I think it was over a month before the GFCI tripped again. You could imagine that things Efiwym, my wife, wanted to say to me. She had that look on her face that I was so familiar with when she told me the GFCI tripped. I had spent about $150 trying to solve this problem. However, we had a new GFCI outlet, a new 10-foot extension cord and a new mini-refrigerator.
As I sat at the kitchen table contemplating my next steps, I got that Aha moment. It must be the outlet where the refrigerator (via the extension cord) is plugged in. I stopped at our local home improvement store and purchased a new “commercial” 15-volt outlet. A “commercial” outlet allowed the store to charge you more. The outlet sat on the desk for about a week before I installed it. Once it was installed the waiting game started. Would this be the fix?
Apparently, it was not the outlet. Weeks later, the GFCI tripped once again. Where do I go now? I discussed my dilemma with Efiwym. As I talked through the GFCI and where all the outlets were located, Efiwym mentioned the outlet located outside our back door. She said that plug was near the hose bib. A trampoline is located near the house and the grandkids like to spray water from the hose as they jump on the trampoline. Additionally, we had some driving rains lately. Maybe the outlet was no longer waterproof. We both could not verify if the use of the hose or the rainstorms happened when the GFCI tripped, but it was an outlet to consider.
I was encouraged that I was ultimately getting to the problem. The outlet Is in a waterproof box designed for outdoor use. Yet it was over 35 years old and it was constantly used. Also, the box was loose and was screwed only to a vinyl mounting block that was installed when the siding was replaced over 15 years ago.
I removed the outlet cover and outlet. The outlet cover was missing the rubber gasket, the plastic of the outlet was cracked, and the terminals were rusty. This outlet had to be the issue. Once again, I went to my local home improvement store and purchased a new outlet and waterproof cover.
Before I installed the outlet and cover, I screwed down the outlet box the best I could. It was still not tight in the wall, but it did not move as much as you removed a plug. I installed the outlet and cover and went upstairs to reset the GFCI that I tripped earlier. I used a night light to test the outlet and… the outlet did not work. Upstairs I went to trip the GFCI. Back downstairs to the outlet. I took off the cover and outlet to check my connections. All of them were tight and under the screws. Before I reinstalled the outlet, upstairs I went to trip the GFCI. I checked it again with the night light and…it did not work. I went back upstairs to grab another night light. Back down the stairs I went. I checked it with the different night light and voilá…it worked. I finished installing the outlet and cover and the waiting game started.
About two weeks later, I was going to vacuum the upstairs bedrooms and the vacuum cleaner did not work. The GFCI was tripped. When I mentioned it to Efiwym, she said maybe the vacuum cleaner was the problem. We used that vacuum cleaner for years and it has been plugged into the same main bathroom outlet. We did have a driving rain three days ago, but Efiwym took soda out of the refrigerator yesterday and it was cold. I just don’t know…
