maverick34 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I have a 16 channel controller with extensions running around the yard, for some reason the GFCI keeps tripping. I unplugged the lights that werent part of the display, but the next day it still turned off. There is a power strip to power the controller and stereo, It's in a container that has a lid and I'm not finding any water inside of the container. The display will successfully turn off at 10 though so it's turning off sometime after. What else could be tripping it?EDIT: This just started recently, The show was running fine up until mid last week. And the fuses at the beginning of the C9 strands of lights are blowing out too, there's a maximum of 3 connected into each other for the roof, the bushes have just 2 stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 You come in here with a list of problems, but I dont see any real information.Lets look at the C9 blowing fuses. Are these LED or are these the old icans? How many total bulbs? What are the fuses rated at in current?As for the GFI problem. Have you done any searches for GFI? We just had a thread somewhere in the forum about GFIs and some reasons GFI trip. Good hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 http://forums.lightorama.com/view_topic.php?id=31634 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick34 Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 Thank you Surfing4Dough, I was searching for GFCI in a thread but couldn't find one, I didn't know the piece went by GFI also. You were very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 maverick34 wrote: Thank you Surfing4Dough, I was searching for GFCI in a thread but couldn't find one, I didn't know the piece went by GFI also. You were very helpful!Either way, a much better way to search is to use google, like this: site:forums.lightorama.com gfcior if lazy, just use the following to basically get the same results (easier to type this out):lightorama.com gfci Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Trommelslager Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 This is how a GFCI works:The device compares the current on the neutral and the phase wire, and if there is an imbalance of 5-10mA, it trips and opens the ciruit. Until you clear that bleed current, you aren't going to solve the problem.Isolate the offending circuit(s), and trace them out and find out where your issue is. Has it been raining or snowing? Is there any damage to cords or light strings? Are there any plugs that are wet (even from dew/frost)? These are the types of things to be looking for.Read through this thread and some others for some tips and suggestions.http://forums.lightorama.com/view_topic.php?id=31168 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 De,A very informative post. But lets not through out any new names or terms. I understood, but took a few seconds to realize what you meant by "Phase". Most people instantly recognize "Hot & Neutral". All you do is confuse the newbies with something like "Phase". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Trommelslager Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Max-Paul wrote:A very informative post. But lets not through out any new names or terms. I understood, but took a few seconds to realize what you meant by "Phase". Most people instantly recognize "Hot & Neutral". All you do is confuse the newbies with something like "Phase".Yep, you are right. Missed that before posting. The last thing desired is spreading more confusion. The terms are drastically different between industry and "layman", and can sometimes be challenging to decipher after using them for 30+ years.For a quick run down on the terms for those that don't know; a typical residential electrical system is comprised of two "hot" wires (known as "phases" in industry), one "neutral" wire (known as "grounded" in industry), and one "ground" wire (known as "grounding" or "equipment ground" in industry). Surely a different term could have been coined to avoid the potential confusion between the terms "grounded" and "grounding", but they didn't consult me! If one were to look in the National Electrical Code (NEC), the industry terms are what is used to reference these.Hot = PhaseNeutral = GroundedGround = Grounding-and-GFI = Ground Fault InterrupterGFCI = Ground Fault Circuit InterrupterBoth of the above used interchangably.For the purposes of the discussions on this forum, the layman's terms will be used to describe the various components. If I slip up in the future, please slap me around and bring me out of the "coma".My apologies to anyone who has been confused with the technical jargon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Maverick (and others)..You have to find where the problem is that keeps tripping the.. You going to have to unplug everything then start plugging in one thing at a time (into the same dongles you pulled them from) and see what trips the GFI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 TJ Hvasta wrote: Maverick (and others)..You have to find where the problem is that keeps tripping the.. You going to have to unplug everything then start plugging in one thing at a time (into the same dongles you pulled them from) and see what trips the GFI.Jeez TJ, having just fought this same issue past two weeks, I had a two paragraph detailed step by step procedure all typed out and you beat me to it with a two sentece summary of the same thing. I always was long winded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 So did he get it fixed???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Sorry Jim, I've always been quick.. just ask the wife.. (oops, did I just type that out loud?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 TJ Hvasta wrote: Sorry Jim, I've always been quick.. just ask the wife.. (oops, did I just type that out loud?)LMAOROTF :D you have to type softer so she doesn't hear you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 TJ Hvasta wrote: Sorry Jim, I've always been quick.. just ask the wife.. (oops, did I just type that out loud?)Whats faster..your typing, or...ahhh..never mind. :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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