GFCI replaced, now regular outlet is dead

[Dvid]

Replaced a GFCI outlet to the right of my sink. Was careful to mark all wires and photo with my iPhone. Hooked it all back up and it worked and tested fine.

The outlet to the right of the GFCI (seen below) will not power up now. Looking at the hookup I'm having a hard time seeing if this regular outlet is connected somehow to the GFCI. All the connections look good but maybe the original hookup was wrong?

Thanks for your help.

 

[hj]

Just looking at a bunch of wires does NOT tell us anything about how they are interconnected, or if the are even interconnected. However, if ALL you did was change the GFCI, why would you have removed the second outlet?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Standardairconditioner]

Your other second outlet may be in parallel, sourcing from the first one at the sink.

You did something wrong with the new GFCI.

NEVER assume that the wire positions are the same as the "old one". Consult the documentation and diagram that came with the new GFCI.

This cannot be troubleshooted over the internet with photos. Someone has to be there on-site to assess.

You may want to see a licensed professional.

 

[Dvid]

Just looking at a bunch of wires does NOT tell us anything about how they are interconnected, or if the are even interconnected. However, if ALL you did was change the GFCI, why would you have removed the second outlet?

Hey HJ, Thanks for jumping in to help. I removed the second outlet because it stopped working. I didn't know if a connection had come loose or there was some other issue I could identify by examining the hookup. That's the only reason. Thanks for any ideas. I really appreciate your expertise!

 

[Dvid]

Your other second outlet may be in parallel, sourcing from the first one at the sink.

You did something wrong with the new GFCI.

NEVER assume that the wire positions are the same as the "old one". Consult the documentation and diagram that came with the new GFCI.

This cannot be troubleshooted over the internet with photos. Someone has to be there on-site to assess.

You may want to see a licensed professional.

Hey Standard, Thanks for your counsel. I marked and photoed the connections from the old GFCI but I also checked the instructions on the new one to make sure they lined up right. It's possible I made an error since I'm human and not an electrician! I'll go check right away. Thanks!

 

[Dvid]

Your other second outlet may be in parallel, sourcing from the first one at the sink.

You did something wrong with the new GFCI.

NEVER assume that the wire positions are the same as the "old one". Consult the documentation and diagram that came with the new GFCI.

This cannot be troubleshooted over the internet with photos. Someone has to be there on-site to assess.

You may want to see a licensed professional.

OK, I just did go run and triple check, the back of the new and old GFCI outlets are the exact same configuration. I think the only difference is I replaced a 20amp with a 15amp by accident.

 

[Widgit Maker]

The outlet to the right of the GFI should be GFI protected also, assuming it is in the bath or kitchen (and with in six feet of the sink).
Looking at the wiring in your GFI box I see a yellow cable and a white cable. Looking at the wiring in the non-GFI box I see two white cables.
That means that the cable between the two outlets is most likely the white cable and the power in cable is the yellow cable. The two white cables in the non-GFI box means that there is something else that is GFI protected, possibly another outlet.

Press the test and the reset buttons. Chances are that they do not work even though you have power out of the outlet. That would mean that you have the line and load wires reversed. If you have incoming power wired to the load side you will have power out of the GFI but no power to the sensing mechanism and cannot reset the GFI.

Since you only have two sets of wires and you have the hots on the correct side and the neutrals on the correct side, that is the only thing that could be wrong.

You may have physically wired the new GFI the same way as the old but the line and load terminals may be reversed (top to bottom)

Reverse the wires.

I assume by your last post that you mean you replace a 15 amp outlet with a 20 amp outle. That would not be a problem

 

[Dvid]

No I actually didn't notice on the packaging that the replacement GFCI was a 15amp and the existing was a 20amp.

I had gone back and double checked that the markings on the back of the new 15 amp GFCI outlet were identical to the old and that all lines were hooked correctly. That replacement GFCI outlet would work and test/rest, but the outlet to the right of it would not work at all.

I went back and swapped out the new 15amp outlet with the old 20amp and both the GFCI and regular outlet are now working. So (not an electrician obviously) guessing the 15amp was underrated for that outlet/circuit.

The only reason I replaced the GFCI is we have had an odd metal pinging noise from our kitchen and someone suggested to me replacing my GFCI outlets to make sure they weren't part of the issue. I had no way of verifying there was any issue with the outlet because it test/reset just fine. So that is why I put the 20amp back in just a little bit ago. It's probably just fine.

So I guess I just have to figure what that metal sound is coming from, perhaps from the can lights overhead due to temp fluctuations or something. It's an odd sound like someone flicking a hollow metal box with their finger. There is no pattern to it. Might hear it 2 times an evening.

Thanks.

 

[Widgit Maker]

If you did not have the line and load wires reversed, you had the unfortunate luck of purchasing a defective GFI.
The amperage of the GFI is not a factor here.

 

[Dvid]

Thanks Widgit. I'm a VA born fella myself so thanks for the home state advice.

 

[Jadnashua]

While you can install a 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit, you can't install a 20A one on a 15A circuit, so what you have should work. Most of the contacts on the GFCI are usually rated at 20A throughput...verify that.

It is critical that the incoming power goes to the LINE inputs of the GFCI, and the things downstream are attached to the LOAD side. Those can be at different locations based on the manufacturer, so you must check carefully. If you have a multimeter, you would want to check which leads have power coming into that box. An alternate way would be to put one set on the line input side and leave the other pair carefully isolated and see if you have power in the GFCI. If you don't, those should be on the load side, not the line side.

 

[hj]

quote; While you can install a 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit, you can't install a 20A one on a 15A circuit

Saying you "cannot' is a fallacy. You CAN do it, it is just unwise to do so. BUT either way, that would have absolutely nothing to do with the "load" receptacle not working.

 

[Jadnashua]

quote; While you can install a 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit, you can't install a 20A one on a 15A circuit

Saying you "cannot' is a fallacy. You CAN do it, it is just unwise to do so. BUT either way, that would have absolutely nothing to do with the "load" receptacle not working.

Well, you can't if you want it to pass a code inspection! Most of those 15A devices have a 20A pass-through capability, but your best bet is to use a 20A one on a 20A circuit, IMHO.

 

[Dvid]

Thanks so much Jim and HJ. I went back and pu tthe original 20 back in and have had no issues. I'm 100% certain I hooked up the 15 correctly. I've had a few people say it must have been a bad one. Consider this one solved. I really super appreciate what you taught me. I try to do the same in my area of expertise when people need help.

 

[DonL]

Thanks so much Jim and HJ. I went back and pu tthe original 20 back in and have had no issues. I'm 100% certain I hooked up the 15 correctly. I've had a few people say it must have been a bad one. Consider this one solved. I really super appreciate what you taught me. I try to do the same in my area of expertise when people need help.

Why did you take it out in the first place ?

 

[JerryR]

The proper way to test that the replacement GFCI is feeding voltage to the slave receptacle is to meter the load side output of the GFCI. It's a 1 minute test for someone with basic meter skills.

Forum advice is just a guess.

 

[JerryR]

Why did you take it out in the first place ?

He stated he was having an odd metal pinging noise in the kitchen and someone suggested it may be originating from a GFCI. Tripping the GFCI would have been a good first step to rule out the GFCI as the source of the noise.

 

[CubGirl]

when you install GFCI, the line & load side are marked. unlike regular plug, these cannot be reversed. line must go to line... load to load. did you check that?

 

[Standardairconditioner]

Sorry but I'm a novice with this electrical stuff.

May I ask, why did you revive a month-old thread already buried in the forums?

 

[DonL]

May I ask, why did you revive a month-old thread already buried in the forums?

That is what girls do.

They are good about bringing up the past.