# Solved: Do these things ever go bad?



## LouCopits (Jul 20, 2005)

Our bathroom has a 110 volt outlet that contains a safety circuit breaker. For the past few weeks it would trip once in a great while and I could reset it with the reset button. Starting today the reset button will not work, it just clicks back off immediately.There is nothing else plugged into any other outlets controlled by this breaker.

Do those things ever go bad or do I have some other problem? The breaker is about 19 years old.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Yep, they do indeed go bad. You most likely just need a new GFI outlet. However, many bathrooms have several outlets slaved from a single GFI outlet, make sure that's not the case here. It could be something plugged into one of the other outlets.


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## LouCopits (Jul 20, 2005)

Well, the problem was solved. Outside my wife had a colored floodlight that had a cracked bulb. When she unplugged it the problem was solved.

I never thought the outlet outside 20 or so feet from the breaker could be the problem, but it was.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Yep, it was slaved to the GFI, right?


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## LouCopits (Jul 20, 2005)

Yes. I had unplugged the curio cabinet and rechargable sweeper but never thought of the outdoor 110v outlet.

Live and learn...


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

It's the cheapskates that do the wiring nowadays, they try to stretch the one $15 GFI to cover multiple outlets.


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## LouCopits (Jul 20, 2005)

One final GFI tale. Last year three outlets in the kitchen stopped working when my wife added an outdoor fountain with an extension cord. I finally called an electrician. After a 30 minute search and ready to give up, we found a GFI in the kitchen. It had been hidden inside a corner cabinet since the guy who installed it apparently did not consult with the guy who put a cabinet over it.


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## fratan (Jan 26, 2008)

Funny story, I have several gfi's through-out the house. Fortunately, I know where they all are.:up: HAHA


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