GFI Outlet – Updated with Video

At Christmas time, we often receive calls regarding holiday lights not coming on.   Inevitably its right after a wet winter storm. The most common cause of this is a GFI outlet tripping.  All exterior outlets on modern homes are either GFI outlets or tied to a GFI outlet.  This means that the outlet the holiday lights are plugged into may not actually be the offending GFI outlet.  Instead there is one somewhere else in the house that is associated with this exterior outlet.

Now comes the Easter egg hunt in the middle of the Christmas Holidays.  They are most often located in rooms associated with water.  For example they will be in Garages, Kitchens, Bathrooms, Wet bars, Laundry Rooms, and of course outside.  Now you have to go looking for the one random GFI that is tripped.  Hopefully its not the one associated with the garage refrigerator with your Christmas turkey!! Of course, we have found them in the craziest places.  I’ve found one in a safe room behind some moving bookshelves.  I have found them under a cabinet in the master bathroom.  And recently I found one in a dark back corner of the attic behind a bunch of boxes.

Now once you find the GFI that is tripped it is best to carry a ridged object like spoon handle and press firmly down on the test button, then press firmly on the reset button.  If the GFI does not reset there are only two reasons.  One there is no power, the other is that the GFI is bad.  There are a couple of options to determine if there is no power.  The first is to check to see if the breaker is tripped, the second is to consider if the GFI outlet is tied to a switch or a timer.  If the switch or timer is not in the on position then there will not be power to the outlet.  This eliminates the ability for the GFI to reset.  Turn the power on and try again.

If, however, you press the reset and it the GFI outlet trips immediately then you will need to wait until the holiday lighting display dries out.  This likely will occur 10 minutes before you are hosting a holiday party and now your holiday lighting is not working!!  If it is still raining, just chock it up that there is not really anything you can do about it.  If it is sunny and dry outside then there might be a couple of quick trouble shooting things that could be done. First, unplug the outdoor lighting. Second check all the GFI outlets by pushing the test and then the reset button. If this resolves the GFI tripping then you know there is water in the extension cord connections associated with the holiday lighting.  Call us and we will walk you through some quick fixes, or we can schedule a visit.

httpss://youtu.be/qr-toq98bnI