I was doing a mock home inspection and was using my GFCI outlet tester to trip an outlet when I encountered a problem of resetting the outlet. The button would not engage. Why could be the cause(s) for this issue? Thanks
Was it a very new GFCI receptacle? The new ones require considerable force to reset the button. I push it in with a screwdriver.
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they can be attached to another one, so you need to find it to reset the original one, also they do break
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If there is more than one GFCI on a circuit tripping one may trip others. If that happens you will have to find the GFCI upstream from the one you tripped and reset it first. Your situation happens allot in the kitchens and bathrooms.
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As well, I push forcefully on both GFCI buttons in up/down and reverse, down/up pattern.
Moreover, if you had no luck, go back to the receptacle some time later and the safety feature maybe engaged.
I have run into this anomaly occasionally, not often though, the GFCI outlet/receptacle slaved upstream. You have to map the circuit to get success.
One residence, new home warranty inspection, and I pull out all the stops for new home warranty inspections, a 3 level condo with outdoor roof patio, had 5 GFCI receptacles with 2 redundancies. On one circuit, you had to reengage the GFCI by going outside. I was totally perplexed. The electrical contractor was summoned and explained to me, “that is what the client ordered,” I concurred, to a point mind you, and asked the client for verification. He concurred he asked the electrical contractor to set up the GFCI like that.
I would toss the three bulb outlet tester for something more accurate and reliable.
Sorry for the long post, Robert
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The house was built in 2004 and looking at the GFCI it looks like the original. I did attempt to press it in with a screwdriver without any success. There were other GFCIs I had the same problem with
I know there were a couple outlets downstream of the one in question. I assuming that they could be faulty.
Did you look in the panel?
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If it’s an original device then I agree with the others who stated that there may be another GFCI upstream of the on that won’t reset or that it’s just bad.
GFCI Outlet Service Life
GFCI outlets don’t last forever . This means that some of yours may no longer be protecting you as they should. Functional GFCI outlets likely save thousands of lives every year by preventing electrical shocks from wet hands, improper use of extension cords, touching bare exposed wires etc. But only if they are working.
The average GFCI outlet has a service life of only 10 years. If your home is older than that, there’s a good chance that at least some of your GFCI outlets aren’t working properly. If your area is subject to corrosion, high humidity and/or frequent storms or power surges, it is possible for GFCI outlets to become non-functional in 5 years or even less.
Compounding the problem, contractors and developers often buy GFCI’s in bulk which usually nets the most cheaply made units on the market. Using higher quality receptacles will give a longer life span so buy specification grade, commercial grade, or hospital grade. These are much higher quality GFCI’s for just a few dollars more.
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Interesting. So what exactly goes bad? The curious thing about electronic component failure is that they fail from prolonged use. Logic would dictate that the more you test your GFCI the quicker it wears out. This is different from the smoke alarms that use a radioactive element to detect smoke, as this type of sensing element deteriorates over time. Testing your smoke doesn’t test the detecting element anyway, only the power source and buzzer.
You got some very good advice from several people. Read Randy Mayo’s post. Regardless of the reason WHY if it trips and does not reset its NOT doing what its supposed to do = DEFECTIVE. Don’t waste a lot of time if you don’t easily find another one its going to that lets it reset.
Simply report it as wired wrong OR defective AND keep moving
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The ones I’ve taken apart, aside from the ones that got massively wet, it appeared to be burnout of the coil. Each GFCI runs a small electromagnetic relay to pull contacts together, allowing current to flow. That’s why they show up as hot on a thermal camera, and why they use multiple megawatt hours of power each year nationally.
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Thank you for all the information, very helpful!
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Thanks for the info!
Thank you!
Manufacturer stated that there is a protection limit of 6 downstream receptacles, more than that and false trips are possible. Not likely in a newer home.
It failed, and requires certified contractor investigate and repair as needed.
“Failed to reset after testing” - Actually happens quite frequently and 99.9% of the time it’s because the GFI outlet fails and needs to be replaced. I’m sure I’ll get flamed 1000X for this but I carry spare GFI outlets with me (yes, almond and white color) and will just replace it without telling anyone. I totally understand that my testing the outlet doesn’t mean I’m responsible but try that argument on a seller with a garage fridge full of rotted food. It’s far easier to spend 10 minutes swapping an outlet and avoid all the chaos and phone calls. I understand YMMV and if you’re not comfortable doing electrical work I’d advise against this.
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Thanks for the information