Yeah, mine does something goofy like that too and it’s when you go to reset it does something different. I think mine blink when turn it back on if arc fault. And don’t blink if load tripped it.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
VFD Pool Pump Trips GFCI Breaker Intermittently After Tesla Solar+PW Install
- Thread starter yblaser
- Start date
Actually I need to correct this statement. Looking back at the equipment pad there are two other loads being powered by this breaker, the NG pool heater and the power supply for the salt water chlorine generator. Both are behind a relay that only closes when the pool pump is running.
CrazyRabbit
Active Member
Lot easier to do what he suspects. Just switch the combo ARC/GFCI breaker for a GFCI only. Good chance it will work.
Thanks. There was never a sub panel for the pool. It was all run to the MSP. They could put it back in the MSP and add a nuerio to monitor the load but then it wouldn't be backed up and then there is all the potential issues with the nuerio.
The new breaker arrived earlier this week. I haven't had a chance to replace it yet. I was kinda hoping the other breaker would trip again so I could see if it tripped on an arc fault, ground fault, or something else but it hasn't tripped in a couple of weeks now. I'll probably go ahead and replace it this weekend.
CrazyRabbit
Active Member
does the DF breaker indicate what tripped it? all i've seen do, usually led for afci and nothing for gfci? more then likely gfci trip...
buy a small panel your original gfci breaker is compatible with and install sub... be done with it..
buy a small panel your original gfci breaker is compatible with and install sub... be done with it..
Just wanted to follow up on this post as I am hopeful that I may have at least partially isolated the issue. First let me summarize where I left off...
Soon after my solar and Powerwall install completed I started to have intermittent but frequent tripping of the breaker that supplies power to my pool pump. Since all my loads were relocated to new panels during the install, Tesla installed a new combo GFI/AFI breaker on this circuit in the backup loads panel. When I last posted in April of last year I suspected the AFI was causing the tripping so I bought a new GFI only breaker. Before I changed it out I wanted to wait for the breaker to trip again so I could determine whether it was tripping on an arc fault, ground fault, or something else.
So I waited and waited and the breaker did not trip again until October. The breaker reported that it was neither an arc or ground fault but just a regular fault whatever that is supposed to mean. It tripped a few more times before I went ahead and changed out the breaker anyway to the GFI only breaker. The GFI only breaker continued to trip intermittently but frequently (weekly to a few times a week). It always tripped during the overnight hours when the pump wasn't running but still had power applied. It may be confirmation bias on my part but it seemed most likely to trip on clear cool nights with lots of radiative cooling but also with some moisture in the air although it did not exclusively trip in these conditions. Also since it did not trip all summer it seems that weather/temperature has some impact on this.
The next thing I wanted to look at was the MSP and the load splices as that was another major difference between before and after the Tesla install. I had taken a picture last year of the inside of the MSP (see below) and took a look at it to remind me how everything was organized in there. The splices to the pool equipment are on the right side with the red wire nuts. There is a total of 4 with the 4th one hidden behind the top most red wire nut. The two top most red wire nuts splice the circuit that is having the breaker trip. Looking at the picture I was a bit concerned that the pair of white wires was wedged pretty close to the corner of the big lug on the neutral/ground bar. When I opened the MSP it actually wasn't as close as it looked in the picture, but I did bend all four pairs of wires out toward the front of the MSP to give some space away from the ground/neutral bar and the back of the panel. I also checked that all the wire nuts were tight and couldn't budge them, although I did not remove them to check the wires inside. I didn't see any evidence of arcing or excess stripped wire outside of the nuts.
I did all that a month ago and have not seen the breaker trip since then. I don't know if there is a loose connection that I have temporarily fixed by moving the wires around or the wire nuts were close enough to the ground/neutral bar to cause some current leakage in the presence of high humidity that tripped the GFI. I have not put the dead front back on the panel yet but have the panel cover closed. That could certainly affect the environment within the MSP and whatever the problem is seems to be sensitive to environment.
Anyway, open to comments or suggestions.
Soon after my solar and Powerwall install completed I started to have intermittent but frequent tripping of the breaker that supplies power to my pool pump. Since all my loads were relocated to new panels during the install, Tesla installed a new combo GFI/AFI breaker on this circuit in the backup loads panel. When I last posted in April of last year I suspected the AFI was causing the tripping so I bought a new GFI only breaker. Before I changed it out I wanted to wait for the breaker to trip again so I could determine whether it was tripping on an arc fault, ground fault, or something else.
So I waited and waited and the breaker did not trip again until October. The breaker reported that it was neither an arc or ground fault but just a regular fault whatever that is supposed to mean. It tripped a few more times before I went ahead and changed out the breaker anyway to the GFI only breaker. The GFI only breaker continued to trip intermittently but frequently (weekly to a few times a week). It always tripped during the overnight hours when the pump wasn't running but still had power applied. It may be confirmation bias on my part but it seemed most likely to trip on clear cool nights with lots of radiative cooling but also with some moisture in the air although it did not exclusively trip in these conditions. Also since it did not trip all summer it seems that weather/temperature has some impact on this.
The next thing I wanted to look at was the MSP and the load splices as that was another major difference between before and after the Tesla install. I had taken a picture last year of the inside of the MSP (see below) and took a look at it to remind me how everything was organized in there. The splices to the pool equipment are on the right side with the red wire nuts. There is a total of 4 with the 4th one hidden behind the top most red wire nut. The two top most red wire nuts splice the circuit that is having the breaker trip. Looking at the picture I was a bit concerned that the pair of white wires was wedged pretty close to the corner of the big lug on the neutral/ground bar. When I opened the MSP it actually wasn't as close as it looked in the picture, but I did bend all four pairs of wires out toward the front of the MSP to give some space away from the ground/neutral bar and the back of the panel. I also checked that all the wire nuts were tight and couldn't budge them, although I did not remove them to check the wires inside. I didn't see any evidence of arcing or excess stripped wire outside of the nuts.
I did all that a month ago and have not seen the breaker trip since then. I don't know if there is a loose connection that I have temporarily fixed by moving the wires around or the wire nuts were close enough to the ground/neutral bar to cause some current leakage in the presence of high humidity that tripped the GFI. I have not put the dead front back on the panel yet but have the panel cover closed. That could certainly affect the environment within the MSP and whatever the problem is seems to be sensitive to environment.
Anyway, open to comments or suggestions.
Thanks for the follow up.
I can easily imagine that high humidity gets enough of a path to ground to trip your GFCI. I'm NOT an electrician, but if it were my panel, I would be happier if the four red wire nuts were farther away from the ground/neutral bus. Farther away would mean a longer path with higher resistance to ground.
All the best,
BG
I can easily imagine that high humidity gets enough of a path to ground to trip your GFCI. I'm NOT an electrician, but if it were my panel, I would be happier if the four red wire nuts were farther away from the ground/neutral bus. Farther away would mean a longer path with higher resistance to ground.
All the best,
BG
Similar threads
