That Darn GFI!

[Feralpeg]

I am really made at my electrical system! They have GFI outlets throughout my house. Now, I know they are a safety thing, but they are causing me a lot of grief. I've had my Christmas lights up for a couple of days. No problem lighting them. Tonight, I plugged them in and they wouldn't light. I check all of the breakers and they were fine. I found the GFI on the outlet in the garage had popped. I tried to reset it. It wouldn't reset. I unplugged the Christmas lights and it reset. As soon as I plugged them back in, it popped. Now, I could understand it if my house looked like the Griswalds, but it doesn't. I just have about four strings of lights. Darn! Tomorrow, I guess I'll have to undo the various strings of lights and see what happens. Maybe I blew a fuse in a string of lights. This is not fun!

 

[froglady]

I am really made at my electrical system! They have GFI outlets throughout my house. Now, I know they are a safety thing, but they are causing me a lot of grief. I've had my Christmas lights up for a couple of days. No problem lighting them. Tonight, I plugged them in and they wouldn't light. I check all of the breakers and they were fine. I found the GFI on the outlet in the garage had popped. I tried to reset it. It wouldn't reset. I unplugged the Christmas lights and it reset. As soon as I plugged them back in, it popped. Now, I could understand it if my house looked like the Griswalds, but it doesn't. I just have about four strings of lights. Darn! Tomorrow, I guess I'll have to undo the various strings of lights and see what happens. Maybe I blew a fuse in a string of lights. This is not fun!

How old are the lights? Are you sure that they're outdoor lights? (I've run into a few that are NOT outdoor lights, although they look like all the rest.) I've never had any problem with my GFI outlets, and I've connected lots of lights to them. If my GFI kept popping, I would hesitate to use that (those) string of lights.

 

[Feralpeg]

How old are the lights? Are you sure that they're outdoor lights? (I've run into a few that are NOT outdoor lights, although they look like all the rest.) I've never had any problem with my GFI outlets, and I've connected lots of lights to them. If my GFI kept popping, I would hesitate to use that (those) string of lights.

They are brand new strings of lights. They said they were indoor/outdoor, but I think I will get rid of them and start again. When I first put them together, a fuse went in one string right away. I threw that string away and just used the others. They must not be very good lights. It wouldn't be so bad, but I got 21 mosquito bites the day I put the darn things out. I don't want to repeat that. We may just go dark for the rest of this holiday season!

 

[ilovepcot]

Humidity can cause this with GFI's. Will drive you NUTS!!!!

 

[golfgal]

I can honestly say that I have never gotten a mosquito bite putting up Christmas lights (that just sounds funny to me)--frost bite maybe . I know that most of the lights I have used over the years only allowed 2 or 3 strings to be connected together. Try running two strings of lights together and plug that in and then run an extension cord or something for the other two strings.

 

[Feralpeg]

I can honestly say that I have never gotten a mosquito bite putting up Christmas lights (that just sounds funny to me)--frost bite maybe . /QUOTE]

Yes! One of the perks of living in Florida! Mosquitos year round. I put the lights up in the afternoon. I probably would have been sucked dry if I'd done them in the evening!

 

[Dan Murphy]

UGH, mosquito bites doing Christmas lights.

There is electrical leakage somewhere, Peg, in a string of lights.

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm going to toss this set of lights and get new ones. I'll make Kendall put them out. She doesn't have any mosquito bites currently. LOL! Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[the kabuki]

Mosquito bites while putting up lights... OMG you're killing me