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2 of my 9 Enclosures are Tripping the GFC

jimswinder

By jimswinder
in LOR Hardware - General

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jimswinder Member

jimswinder

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I have 9 enclosures...5 have 3 boards in them, the other 4 have 4 boards in them.

2 of the 5 with 3 boards keep tripping the GFC...and it is not right away, but sometimes after a few songs.

I have traded out the extension scords, even though they are brand new from Home Depot, but they still trip. I can plug them into another Ext XCord, and the LED's light up...so I then unplug it and plug it back in to the original Ext Cord and everything is fine again for a few minutes, then they trip. And they trip whether I am running a show or not.

We do have a little snow on the ground...

Any suggestions to what I should check out would be GREATLY Appreciaited!!!?

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rstately Member

rstately

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jimswinder wrote:

I have 9 enclosures...5 have 3 boards in them, the other 4 have 4 boards in them.

2 of the 5 with 3 boards keep tripping the GFC...and it is not right away, but sometimes after a few songs.

I have traded out the extension scords, even though they are brand new from Home Depot, but they still trip. I can plug them into another Ext XCord, and the LED's light up...so I then unplug it and plug it back in to the original Ext Cord and everything is fine again for a few minutes, then they trip. And they trip whether I am running a show or not.

We do have a little snow on the ground...

Any suggestions to what I should check out would be GREATLY Appreciaited!!!?


Try geting your extention "scords" up off the ground as much as possible, and make sure the plugs don't have dirt in them...

When you have this figured out, let me know if you have any heat, or condensation problems with your air tight enlosures?
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jimswinder Member

jimswinder

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rstately wrote:

Try geting your extention "scords" up off the ground as much as possible

lol...touche'... I deserved that one!!!!
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melwelch Member

melwelch

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Well if you got rid of the GFC you would not have so many problems... You do not need GFCs in your display... Just search the fourms of all the problems they cause... Oh if you are of the GFC faith and I have spoken unholy words... Go search how many people have been hurt or killed from Christmas lights...... GFCs are right up there with man made global warming... Science and facts just does not support either... But if you have cut corners on extention cords and have cracked insulation and think GFCs are protecting you.... Well good luck... Keep your equipment in good condition you will not have any problems... And NEVER wrap your connections in plastic, tape or anything... All you will do is hold in the moisture....

All you GFC holy rollers have a nice day... :D

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Max-Paul Member

Max-Paul

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melwelch wrote:

Well if you got rid of the GFC you would not have so many problems... You do not need GFCs in your display... Just search the fourms of all the problems they cause... Oh if you are of the GFC faith and I have spoken unholy words... Go search how many people have been hurt or killed from Christmas lights...... GFCs are right up there with man made global warming... Science and facts just does not support either... But if you have cut corners on extention cords and have cracked insulation and think GFCs are protecting you.... Well good luck... Keep your equipment in good condition you will not have any problems... And NEVER wrap your connections in plastic, tape or anything... All you will do is hold in the moisture....

All you GFC holy rollers have a nice day... :D
GFIs are not a religious thing. And I do not understand why you are acting like a total ass about GFIs. But by you giving advise to remove a safety item and telling Jim that no one gets hurt by Christmas lights is totally tom foolery. I have seen over the years at least one person gets electrocuted every year. Heaven knows how many receive unreported shocks.

So, you like to use religious phrases in your post. Then I shall answer in kind. Get thee behind me satin!

Jim I am sure you can recognize a charlatan when you see one.
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cmoore60 Member

cmoore60

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Jim,

You mention using LED lights. So I need to ask. Are all the controllers on the same GFI? Sounds like you have what I would call, an accumlative leakage. Your current leakage is not in one place but several places that add up to enough to trip the GFI.

Chuck

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rstately Member

rstately

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cmoore60 wrote:

Jim,

You mention using LED lights. So I need to ask. Are all the controllers on the same GFI? Sounds like you have what I would call, an accumlative leakage. Your current leakage is not in one place but several places that add up to enough to trip the GFI.

Chuck


I agree.

This year I rewired my circuits, so instead of one GFCI protecting 6 outlets on the load side, now I have 6 GFCI's. This will spread out any possible leaking, and help trouble shoot if there is a problem. :D
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doug petschke Member

doug petschke

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Jim

Simple troubleshooting technique unplug half the cords from each controller and see if the gfci trips if not unplug half the rest on each and check again repeat again til ya narrow it down

more then likely there's nothing wrong with the controller..

i had this problem turned out to be multiple problems with lights and extension cord connections using this method sped up the troubleshooting process

if you have already done this perhaps you might want to recalculate the power usage again to see if your pulling to many amps thru them

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jimswinder Member

jimswinder

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Well guys...thanks for all the suggestions...

But last night sometime (don't know when), my Christmas came to a "CRASHING" stop...there was no wind...no snow...just the scrooge of Christmas I guess.

My Weber Tree had a major Mast Failure...

Oh well...we were able to run one show.

And lying in bed last night (before I knew this happened) I think I figured out why my GFI's were tripping. And no, don't have all my controllers plugged into one GFI. I have 2 enclosures (6 Boards) per GFI.

Well..off to see if I can salvage this years show...



Attached files 223146=12352-Mast Broken 2.jpg

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rstately Member

rstately

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Wow Jim,

I'm really sorry to hear that. I know you worked so hard on all this, and I hope you can get it untangled and back up? I will try not to make fun of you for a few days...

If there is anything you need, let us know?

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jimswinder Member

jimswinder

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rstately wrote:

Wow Jim,

I'm really sorry to hear that. I know you worked so hard on all this, and I hope you can get it untangled and back up? I will try not to make fun of you for a few days...

If there is anything you need, let us know?

I need you to keep making fun of me!!!! lol
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jimswinder wrote:

rstately wrote:
Wow Jim,

I'm really sorry to hear that. I know you worked so hard on all this, and I hope you can get it untangled and back up? I will try not to make fun of you for a few days...

If there is anything you need, let us know?

I need you to keep making fun of me!!!! lol

Just can't do that..not yet... that truly sucks.

But yea, you can be sure we'll start piling on pretty soon...:)
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Max-Paul Member

Max-Paul

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Sorry to see your tree has died Jim. Oh well, hope you do get it back up. Just use something a bit more heavy duty. BTW what was your mast made of? The good of it is that you can help teach the hive what not to use.

Best of luck and we will be in mourning of your weber tree for 3 days. Then the teasing will begin. :)

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Max-Paul Member

Max-Paul

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Jeff,

I dont know what to say, other than if that is an olive branch you are extending towards me. Then I SHALL NOT snatch it from your hand and stomp on it. (caps just to make sure you see that)

I do not know Mel, nor did I know that he is a troll. But his ranting about GFIs is not healthy.

Hope we can work together in the future. Wanted to cheer a few of your post on. But did not want to stir the pot.

Thanks Jeff

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JBullard Member

JBullard

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I do know Mel. Have had the pleasure of socializing with him.

I'm not going to defend Mel, because I do use GFCIs.

But just like the rest of us, Mel has the right to express his opinions. You can choose to agree or not agree - your choice.

Mel has his reasons for his beliefs, and I respect that. I might not agree, but I respect his.

Some of you think Mel is crazy for not using GFCIs, that is your perogative. Some of you will think Mel is crazy for using live fire and flames in his displays

But 99.99% of us would think Mel is even crazier for doing his "day job". Mel does special effects for movies - fire, explosions and other "dangerous" stuff. Risks I would never take.

So if Mel feels that not using GFCIs in his display is an acceptable risk he is willing to take, then "Go For It Mel"

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doug petschke Member

doug petschke

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jimswinder wrote:

Well guys...thanks for all the suggestions...

But last night sometime (don't know when), my Christmas came to a "CRASHING" stop...there was no wind...no snow...just the scrooge of Christmas I guess.

My Weber Tree had a major Mast Failure...

Oh well...we were able to run one show.

And lying in bed last night (before I knew this happened) I think I figured out why my GFI's were tripping. And no, don't have all my controllers plugged into one GFI. I have 2 enclosures (6 Boards) per GFI.

Well..off to see if I can salvage this years show...


ohhh Jim sorry bout that man... probably one of those tree huggers .they'll do it everytime
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