GFI Receptacle lost power

JNMNL52

JNMNL52

Member
Feb 13, 2011
68
Annapolis; Chesapeake Bay
Boat Info
2006 44 Sedan Bridge, Blue Hull, SRN II, Raymarine E120, Hurley Davit
Engines
Cummins QSC-500's
The 120VAC GFI receptacle in my guest stateroom head has lost power. This GFI supports the TV in the master staterroom and also an electrical receptacle in the salon near the dinette.

Thinking it was a faulty GFI, I replaced it and it did not solve the problem. I re-installed the original GFI and it powered up and functioned normally for about two months until today. The GFI indicator light is out and the items powered by it are powerless. Based on my earlier replacement it would appear that electrical power is being cut off upstream of the GFI which should lead to the main distribution panel.
I recycled the AC circuit breakers and could not reset the GFI. All other electrical systems work fine.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be?
 
Check all of the other GFCI receptacles. I had a problem in my house where one of my GFCI receptacles popped in the garage and was behind a box, so I didn't see it. Spent hours trying to find out why some outlets worked and some didn't and there was nothing wrong at the breaker.
 
The AC outlets tend to be daisy chained, so if one of the upstream outlets popped it would shut down everything that follows. Check the other outlets to see if one has tripped.

Henry


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I have 3 GFI outlets in the boat....one in each head and one in the galley. Tried resetting the other two operable GFI's and still have the same problem. The guest room head GFI will not reset. I do not have any other electrical problems other than no power with the receptacles that are wired to this inoperable GFI. Very puzzling...........I am beginning to think it could be a faulty Port Systems circuit breaker on the MDP.
 
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sfergson727 said:
Please don't post the same thread in multiple forums. When people browse, they often use the New Posts link, so double posting in not neccessary to ensure your question is seen. I'm sure someone will be around to offer some insight soon. Thanks!
Click to expand...

OK, thanks
 
It's possible that the breaker feeding that receptacle is bad. Do you know which one feeds it? If so, can you get to the inside to see if it has power on the load side when in the on position? Chances are if that is the only thing not working then it's not on the ports pedestal.
 
Unscrew the gfi and pull it out. Put a voltage tester on the black and white wires. If you have 120v, your problem is the plug. If you don't, the problem is some where else.
 
Is it wired this way?

gfci.jpg
 
wyrman said:
It's possible that the breaker feeding that receptacle is bad. Do you know which one feeds it? If so, can you get to the inside to see if it has power on the load side when in the on position? Chances are if that is the only thing not working then it's not on the ports pedestal.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Will try a voltage tester on the port systems cb.
 
magstang1 said:
Unscrew the gfi and pull it out. Put a voltage tester on the black and white wires. If you have 120v, your problem is the plug. If you don't, the problem is some where else.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mustang1 you are da man; I already replaced this GFI with one similar ("on" light in a different location, but identical posts) and that did not solve the problem. I reinstalled the OEM GFI and for some reason it worked for 2 months until yesterday, so I ruled out a faulty GFI. At wits end I purchased a digital voltage tester and followed your advice - checking the voltage. I am getting 120VAC on the two bottom posts (source) and no voltage on the two uppers posts (downstream loads). I cycled the port systems circuit breaker on the MDP which feeds this GFI and observed the voltage cycle between 0 and 120VAC so the breaker is working fine. Must be a bad GFI but I do not understand why that did not solve the problem when I replaced it a few months ago. Could there be differences in GFI's? I purchased the first replacement GFI from Lowes. Do I need to purchase an OEM GFI from my Searay dealer? Thanks!
 
A GFCI is a GFCI, you don't need to buy one from Sea Ray. It sounds like it's either a bad GFCI or you have it wired backwards.
I know you said it's wired like the pic above but look at the back of the outlet and make sure the line wires are hooked to the line in terminals, they should be marked.
 
The OEM (or at least the replacement stocked by the dealer) GFCi is a Lutron, same brand you will see in Home Depot/Lowe's.
 
Sounds like a bad GFI.

It is a mechanical piece of electronics. Failures happen.

I would not buy a GFI from the deal. Go to Lowes/Home Depot.

Make sure that when you install the new one that the wires coming in (power source) are installed on the terminals labeled "Line".

GFCI or GFI (same thing, just different acronym) stands for ground fault circuit interrupter. It is designed to turn the power off if something goes wrong. It will also not function properly if it is wired backwards. Voltage source goes on the line terminals. If there are any plugs down stream that are daisy chained from this plug, they go on the load terminals.
 
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I had a similar problem when I bought my 320. It turned out that my compartment in my aft cabin that houses my central vacuum had water in it and the central vacuum was wet and was tripping the GFI. You might want to see what else is on that circuit and make sure everything is dry. Is your washer/dryer/wrinkle machine sitting in water?
 
Before you go and buy another GFCI, swap it with one of the known good ones you already have in your boat. If the problem moves with the suspected faulty GFCI that's the answer. If the problem does not move then there is something in that circuit causing it to trip.
 
I'm going to go with Vince on this one and suspect a possible ground fault on the load side. Disconnect the load side wires and see if it will reset and provide voltage on the load connections.
 
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