Oil Pan Heater Trips GFCI plug??

WolfgangVW · Nov 16, 2017

Hi all. So just tonight i went to plug in my Jetta Oil pan heater, as soon as I plug it in it trips the gfci plug. I tried numerous times with multiple extension cords. I've been using it the last month with no issues. Any idea what's up or what to check or how to troubleshoot??

Beaker80 · Nov 17, 2017

It could be a bad GFCI (they do wear out. I just replaced one). Try a regular (non-GFCI) outlet. Are all the plugs and sockets dry? Any salt build up on terminals? Try plugging a light or other appliance into the GFCI outlet. Does it work? GFCI's trip on milli-amp shorts so it doesn't take much to trip them. Is your GFCI rated for weather resistance (WR) stamped into plastic? It needs to be WR for outdoor/wet location if it's an outside plug.

Genesis · Nov 17, 2017

It's almost-certainly a short-to-ground somewhere in the heater. Time to replace it.

The GFCI is doing its job, which is to identify any differential between the current going down the "hot" and "neutral" wires. If there is a difference between those two it's going to ground somewhere, which is DANGEROUS. If YOU become the path to ground instead of whatever it is now you will get a nasty shock -- or worse.

BobnOH · Nov 17, 2017

Had a cheap band saw like that, cut the extra ground off it ran fine.
But for something you use outside that extra ground is nice. Test the GFI, likely it's fine. Take apart the oil heater and correct the ground (may not be possible). Careful with that 110 circuit, insulate any grounding to the car itself. Last resort, use a 3 prong adapter.

WolfgangVW · Nov 17, 2017

Beaker80 said:
It could be a bad GFCI (they do wear out. I just replaced one). Try a regular (non-GFCI) outlet. Are all the plugs and sockets dry? Any salt build up on terminals? Try plugging a light or other appliance into the GFCI outlet. Does it work? GFCI's trip on milli-amp shorts so it doesn't take much to trip them. Is your GFCI rated for weather resistance (WR) stamped into plastic? It needs to be WR for outdoor/wet location if it's an outside plug.

The GFCI works fine with other things, my battery blanket for one. It's a brand new outlet a year ago i had an electrician install, so i'm thinking the outlet is fine, it also worked good all last winter with no issues. I suppose it's most likely the pan heater at this point.... thanks beaker

WolfgangVW · Nov 17, 2017

Genesis said:
It's almost-certainly a short-to-ground somewhere in the heater. Time to replace it.

The GFCI is doing its job, which is to identify any differential between the current going down the "hot" and "neutral" wires. If there is a difference between those two it's going to ground somewhere, which is DANGEROUS. If YOU become the path to ground instead of whatever it is now you will get a nasty shock -- or worse.

Cheers, ya i believe it's the original one that came with the car, so 14 years old or whatever. I guess it's done it's job!

WolfgangVW · Nov 17, 2017

BobnOH said:
Had a cheap band saw like that, cut the extra ground off it ran fine.
But for something you use outside that extra ground is nice. Test the GFI, likely it's fine. Take apart the oil heater and correct the ground (may not be possible). Careful with that 110 circuit, insulate any grounding to the car itself. Last resort, use a 3 prong adapter.

Thanks. At this point i may just replace the heating pad, it's done it's job for 14 years!

Oil Pan Heater Trips GFCI plug??

WolfgangVW

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Beaker80

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Genesis

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BobnOH

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WolfgangVW

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WolfgangVW

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WolfgangVW

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