will cause it to trip
Not the best analogy. There will be three wires going to the breaker instead of two. Only the ground wire from the spa will be going to the ground bar in the sub panel.Just think of it as a 2 pole 50 same setup neutral from spa goes on breaker and white pigtail wire on breaker goes to neutral bar![]()
Joined
·
630 Posts
Joined
·
1,013 Posts
This is incorrect, the LOAD neutral should not connect to the neutral bus bar! Only the white wire attached to the GFCI should be connected to the neutral bus bar (the factory installed wire). According to the above quote, you have a short white wire attached to the LOAD Neutral and also attached to the panel neutral bus.
Ok, I think a couple things are getting confused here.........let me try again. This is what is hooked up and where:
From the main panel in the house: I have the black and red wires (Hot Lines) attached to the line terminals on the sub box. The white wire from the main panel is attached to the neutral bar in the sub box.
The white wire, that is part of the GFCI, is attached to the neutral bar in the sub box.
No wires from the hot tub (Load lines) are attached at all to the GFCI.
I clip the GFCI into the sub box and put the lever to the "on" position and it trips right away.
Basically use the picture that 300zx posted and take the three load lines out of the picture. This is what has me confused. I have nothing attached TO the GFCI and it trips.
From the main panel in the house: I have the black and red wires (Hot Lines) attached to the line terminals on the sub box. The white wire from the main panel is attached to the neutral bar in the sub box.
The white wire, that is part of the GFCI, is attached to the neutral bar in the sub box.
No wires from the hot tub (Load lines) are attached at all to the GFCI.
I clip the GFCI into the sub box and put the lever to the "on" position and it trips right away.
Basically use the picture that 300zx posted and take the three load lines out of the picture. This is what has me confused. I have nothing attached TO the GFCI and it trips.
Joined
·
17,249 Posts
OK, is the ground bus & the neutral bus separate in the sub panel?
Is the neutral bus isolated from the steel case?
Is the neutral bus isolated from the steel case?
300zx......hooking the ground wire to an isolated bar is going to help what? I'm missing something here.
Is the ground and the neutral supposed to be hooked together at the house box? Are they supposed to be separate from the other neutral and grounds in there?
Is the ground and the neutral supposed to be hooked together at the house box? Are they supposed to be separate from the other neutral and grounds in there?
Joined
·
5,990 Posts
You could run just hot and neutral jumper wires to the line side of the unmounted GFCI, with nothing on the load side. If it trips it almost certainly is bad.
Then add the ground wire and see what happens.
If it works so far add wiring to the load side.
If it still works add the load.
Divide and conquer.
Then add the ground wire and see what happens.
If it works so far add wiring to the load side.
If it still works add the load.
Divide and conquer.
jerryh3, that is the conclusion I came to but thought I'd better check and see if I did something stupid here. I plan on exchanging the GFCI on my way home today. If that doesn't work, I'll certainly take pictured and palsture them up to get experts input.
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
