never said it was a OCPD , by applying a larger load you increase the total % of loss causing a tripp in the device if its defective
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Bthomas
Well-Known Member
I hope im not supposed to be understanding anything you guys are saying lol
I just need to know how to figure out what's at fault or what to do until I can or what to do if nothing trips the outlet lol
I just need to know how to figure out what's at fault or what to do until I can or what to do if nothing trips the outlet lol
alton
Valuable Member
I don't want to get picky but a GFCI trips when there is an imbalance between the grounded and ungrounded conductors. The neutral carries the unbalanced load between two phases. Most GFCI receptacles trips between 4 and 6 milli-amps with a hospital grade GFCI tripping at 5 milli-amps. Sorry on with your discussion.
You're getting into single-phase 208 and 3-phase terminology here...in 3-phase, when the load is perfectly balanced, you would get 0A on the neutral. We're talking single-phase 120V, in this instance, there should always be equal current on the ungrounded conductor (hot) and the grounded conductor (neutral). Note "grounded conductor" is the neutral in this case, not the ground, which is not (supposed to be) a current carrying conductor. See now that's what happens when I put on my EE hat and start talking in NEC speak lol
Bthomas
Well-Known Member
Ok so i tried plugging the lights straight into the gfci outlet and it tripped it immediately. Happened with both blues and whites.
So does this mean i have a light box that is bad?
Since theyre daisy chained together i guess the next step is to plug each one by itself into the outlet?
So does this mean i have a light box that is bad?
Since theyre daisy chained together i guess the next step is to plug each one by itself into the outlet?
I'd say, pretty good chance you found the culprit
yes
I would also try plugging them into a different GFCI on a different circuit, just to eliminate any possibility of a faulty receptacle (it happens)
Bthomas
Well-Known Member
Yeah I tried them in another circuit and it tripped that one immediately also. Weird thing is it didn't trip the first time i checked everything.. I was only plugging them back in to leave plugged longer.
So next question, I had replaced the led boards in all my black boxes with sb reef light panels. Those wouldnt be bad if theyre brand new right? Once I figure out which one is the culprit i should be able to buy a cheap black box and put my sb panel in it correct?
So next question, I had replaced the led boards in all my black boxes with sb reef light panels. Those wouldnt be bad if theyre brand new right? Once I figure out which one is the culprit i should be able to buy a cheap black box and put my sb panel in it correct?
Ok this might sound really Captain Obvious of me here
but it's either a bad trace on one of the PCBs or (here it comes) you have something touching the case or ground that should not be. (that's poking fun at me, not you)Edit: it's possible that there's a solder blob causing a current path through the PCB to ground, etc...many possibilities here.
Bthomas
Well-Known Member
Gfci
If one of your pumps arent running correctly this could happen too. If a pump went into locked rotor the amperage would go really high really fast and cause the Gfci to trip as well. The Gfci will trip before the breaker would. It doesnt take much to trip those.
Bthomas
Well-Known Member
According to the apex is running about 6 amps right now
That's with everything plugged in except lights
Bthomas
Well-Known Member
I don't know what's going on..
When i was plugging everything back in earlier the outlet tripped when i plugged in the 2nd cord of lights (it was the last thing to plug in, everything else was running)
So i unplugged lights and ran the tank without lights for over half hour while the lights were plugged into another gfci outlet and all was fine no trips on either outlet.
So i plugged lights back into same outlet as tank and so far everything is still good.
This is all without using the light box that tripped it before (the one i thought was the problem)
But something did cause it to trip once without that light..
I dunno what else it could be or what else I need to do to look into this problem.
But as of now everything is plugged in to the same outlet (minis the one light box) and so far so good
When i was plugging everything back in earlier the outlet tripped when i plugged in the 2nd cord of lights (it was the last thing to plug in, everything else was running)
So i unplugged lights and ran the tank without lights for over half hour while the lights were plugged into another gfci outlet and all was fine no trips on either outlet.
So i plugged lights back into same outlet as tank and so far everything is still good.
This is all without using the light box that tripped it before (the one i thought was the problem)
But something did cause it to trip once without that light..
I dunno what else it could be or what else I need to do to look into this problem.
But as of now everything is plugged in to the same outlet (minis the one light box) and so far so good
Bthomas
Well-Known Member
Its brand new. Just installed it about 6 months ago and wasnt used at all till I sat tank up about a month ago.
Plus it's on the wall right behind the sump of my 150 gallon tank so very hard to get to lol
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