GFI keeps tripping

[Road_Phantom]

The GFI in the kitchen of my 5th wheel pops every few hours. I noticed the wires were wrongly attached. It should be white on one side and black on the other. It also was a 20 amp whereas my breaker switch calls for a 15 amp. I went out and bought a 15 and hooked it up and now I'm not getting anything out of the outlet. I'm thinking that the wiring is all wrong with the house wiring.
Or is there something I'm not getting right?

[Gdetrailer]

Bobbo wrote:
My guess is that you hooked the line wires to the load screws. Different brands have different configurations. You need to read the labels ON THAT OUTLET.

Correct.

Should have terminals label marked LINE and LOAD.

LINE is incoming power from breaker box.

LOAD is outgoing power from the GFCI to outlets protected by the GFCI (downstream outlets).

Make sure you have correctly identified the terminals, GFCIs with screw terminals the brass colored screws are your HOT (Black wires).

Silver screws are your Neutral (White wires).

Important! Do not mix LINE OR LOAD HOT or Neutral connections.

And as someone else mentioned, GFCIs are typically shipped in tripped mode. You will have to press the reset button in order to get power to the outlet and downstream protected outlets.

[Bobbo]

My guess is that you hooked the line wires to the load screws. Different brands have different configurations. You need to read the labels ON THAT OUTLET.

[CA_Traveler]

I noticed the wires were wrongly attached. It should be white on one side and black on the other. It also was a 20 amp whereas my breaker switch calls for a 15 amp. I went out and bought a 15 and hooked it up and now I'm not getting anything out of the outlet.

Never assume what wire colors mean in a RV. Check with a voltmeter and verify.

From your post it appears that either it's now wired wrong or the new GFCI is defective. Once corrected if it still trips then there is more to isolate the problem.

[larry_cad]

When you installed the new GFCI, did you remember to reset it? A new GFCI needs to be reset when first put into service.

[Gdetrailer]

DrewE wrote:
There's nothing wrong with having a standard 20A GFCI on a 15A circuit (provided the socket itself on the GFCI is a 15A socket, and not a 15/20A combo with a T-shaped slot). The 20A rating is just a maximum. On the other hand, having a 15A GFCI on a 20A circuit is not right.

I have never seen a true 15A only through GFCI (15A face and 15A downstream).

What I have seen is 15A face with 20A downstream GFCIs which is 100% correct and can be used on a circuit protected with a 20A or a 15A breaker.

Outlets with 15A faces are allowed in circuits protected by 20A breaker provided there is more than one duplex outlet.

See Difference between 15A and 20 GFCI

"
Beside this, what is the difference between 15a and 20a GFCI?

By making GFCIs 20A internally but 15A on their face, it allows you to use the same GFCI on both 15A and 20A circuits. If the receptacle had the T-neutral, that would mean it could not be used on 15A circuits. NEC 210.24 allows you to put a 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit if it has 2 or more outlets on a circuit.

Also, what is the difference between 15a and 20a? 15a and 20a receptacles have different pin configurations. A 20a receptacle will have one slot that is turned sideways or T shaped to allow a 20amp plug to be used. A 15amp receptacle on a 20 amp circuit will not overload the circuit. You will only be allowed to plug in 15a devices.

People also ask, can you use a 15a GFCI outlet on a 20a circuit?

A 15 amp GFCI receptacle may be supplied power from a 20 amp circuit. Other that gratuitously degrading the performance of the circuit if only one 15 amp receptacle is used in the circuit, there is no reason why it cannot be done. In fact, most receptacles come in pairs with a potential of up to 30 amps."

[wa8yxm]

DrewE wrote:
There's nothing wrong with having a standard 20A GFCI on a 15A circuit (provided the socket itself on the GFCI is a 15A socket, and not a 15/20A combo with a T-shaped slot). The 20A rating is just a maximum. On the other hand, having a 15A GFCI on a 20A circuit is not right.

One thing to help troubleshooting is leaving the load connections disconnected temporarily. If the GFCI won't reset under those circumstances, either you have the line connections wrong somehow or the GFCI is faulty or you have something with a ground fault plugged into it. If it works there, but not with the load wires connected, you have a ground fault somewhere downstream, and the GFCI is apparently working properly.

I will second that Nothing wrong with a 15/20 GFCI on a 15 amp breaker (The other way around.... Depends on other things)

I do have 20 amp plugs here that I use from time to time.

also you said the original had both black and white (I gather) on the same side not black black on one and white white on the other.

I'd need to see a good photo of the back and sides of the unit but it's not beyond possible that was correct.

Most common causes of frequent tripping

1: If there is only one GFCI (I had 2 in my rig one OEM one after) Moisture generally in the outside outlet

2: insects

3rd: (least common list) Refrigerator (if on GFCI it should not be)
4th bad wire.

[dedmiston]

Moved from General RVing.

[DrewE]

There's nothing wrong with having a standard 20A GFCI on a 15A circuit (provided the socket itself on the GFCI is a 15A socket, and not a 15/20A combo with a T-shaped slot). The 20A rating is just a maximum. On the other hand, having a 15A GFCI on a 20A circuit is not right.

One thing to help troubleshooting is leaving the load connections disconnected temporarily. If the GFCI won't reset under those circumstances, either you have the line connections wrong somehow or the GFCI is faulty or you have something with a ground fault plugged into it. If it works there, but not with the load wires connected, you have a ground fault somewhere downstream, and the GFCI is apparently working properly.

[Sjm9911]

Line on the gfi is incoming feed and load is outgoing feed. Make sure they are correct.

[Cummins12V98]

Follow the directions on the GFCI outlet. Be sure your power is hot at the black to be connected.