A convenient chart on the tester helps determine wiring condition in outlet, based on LED lights results. The way I see it (someone correct me if this is wrong), if the neutral wire is interrupted in a circuit with a grounding wire, like a GFCI, the circuit will still be complete and a load could still be powered because the return current will instead flow back on the ground. Klein Tools Receptacle Testers are designed to detect the most common wiring problems in standard and GFCI receptacles. 16 If the load and line wiring gets messed up, a ground fault (radio in the tub) won't trip the GFCI. UNCOMMON READINGS -LIKELY CONDITION: NOTES The way I see it (someone correct me if this is wrong), if the neutral wire is interrupted in a circuit with a grounding wire, like a GFCI, the circuit will still be complete and a load could still be powered because the return current will instead flow back on the ground. I understood GFCIs trip by detecting if there's a short anywhere in the circuit, aka if the return current on the neutral is less than it should be, which would definitely the case here if the neutral was open because it would be zero. In this regard, will GFCI work with reverse polarity? Commercial Electric OTG-102R is GFCI Receptacle Tester. Able to identify several common wiring errors, including reversed phase and neutral wires and an open ground, the ST120 will give you confidence on your next job. guests, and 4 This includes fixtures that feed power to your GFCI though seem to be working properly. Click to see full answer. The test button on this outlet won't press in. This is why your outlet tester is giving you the reading of hot/ground reversed. Please register and join our community. Why hot/ground reverse? As with the open hot or neutral, an open ground can be happening at the receptacle itself (or its box) -- \"B\" of the left-hand scenario above -- or else at an outlet \"upstream\": \"A\" of the right-hand one. GFCI Show Hot/Neutral Reverse. It also reads hot/ground reversed. The test button would trip the GFCI but the outlet was still hot. You will hear a snap sound that trips the outlet and cuts off the power to the two plug connections. Re: Replaced a GFCI and got a Hot/Ground reversed? Anything connected downstream would be protected as intended. This morning I checked a receptacle that is GFCI protected (downstream from a GFCI receptacle), and the tester indicated that hot and ground were reversed. Fixing a hot wire and a ground wire that are reversed is as easy as unscrewing and switching the wires on the receptacle and screwing them tight again. If any of the wires are stuck into the little holes on the backs of the receptacles, remove them and wrap them around the screws on the sides, these back-stabbed connections are the cause of lots of problems. The two other outlets in the circuit that were not working previously now worked normally as well. I plugged my tester into the GFCI, which had NOT tripped, to see that a hot/ground reverse was indicated. Is it being fed from another fixture or junction box? To test if the gfci has failed or not remove a known working receptacle and connect it in its place. To find it you'll need to open the breaker for this circuit and check the connections at all of the fixtures, J-boxes, lamps, etc. Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.6.2. Tests for correct wiring, open Ground, reverse polarity, open hot, open neutral, hot on neutral, hot and ground reversed with open hot in 3-wire, 120VAC circuits Simulates ground fault for testing GFCIs No-slip ergonomic design maximizes comfort Premium neon lamps prevent false readings Tough, impact-resistant case 2-year warranty E-Z Check Plus G.F.C.I. This is actually what I think happened. Conditions indicated: open ground, reverse polarity, open hot, open neutral, hot/ground reversed. 0 registered members (), If it comes from an upstream outlet, that is where I would check for a loose white wire. One thing I still don't understand--why wouldn't an open neutral just register as such on a tester? Replaced a GFCI and got a Hot/Ground reversed? When I got there, the GFCI would give a green light when I pushed Reset, but would immediately snap off. If the line and load connections are reversed at the receptacle, the receptacle will remain energized after the device trips. If the hot/ neutral becomes reversed, the supposed neutral side still remains hot resulting in the possibility for electrocution. If everything is wired properly, the ground will not become the return if the neutral is open. I didn't test anything else on that circuit though. If you unplug everything on this circuit, and turn off all switches, your tester should then indicate an open neutral. Sometimes, the error is up or downstream of the outlet, which requires more work to detect. “Hot and ground reversed” is only one of the many diagnostic readings that can be indicated by an outlet/receptacle tester (Figure 1). This caused the circuit to be open, with no current flowing at all, which is what caused the lamp to shut off and the GFCI to not trip. Hot- Ground Reversed. So far, so good. It is designed to detect the most common wiring problems in standard receptacles. With it wired as described, a reading of "Hot/Neutral Reversed" on your tester is likely an indication of a loose neutral wire. However, if they are tied together somewhere upstream of the gfci, there is really no way for the gfci to detect it, as it sees balanced current on its hot and neutral terminals. I replaced the GFCI outlet, but the light on the new outlet is on and the test button on the new outlet won't press in. It usually indicates the absence or malfunction of a neutral conductor somewhere in your system. Or, you actually have a bad one, which is guaranteed. if the neutral wire is interrupted in a circuit with a grounding wire, like a GFCI, the circuit will still be complete and a load could still be powered because the return current will instead flow back on the ground. Here's what happens when somebody wires a GFCI receptacle with the load and line wires reversed: The GFCI will work, in the sense that you can plug in a hair dryer and the hair dryer will blow hot air. This was on an older house that had some of the electrical re-done. The grounds were a 'mess', so I cleaned them up. Only registered users may post in our forums. My guess, you hooked things up incorrectly and damaged the new GFCI. So I replaced the GFCI. Model # RT210 Store SKU # 1001012662. I swapped in a new GFCI device and once wired up, put my tester in the slots only to get the hot/ground reversed light pattern. On this exterior GFCI, the tester showed it had a ground. A hot ground wire could give this reading Lit Dark Lit Open neutral with load turned on downstream Testers call this " Hot and ground reversed," but that would be rare. 2-Sided legend: accurately read test results with the tester facing up or even upside down with bright indicator lights and the 2-sided default legend. If you get this reading on an outlet tester, don't believe it. Diagnose the error visually by looking behind the outlet or by inserting a three-light voltage tester into the outlet and using it. Before connecting my GFCI and the adjacent duplex receptacle grounds to the 3 grouped ground wires in the box, I … If you receive a Hot/Grd. Welcome Reddit's International Electrical Worker Community. A hot/ground reverse is an indication of an open neutral somewhere on the circuit. Besides neutral being open, polarity might be reversed too. Check all connections under wirenuts as well. The tester can detect conditions such as wiring correct, open ground, reverse polarity, open hot, open neutral and hot/ground reversed. Reverse reading, check your neutral conductors. Still, the ideas for finding this open are similar to finding an open neutral. This is a common wiring error. A hot/ground reverse is an indication of an open neutral somewhere on the circuit. So I guess my question is, was this likely a hot/ground reverse rather than an open neutral, and if so, why would this have caused the ballast to shut off? The GFCI Tester tests for ground fault interruption, open ground, open neutral, open hot, hot/ground reverse, hot/neutral reverse and correct wiring for standard outlets, GFCI outlets, and extension cords. Recently during a home inspection a truly odd one happened. Have you tested any of the other receptacles on that circuit? A tenant complained that they have no electricity in their kitchen. RT210 tests 110/125V AC at 50/60Hz in 3-wire outlet Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I then reset the GFCI and now all receptacles on the circuit show normal. Look at the face of a quality GFCI outlet: between the two sets of slots where you plug in cords there are two rectangular buttons, labeled \"TEST\" and \"RESET.\" To test your GFCI, simply press the test button with your finger. As home inspectors I find that we often see some conditions that many in a specific trade may not. fbartlo (Frank Bartlo) … When the polarity is reversed, there is no current distributed to the ground so the GFCI won’t trip via your tester. One-button GFCI tests The included GFCI test button on the ST120 Socket Tester allows you to also test the operation of GFCI outlets. For instance, you could go to Finding Your Open, except that you would not get l… If you unplug everything on this circuit, and turn off all switches, your tester should then indicate an open neutral. Most devices are wired to have the hot side of the circuit controlled on and off by the switch. As said above I think you have an open neutral and its coming from a loose connection upstream from the gfci. If you wire a GFCI outlet and do not have a ground … I pressed the test button, and the circuit went dead as expected. 120V AC receptacle tester with push-button GFCI test. spiders. I’m not sure it’s the same with all GFCI receptacles, but I lived in an apartment that had the GFCI receptacle at the “start” of the run, then two receptacles after it in the other two bathrooms. Notice in the diagram that one side of the plug has a wider blade. Ballast was able to strike the lamp, which was on for ~5 minutes or so, maybe less, before it shut off. It's always possible that you fried the gfci if a hot lead touched the ground wire though it would prolly show evidence of a arch on one of the wires. Thanks, that cleared it up. Talk shop, show off pictures of your work, get general help, and ask code related questions. At that point everything worked - the three outlets in the kitchen all registered fine with a three lamp tester and the GFCI test button worked. polarity Only true if all three wires are fairly good. Visit http://thecircuitdetective.com/outlet_tester_readings.php for more resources. Conditions indicated: open ground, reverse polarity, open hot, open neutral, hot/ground reversed. Detects the most common wiring problems in standard and GFCI receptacles including open ground, reverse polarity, open hot, open neutral and hot/ground reversed Line splitter allows the measuring of current draw up to 15A without splitting the load's power cord CAT III … The RT200 receptacle tester is designed to detect the most common wiring problems in standard 120V receptacles. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the electricians community. Since testers establish a test circuit between hot and equipment ground, if the receptacle into which the tester is plugged is wired with reverse polarity, there will not be a voltage across the tester and test current will not flow. However, the GFCI didn't trip, which leads me to think it actually was a hot/ground reverse. No, if the neutral is interrupted, no current will flow unless there is a short to ground. Your testing device creates an imbalance or short between the ungrounded (hot) conductor and the grounding conductor. I don't know if the GFCI is at the beginning/ middle/ or end of the circuit. Hot/neut reversed =Rev. Nominal Voltage Klein Tools Cat. I've heard that oftentimes, a hot/ground reverse indication on a tester actually means there's an open neutral. Where is the power coming from that feeds the LINE side of your GFCI receptacle? I have a GFCI recepticle installed near the kitchen sink, an inspector said the hot and neutral were reversed because he plugged a tester in and at first it … 7 Tests in one: open ground, open neutral, open hot, hot and ground reversed, hot and neutral reversed, correctly wired, and GFCI. Newbie with a film lighting question here: Recently I tried powering an 800w HMI with an electronic ballast off an outdoor GFCI outlet. Compact and easy to use; Durable, high impact housing; Test standard outlets, GFCI … connected line-load reversed the receptacle was always powered and a ground fault on the receptacle would not trip the GFCI. As I was tripping an exterior GFCI protected receptacles, as I have done hundreds and hundreds of times. I think there was a weak spot somewhere in the neutral path that opened up while the lamp was on. The GFCI will not trip and thus the GFCI might erroneously be considered defective. New panels that were all romex but half the receptacles in the house had no grounds. No. 1)open ground 2)open neutral 3)open hot … see more 1)open ground 2)open neutral 3)open hot 4)hot and ground reverse 5)hot and neutral reverse 6)correct configuration 7)gfci functional see less 1)open ground 2)open neutral 3)open hot 4)hot and ground reverse 5)hot and neutral reverse 6)correct configuration 7)gfci functional Help your fellow Redditors crack the electrical code. With grounds, an open is often a case of someone simply never connecting a ground to the receptacle or forgetting to reconnect if they had occasion to disrupt it. - There is a GFCI outlet outside on the same circuit. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. Performs 7 tests: GFCI functional test, open ground, open neutral, open hot, hot/ground reversed, hot/neutral reversed, or wired correctly Three light indicators identify wiring faults Wiring legend on the top and bottom of the tester so it's always easy to see According to GFCI tester literature, a reversed ground and neutral will produce the same result; but actual tests performed by home inspectors differ from this … P & S are fine to use just make sure you insert the correct length of exposed wire under the pressure plates (it's marked on the gfci) or wrap the wires around the screws on the sides. Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. I've heard that oftentimes, a hot/ground reverse indication on a tester actually means there's an open neutral. You can test your receptacles for correct wiring, open ground, hot and ground reversed, open hot, open neutral and reverse polarity. Conditions NOT indicated: quality of ground, multiple hot wires, combinations of defects, reversal of grounded and grounding It's probably loose at the previous box. The ground and neutral should never be tied together at an outlet, only at the service entrance.