GFI Puzzle

[*egbert]

1. I am in the process of re-wiring a 20A Kitchen appliance circut.
There are 3 oulets on the circut. The first 2 are 20A GFI and the third which terminates the circut is a standard 20A outlet. All outlets are connected in parallel via pigtails to the line connections so each outlet is independant.

Upon testing the circut I can not get any of the GFI outlets to trip either by pressing the test button on the units or pressing the button on my LED tester.

When I test the voltage I show 119V across hot and neutral and the same to from hot to ground. Neutral to ground shows 0 volts as expected. My LED tester also shows the outlets as passing. Why are the GFI outlets not happy? :(

2. On a seperate bathroom circut I have a GFI outlet that will also not trip. My tester states that the ground is open but when I check the voltage with a multi-meter Hot to Neutral and Hot to Ground show 120 and 0 across neutral & ground.

Both these circuts are wired properly but have malfunctioning GFIs. what else could cause this? Is there a problem at the panel? is it possible all the GFIs i bought were faulty? Doesn't seem probable.

[*joed]

Check for a ground. Your tester will not work without a ground connection. The recptacles however should trip without the ground. Check to see if the power is possibly hooked to the load terminals instead of the line terminals.

[*egbert]

I can rule out connecting to the load side. It is connected to line. I'll check the ground for continuity from the panel to the first outlet.
I also read soemwhere that these LED testers and multi-meters can get fooled to see a ground from induction.

[*Wgoodrich]

I would not be so sure you are not on the load side of those GFI receptacles.

What you discribe is found when the wires are connected to the load of the GFI and not line of the GFI .

When you said you paralleled, did you wire nut each black, white and bare and connect only one pigtailed wire each color to the GFI receptacle connecting a single black pigtailed wire from that wire nut to line brass screw or black wire of the device, one single pigtailed white wire from that second wire nut to silver screw or white wire of the device, then connect a single pigtailed bare wire from that third wire nut to the green screw or green wire of the device?

Wg

[*egbert]

Problem solved.

I did wire it as you suggest and they were connected to the Line side as they should. It turns out the GFIs were bad. I was re-using GFIs that were present when I bought the house to avoid buying new ones. After taking each of the outlets and connecting them at the panel it was clear it was the outlet. 2 out of 3 were bad. I bought some new ones and it is all now working as it should. I have never run into a broken GFI but now I know how they act.
I can't beleive the previous owner lived in this house with so many dead circuts and malfunctioning outlets. In re-wiring so far I must have uncovered a dozen code violations.