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Showerthought: Skipping GFCI on my patio lights was a bad idea
Put up lights over my patio without a GFCI outlet. First rainstorm, the whole circuit blew. Now I'm stuck with dark evenings. How do I fix this without redoing everything?
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the_taylor7mo ago
Did you reset the breaker yet, or is there maybe water in the connections? Sounds like a mess lol.
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hall.joel7mo ago
Always look for water in the connections first before you reset the breaker. A wet connection can cause a short, so dry it out with a hair dryer on low heat. Once it's bone dry, try the breaker again, but get help if it keeps tripping.
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baker.willow7mo ago
If there's water in there, just resetting the breaker could make things worse. @hall.joel had it right about using a hair dryer, because water can hide in tiny spots. Be totally sure it's dry before you flip the switch, or you could cause more damage.
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jason_lewis37mo ago
My neighbor's outdoor outlet shorted last month from a hidden leak. People always rush to flip the switch before checking the real cause.
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wyatt_mitchell267mo ago
Honestly, the hair dryer trick is a good start but it's not a real fix. Tbh, if water got in once, it's going to happen again without a GFCI. That breaker tripping was a safety feature doing its job. You really need to get a GFCI outlet or a GFCI breaker installed, even if it's a pain. Just drying it out and resetting things is asking for the same problem next time it rains.
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