Having a bit of a issue with some wiring in the house, first off i know nothing about wiring so i hope this makes sense. Looking for thoughts on what is going on.

Last summer i had a extra outlet added to a bedroom, the guy replaced the old outlet and added a GFI outlet next to it so we now have 2 outlets next to each other. These 2 outlets are on the bedroom wall that backs up to the living room.

All was fine until Saturday morning. Went to turn on the TV in the living room and nothing. So it seems that the bedroom and at least 2 of the living room outlets are on the same circuit/line. Had to go into the bedroom and rest the GFI, once that was done all fine.

Got out a little tester that plugs into the outlet and it shows a open ground for both the bedroom outlets, the ones in the living room show correct.

Same thing happened again this morning, so something is tripping the GFI overnight, all that is plugged into the outlet in the bedroom is a power strip with 2 chargers and a lamp. Living room has a TV/DVD player/PS3/lamp and a sub.

Wondering what could cause this to just start happening, also what kind of risk is there with this situation.

I'm going to call a electrician first thing tomorrow, as i don't feel confident dealing with it myself. Plus i'm starting to question the quality of the work the guy did last summer, so i kinda want to get someone else to take a looksee and make sure all is correct.

Hoping it is a easy fix, with just something wired wrong or a lose wire, but with my luck it will be a major repair.

 

It could be as simple as a loose wire.

The screws on the ground side of a GFCI are made of steel and the wires are likely copper, or if it's an older house, aluminum. These heat and cool at different rates and over time will often cause a wire to become loose. Which is why old houses are prone to electrical fires. Nobody thinks to tighten all the wire connections behind their receptacles every couple of years.

It could also be that the ground wire has come off either in the receptacle box or back at the fuse box. An open ground on a GFCI will still protect you from shock, but will not protect your electronics from a spike.

 

Why did he put in both a new outlet and a GFCI next to each other?

 

Not sure why he did that. I don't know if because the house is older, built in 56, he felt it needed one.

 

If you wire it right, when the GFCI trips it will kill power to the outlets that are "downstream" of it.

You know, like in a bathroom, if the blow dryer falls into the sink, it would be best if ALL the outlets become disabled when the GFCI trips. Extra measure of security.

Not sure why he would need a GFCI in a bedroom though. Unless he was thinking about electronics, computer, printer, etc. And if that was the case, an open ground will not protect them from a spike, even with a power strip.

 

A GFCI is a way to avoid adding a ground wire in older homes. If your home has the original 1956 wiring, there is probably only a ground wire in wet areas like baths and kitchen. To get a 3 prong receptacle in a bedroom, for a computer for example, a GFCI is a way to do it.

 

The receptacle beside the GFI is also probably protected and the electrician might have used the load side of the GFI to put new 3 prong receptacles in the other room, in Canada that is the only way we can replace old 2 prong outlets with 3 prong...you still don't have a ground, however if something live comes in contact with a ground, it should trip. The terminals are usually electrical brass which is 70/30...70% copper and 30% brass, so loosening is not generally an issue unless an aluminum wire has been put under the screw....which is another issue altogether. GFI outlets are notorious for either tripping for no reason or becoming faulty...we see it quite often. BTW, I am a master electrican.

 

I assume your house does have a 3 wire system and not just 2 wires(black and white) as older homes of the 50s often do,. I would inspect all of the switch connections but most likely you are just running too much through the GFS . It needs to be on another less used circuit and grounded.

 

Why would you assume he has 2+1G wiring? Not likely that a bedroom in a 1950's house would unless it is a later addition.

In dry locations the GFCI does not need a ground, and of the appliances he mentioned, none should need a ground to function. A ground is always safer, but that is a different issue.

Also, a 50's house won't have aluminum wiring, again unless it is a later addition.

OP, you might just have a weak GFCI. They are often problematic, and the first course of action would be to just replace it with the best unit you can find. Avoid the cheap contractor priced units at the home center.

 

Use a Leviton Smart Lock...also GFI's won't trip if you run too much current through them....that is what your branch breaker or fuse is for.

 

I do know the wiring in the house is copper, one thing i have asked when i've had electrical work done over the years.
Hopefully with a new GFI the issue will end, hoping i can get someone out to do it tomorrow. I do know the one that was put in was from one of the big home centers so i would assume a contractor special

Just a thought, could power surge type events cause a GFI to trip. Everyone on the street has been having issues for the last week or so where the lights will go from extremely dim to super bright, and if a furnace or dryer are also on when this happens you can here them noticably slow down. Electric Co is aware of it and trying to figure out the cause but to no luck yet

 

A surge could possibly fry the GFI...try looking for Leviton part#7599 with suffix A,W or I for almond, white or ivory depending on your color needs.

 

I guess I should not assume it has modern wiring.I do agree that in a place like a bathroom outlets even running a direct copper ground is a good extra safety measure . Sometimes people install outlets that need the third wire connection in places where there are only 2 wires. NC code says thats a no no.

 

Any chance the 'lamp' is a CFL or any type of flourescent? they do neat things to GFIs

 

Good call...that can be an issue. We installed a whole pile of undertile cable sets, and some of the thermostats which were GFI output would trip for no reason...turned out to be an issue with the microprocessor which was picking up on harmonics sent out by CFL's and switching power suppiles (computers, track lights, cell phone chargers etc.)