J
John Gilmer
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
In another NG (all.home.repair) someone mentioned a TV plot in which the bad
guy had changed the wiring to make a GFCI circuit no longer "idiot proof."
That got me to thinking.
Seems to me that the electronics in the GFCI are powered from the line input
leads.
Let us say we have properly installed a GFCI and it is working properly and
at the start of our experiment the GFCI is "on" (not tripped) and there is a
moderate load with little or no "leakage" to ground connected.
In our "experiment" we disconnect the NEUTRAL from the line side (not the
"load" side) of the GFCI.
This would (duh!) cause the load to lose power BUT the GFCI would not "trip"
because there hasn't been a ground fault. But with the neutral gone, the
electronics of the GFCI go cold.
At this point both NEUTRAL & HOT on the "load" side of the device are at 120
volts. The HOT is still hot because the GFCI hasn't tripped. NEUTRAL is
also hot because of the load.
Seems to me that at this point in time, a hapless individual could get a
nasty shock if he is grounded and touches either the "neutral" or the "hot"
of the GFCI "protected" circuit. Since the lights are "off" he may be more
likely to touch things than if things are working.
IOW: Anything that would cause the neutral supply to a GFCI to be opened
can create a dangerous situation.
Any comments?
guy had changed the wiring to make a GFCI circuit no longer "idiot proof."
That got me to thinking.
Seems to me that the electronics in the GFCI are powered from the line input
leads.
Let us say we have properly installed a GFCI and it is working properly and
at the start of our experiment the GFCI is "on" (not tripped) and there is a
moderate load with little or no "leakage" to ground connected.
In our "experiment" we disconnect the NEUTRAL from the line side (not the
"load" side) of the GFCI.
This would (duh!) cause the load to lose power BUT the GFCI would not "trip"
because there hasn't been a ground fault. But with the neutral gone, the
electronics of the GFCI go cold.
At this point both NEUTRAL & HOT on the "load" side of the device are at 120
volts. The HOT is still hot because the GFCI hasn't tripped. NEUTRAL is
also hot because of the load.
Seems to me that at this point in time, a hapless individual could get a
nasty shock if he is grounded and touches either the "neutral" or the "hot"
of the GFCI "protected" circuit. Since the lights are "off" he may be more
likely to touch things than if things are working.
IOW: Anything that would cause the neutral supply to a GFCI to be opened
can create a dangerous situation.
Any comments?