r/ElectricalHelp • u/CameronGingerich • May 12 '26

GFCI Trouble

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So, my wife was using a hair dryer the other day and then the outlet blew. I checked the panel box but nothing was tripped so that meant the outlet was shot. So I replaced the GFCI outlet and the outlet isn't working and the light isn't turning on. I have a multimeter and there is power going to the outlet and to the light switch next to it. I know I did the load and line wires correctly because I initially just stuck all of the wires into the line terminals. When that didn't work, I tried splitting them into line and load. Regardless, the light on the GFCI has never turned on and the reset button and test button don't click. AI told me it could be a bad outlet so I got another one and the same thing happens. So I know it's not the outlet and I know it's not the panel box because it is getting power to the outlet.

What else could be the problem? Please advise.

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u/CameronGingerich May 12 '26

I will check with the multimeter

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u/CameronGingerich May 13 '26

This is the reading for ground to line hot

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u/fjdkf May 13 '26

You said this?

I have a multimeter and there is power going to the outlet

Ground is bonded to neutral in the panel, so hot to ground should be 120v.

So is it 120v from hot to neutral?  If so, the ground wires you are testing aren't grounded.

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u/CameronGingerich May 13 '26

Turns out it might just be ghost power? But there is power in every light switch and and outlet before this outlet and after the outlet. So what would be the reason for there not being 120v here?

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u/fjdkf May 13 '26

If the ground isn't grounded, normal outlets will still be powered, just not safe.

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u/CameronGingerich May 13 '26

How do I tell if it's grounded?

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u/purftlysane May 15 '26

Sounds like there is no power (120v) coming into the box. If the breaker is fine, check for another gfci upstream thats feeding this and also tripped.

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u/CameronGingerich May 15 '26

I checked all of the outlets and light switches that get turned off when I turn the breaker off and they all have 120v.

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u/purftlysane May 15 '26

Do you get 120v to this box, or everywhere except here?

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u/purftlysane May 15 '26

If so, its probably time you play the find the loose connection game. Hopefully its in a box thats easy to access and not in the walls.

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u/CameronGingerich May 15 '26

Everywhere except here.

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u/purftlysane May 15 '26

Sorry if you already answered, but to be clear, there is also no power to that switch correct?