Jerry Lozier Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Sylvania(zinsco) panel... we already know there are know safety concerns.... 1970 house I tripped gfci recepticle in bathroom, breaker in panel tripped fine, reset just fine however now there is no power at bathrooms or outside gfci ( panel legend says bathroom, outside) Flipped the breaker several more times still no power.... So Adam Henry listing agent is livid that I broke this breaker, I said lets get an electrician in here to sort out and we'll figure out later who buys it. Haven't finished report yet, going to write up as just as I stated above and also sylvania/zinsco issues what say you??? Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 I tripped gfci recepticle in bathroom, breaker in panel tripped fine, reset just fine however now there is no power at bathrooms or outside gfci ( panel legend says bathroom, outside) Flipped the breaker several more times still no power.... Was there a GFCI in the receptacle as well as a GFCI breaker under the same circuit? I can't really tell from the explanation. If there is a GFCI breaker as well as GFCI receptacles under the same circuit, I bet you that there is a line side GFCI receptacle somewhere else that is tripped. If this is the case, you may need to start searching for the first tripped GFCI receptacle in the circuit. Also, if this is the case, an electrician probably did not do the wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Jones Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 I have had this same thing happen to me a few years ago. I scrambled around for quite a while and actually found a separate GFCI outlet in a closet. I know sounds weird and definitely was not correct, but that was the cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 I've had this problem too. I discovered that two GFCI's were on the same circuit. The one up line had to be reset first, then the other would follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Ditto on two GFCI outlets on the same circuit. I have found this several times over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Was there a GFCI in the receptacle as well as a GFCI breaker under the same circuit? I can't really tell from the explanation. All I found was gfci breaker in panel: 2 bathrooms standard outlets, found 1 std outlet exterior in attached shed/room with much stored items and firewood stacked against house, ( no power to these, gfci in panel marked (bathrooms and exterior) So you could be right there could be one more being a gfci outlet somewhere. Also another locked out shed attached to house. not a pretty site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 It seems like it would be simple enough to measure the voltage at the breaker terminal. Then you'd know if the breaker were providing power to the circuit. I agree with everyone else. There's probably another hidden GFCI somewhere. - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Moore Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 70's homes around here often have a GFCI receptacle in the garage that controls the bathrooms and exterior. And, of course, in garages they often get buried. BTW...who or what is an Adam Henry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 BTW...who or what is an Adam Henry? code for AH pertaining to uranus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Moore Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Ahhhh! Got it. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ahhhh! Got it. LOL! My brother in law is a cop, and said they use it over the radio to quietly summon help when things start going south or think there may be a problem brewing.... also learned if they have a problem at a traffic stop with Adam Henry they will press their ballpoint real hard into the picture from the back to make a braille like 'notice' to the next cop when he gets the license in hand he can feel their might be a problem soon... I wondered why my license had a bump on my forehead.... hmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 If the GFCI breaker failed to reset then it's defective and the homeowner should be thanking you for revealing a latent safety defect. If there are two GFCIs in series then... that's why I stopped pushing the little button on my 3-light neon tester. I got tired of hunting around to figure out where the darned thing had tripped. Instead I push the button on the device itself, then go around to find the places downstream that no longer have power. If I've tripped all the GFCIs I can find and something still has power that shouldn't, then I tell them to have an electrician install more GFCIs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 If the GFCI breaker failed to reset then it's defective and the homeowner should be thanking you for revealing a latent safety defect. If there are two GFCIs in series then... that's why I stopped pushing the little button on my 3-light neon tester. I got tired of hunting around to figure out where the darned thing had tripped. Instead I push the button on the device itself, then go around to find the places downstream that no longer have power. If I've tripped all the GFCIs I can find and something still has power that shouldn't, then I tell them to have an electrician install more GFCIs. That is how I do AFCI's, however never done it that way or run into this before on GFCI's, maybe have to start.... anyway spent another hour searching, no more dead outlets and could not find another gfci outlet... it is an estate home (2000') just crammmmed full of stuff inside an out. Lots of obvious homeowner crap wiring, unboxed splices, lamp cord & extension cords through walls... yadayada... So my next question is there a case when a licensed electrician would add a gfci outlet on a circuit that already has an obvious gfci breaker in panel and what would be the purpose if they did ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 . . . So my next question is there a case when a licensed electrician would add a gfci outlet on a circuit that already has an obvious gfci breaker in panel and what would be the purpose if they did ??? If a real electrician knew that there was a GFCI breaker at the top of the circuit, he wouldn't add another. Buy you said that this was an estate. I expect that the old gaffer who lived there did all sorts of creative things on his own. - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 Seeing as how you went back, was the entire circuit dead-- meaning that the breaker failed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Remas Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Tell the agent to kiss your ass and get a book on common sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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