[gatorjrc]

I have a gfci outlet in my garage that randomly trips, even with nothing plugged into any of the outlets it serves. I replaced the outlet and still have the same issue so that isn’t the culprit. I went around and checked all of the outlets and found in one of them a grounding prong that was broken off in the outlet. Could a broken off ground prong cause a gfci to randomly trip?

 

[CodeMatters]

No...

 

[Nealtw]

That won't be it. I would check all the outlet boxes for dead spiders or something.

 

[ZTMAN]

Check all the outles on that circuit. If there are outside outlets on the circuit, that could be your problem

 

[Wiredindallas]

Check all the outles on that circuit. If there are outside outlets on the circuit, that could be your problem

For sure moisture getting into outside receptacles is a common issue.

 

[gatorjrc]

Thanks everyone! Another thing I have noticed is that when I plug my garage fridge into the gfci it would immediately trip, but then I could reset it and it would run for a day or week before randomly tripping again (it trips regardless of whether anything is plugged in or not). I have several outside outlets downstream of the gfci and one in particular was more exposed than the others so I took it out to inspect and the outlet had quite a bit of corrosion. I disconnected that outlet, put nuts on the exposed wires and found that the gfci no longer trips when I plug the fridge into it. Does that make sense that a faulty outlet at the end of the line would cause the gfci to immediately trip when a fridge is plugged into it? That might have an obvious answer but I’m not very familiar with how these electrical components work. Any reason not to think removing that outlet from the circuit fixed my problem?

 

[surferdude2]

Does that make sense that a faulty outlet at the end of the line would cause the gfci to immediately trip when a fridge is plugged into it?

Yes, it makes sense if you consider how a GFCI works. It has a detection threshold at which it must remain below to keep from tripping. If there is a slight leakage somewhere on a protected circuit but less than the threshold value, it will make the GFCI much easier to trip for any other leakage. When a motor load starts (such as the refrigerator compressor) on the circuit, it throws a spike on the line due to the changing phase angle of the circuit voltage versus the current. That is enough to trip the GFCI if it's already compromised by a leakage at near trip value.

It's all Eli's fault. ELI the ICE man. If you don't know ELI, never mind, it's not necessary. I think your problem has been solved by your own actions. Kudos to you!

 

[gatorjrc]

Yes, it makes sense if you consider how a GFCI works. It has a detection threshold at which it must remain below to keep from tripping. If there is a slight leakage somewhere on a protected circuit but less than the threshold value, it will make the GFCI much easier to trip for any other leakage. When a motor load starts (such as the refrigerator compressor) on the circuit, it throws a spike on the line due to the changing phase angle of the circuit voltage versus the current. That is enough to trip the GFCI if it's already compromised by a leakage at near trip value.

It's all Eli's fault. ELI the ICE man. If you don't know ELI, never mind, it's not necessary. I think your problem has been solved by your own actions. Kudos to you!

Thanks Surferdude! I seem to remember something about ELI from my Circuits course in college... but that was many, many years ago. Hoping that that corroded outlet was the culprit. I just picked up a new outlet for that location and better weatherproof enclosures for all of the outside outlets.

Thanks again!