Spent a whole afternoon tracking down a ground fault that was right in front of me

Was troubleshooting a tripping GFCI in a Denver basement remodel, checked every junction box for 3 hours before realizing the homeowner's new sump pump had a cracked cord dripping water right onto the receptacle. Anybody else waste a full day on something this obvious?

3 comments

3 Comments

parkernelson18d ago

Wait, a cracked cord dripping water? That's insane.

harris.vera2d ago

Parkernelson, that's genuinely terrifying and I really feel for you. Must have been a shock seeing water drip from a cord like that. William's right about it being a sign of serious trouble, that kind of damage can cause a short or even a fire fast. Hope you got unplugged and had someone safe look at it right away. Electrical problems like that are no joke, especially with water involved. Glad you're okay and nothing worse happened.

william32017d ago

Ask @parkernelson when's the last time they saw a cracked cord dripping water. Because that's not just a leak, that's a sign your whole setup's about to fry. I've seen cords split from heat before but never actually dripping like a faucet. If that was me I'd be yanking the plug right now and calling an electrician before I even touched it again.