Cyclones Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Okay, so about a week ago I put up my Christmas lights - its a pretty good amount of lights - and they worked fine for the first week, then out of the blue yesterday, they trip the breaker in my garage outlet. So I go outside and unplug everything and start plugging it all back in, and when i get to the 2nd to last string of lights, the breaker blows again. I switched up the order and the same thing happened. I've also tried plugging all the lights in separately and they all work, so no blown fuses. Any reason that they'd work for a week then stop all of a sudden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boilerduff Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Sounds like you aren't listening to the "maximum three sets" on the box. Try spliting the lights on to multiple breakers with an extention cord from somewhere else on your house. It seems to cause lots of problems if you ignore the limitiations of the light sets. Just been my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 If you are plugging them into a GFI, are they tripping the GFI or the the big breaker in the box? If it is the GFI that is tripping, then the current load is too great for it, and a regular outlet would work fine most likely. This is why people have issues with their garage fridges, a GFI has a pretty low current load. If you are tripping the breaker in the box, you have a short in the x-mas lights somewhere. Good luck tracking that down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclones Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 If you are plugging them into a GFI, are they tripping the GFI or the the big breaker in the box?If it is the GFI that is tripping, then the current load is too great for it, and a regular outlet would work fine most likely. This is why people have issues with their garage fridges, a GFI has a pretty low current load. If you are tripping the breaker in the box, you have a short in the x-mas lights somewhere. Good luck tracking that down. they are tripping the GFI in the garage, even though I have nothing plugged into any garage outlets. I guess the outdoor plugs are all on that same circuit. What a pain in the ass. the lights work fine, I've plugged them all in separately and no problems. It also rained for about 24 hours straight, could the water have anything to do with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 they are tripping the GFI in the garage, even though I have nothing plugged into any garage outlets. I guess the outdoor plugs are all on that same circuit. What a pain in the ass. the lights work fine, I've plugged them all in separately and no problems. It also rained for about 24 hours straight, could the water have anything to do with it? Are you confusing GFI with breaker box? If the breaker box is tripping, then that's a different issue. If the plug itself is having to be reset, then use another plug. I'm going to print this post out and give it to my wife. It might be my way out of putting up Christmas lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclones Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 Are you confusing GFI with breaker box? If the breaker box is tripping, then that's a different issue. If the plug itself is having to be reset, then use another plug. I'm going to print this post out and give it to my wife. It might be my way out of putting up Christmas lights. Its just the outlet that I am having to reset. It seems to be working fine now that the rain has stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Its just the outlet that I am having to reset. It seems to be working fine now that the rain has stopped. OK. That's the GFI. As stated, you cannot pull as much through those outlets. You should have another outside outlet that is not GFI. Just look for one that doesn't have a reset button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclones Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 OK. That's the GFI. As stated, you cannot pull as much through those outlets. You should have another outside outlet that is not GFI. Just look for one that doesn't have a reset button. Only the one in the garage has the GFI, but all of the garage and outside plugs are on the same circuit - it pops even with nothing plugged in to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Only the one in the garage has the GFI, but all of the garage and outside plugs are on the same circuit - it pops even with nothing plugged in to it. Do you know if anything else is on that circuit? Odd as it is, my garage is on the same breaker as my bathrooms. When the girls trip a GFI in the bathrooms, the freezer in the garage goes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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