Light trips GFCI on Startup
- Thread starter gmann1139
- Start date
scsinet
Active Member
Sometimes electronic ballasts do this. It's called nuisance tripping.
Unfortunately it's not really a defect. The only recourse is to connect the lights to a receptacle that is not on a GFI. It's less than ideal, but it is what it is. Just make sure th elights are the only thing not on one.
Unfortunately it's not really a defect. The only recourse is to connect the lights to a receptacle that is not on a GFI. It's less than ideal, but it is what it is. Just make sure th elights are the only thing not on one.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by xhappyx
http:///forum/post/2963587
what else do u have on that circuit. i had the same problem when my lights would turn on and found out that i had way more then 15 amps on that one circuit. which was causing the gfi to trip due to an overload of amperage at startup.
GFIs do not trip due to overcurrent.
http:///forum/post/2963587
what else do u have on that circuit. i had the same problem when my lights would turn on and found out that i had way more then 15 amps on that one circuit. which was causing the gfi to trip due to an overload of amperage at startup.
GFIs do not trip due to overcurrent.
gmann1139
Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2963453
Its either a ground connected capacitor causing a slight current diversion at startup as you suggested, or it's harmonics generated by the circuitry in the ballast "confusing" the GFI's circuitry causing a trip.
Thanks again SCSI. I guess I'll just have to be careful and unplug the lights before moving them, since I can't protect the circuit.
http:///forum/post/2963453
Its either a ground connected capacitor causing a slight current diversion at startup as you suggested, or it's harmonics generated by the circuitry in the ballast "confusing" the GFI's circuitry causing a trip.
Thanks again SCSI. I guess I'll just have to be careful and unplug the lights before moving them, since I can't protect the circuit.
xhappyx
Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2963593
GFIs do not trip due to overcurrent.
i beg to differ i've had it had it happen to me. and once at another customers house turned out to be a faulty gfi in both cases
http:///forum/post/2963593
GFIs do not trip due to overcurrent.
i beg to differ i've had it had it happen to me. and once at another customers house turned out to be a faulty gfi in both cases
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by gmann1139
http:///forum/post/2966270
You're contradicting yourself there.
Was it an overcurrent situation, or a faulty gfci?
It might be that an overcurrent situation caused the GFI to trip because it was faulty, but the point is that a GFI is not an overcurrent device, and a normally operating one would not trip due to overcurrent alone.
http:///forum/post/2966270
You're contradicting yourself there.
Was it an overcurrent situation, or a faulty gfci?
It might be that an overcurrent situation caused the GFI to trip because it was faulty, but the point is that a GFI is not an overcurrent device, and a normally operating one would not trip due to overcurrent alone.
A
allenk
Guest
I had a similar problem with my lights. However, mine didn't trip on startup. Mine would trip after a few hours of use.
I have 2 150W MH and 2 95W PC actinic. It tripped the GCFI from day 1. I assumed it was the MH just being too much of a load, or some other issue relating to the MH side of the equation. However, that didn't turn out to be the case.
This continued after I changed MH bulbs, and after I changed PC bulbs.
Ultimately, the problem turned out to be a faulty ballast for the Power Compact. I replaced the ballast and never had a problem again. Incidentally, the reason I knew it was the ballast is because one day I smelled this burning smell and used my nose to pinpoint it to the PC ballast. I was able to purchase a replacement ballast from the company that made the light. (I think it might be Hamilton technologies.)
I have 2 150W MH and 2 95W PC actinic. It tripped the GCFI from day 1. I assumed it was the MH just being too much of a load, or some other issue relating to the MH side of the equation. However, that didn't turn out to be the case.
This continued after I changed MH bulbs, and after I changed PC bulbs.
Ultimately, the problem turned out to be a faulty ballast for the Power Compact. I replaced the ballast and never had a problem again. Incidentally, the reason I knew it was the ballast is because one day I smelled this burning smell and used my nose to pinpoint it to the PC ballast. I was able to purchase a replacement ballast from the company that made the light. (I think it might be Hamilton technologies.)
scsinet
Active Member
What more than likely happened is that an electrical leak developed as a result of the ballast heating up as it continued to run, eventually faulting and popping the GFI.
Anyway, back to Gmann, yeah, a GFI that is tripping through SOLE VIRTUE of overcurrent is definitely not acting properly. They just aren't circuit breakers or otherwise an overcurrent device. While I won't argue happy's claim that it happened, I would argue that his claim constitutes normal operation of a GFI.
When I say sole virtue, it's also important to remember that GFIs do exhibit variations in sensititivy. UL defines the maximum current and response time that they have, but some are way more sensitive than they need to be, which can also cause them to nuisance trip. A certain amount of leakage current is not uncommon in electronic devices, so sometimes a lighting system may trip one GFI but not another. The fact that the OP tried two different GFIs excluded that possibility out of the gate so I never brought it up.
Anyway, back to Gmann, yeah, a GFI that is tripping through SOLE VIRTUE of overcurrent is definitely not acting properly. They just aren't circuit breakers or otherwise an overcurrent device. While I won't argue happy's claim that it happened, I would argue that his claim constitutes normal operation of a GFI.
When I say sole virtue, it's also important to remember that GFIs do exhibit variations in sensititivy. UL defines the maximum current and response time that they have, but some are way more sensitive than they need to be, which can also cause them to nuisance trip. A certain amount of leakage current is not uncommon in electronic devices, so sometimes a lighting system may trip one GFI but not another. The fact that the OP tried two different GFIs excluded that possibility out of the gate so I never brought it up.