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AFCI Tripping in a newly remodeled house

Michelle Zhang
2 years ago

Our AFCI kept tripping - first when we open the insinkrator water heating tank under sink and dishwasher at the same time, and then the fridge would trip for no reason. We redid all wires in the house, so everything is new including the outlet and the appliances. We also permit everything.

My gc already changed one of the afci to normal one to avoid tripping and per him it happens a lot and he said ‘that’s normal nothing to worry’ when I request having the electrician coming back for an inspection.

Should I hire an independent electrician to do a check? Is this a serious problem or as described by my gc and we just switch to a normal plug? Is this a permit process mistake? If so does the inspector have responsibility and should I contact the city?

Comments (10)

  • Rachel Lee
    2 years ago

    Hire a licensed electrician. It’s not normal, and it’s not ok to switch from a required gfci to a standard outlet.

  • mtvhike
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    It's an AFCI, not a GFCI, if that makes a difference, code-wise. I have also heard that LG products frequently don't "play nice" with AFCIs; you didn't say what brand of appliances you have.

  • Michelle Zhang
    Original Author
    2 years ago

    appliances are kitchenaids

  • Michelle Zhang
    Original Author
    2 years ago

    Could you help me understand if AFCI is okay to be switched to normal one if different from gfci?@mtvhike thank you

  • Michelle Zhang
    Original Author
    2 years ago

    Also this has passed the code inspection does that mean there is truly no wiring issue or it’s a miss from inspector?

  • Ron Natalie
    2 years ago

    There's no requirement for AFCI in kitchens, so that is bizarre that it is so protected.


    The problem with certain things tripping these is likely to be a problem with GFCI however as well. Any of these things that have poorly filtered VFDs in them can cause havoc with the GFCI.

  • bakerstreet999
    2 years ago

    I'm in the middle of a full basement remodel, and doing everything including the electrical myself. It's fully permitted work, and is allowed in my jurisdiction for owner-occupied. While I'm not an electrician, I do know what I'm doing. So I was disappointed in myself when, upon doing the final electric on one of my new AFCI circuits, the AFCI would trip immediately upon applying any load. For example, breaker itself would not trip and everything would be fine without any load on it, but when I turned on the light switch the light bulb would flash on for a half-second and the AFCI would trip. Same thing with outlets on that circuit. My first thought was that the it was a bad breaker, but I decided that I would go through all of the receptacle boxes to check the wiring first. In the very first receptacle of the circuit, I found the problem. Four neutrals were joined together in a wire nut, but one of the wires was barely held in and was not making a good connection. Re-did that wire nut, and problem solved. You may want to ask your electrician to go through all the receptacles on that circuit and verify that the connections are solid.

  • toxcrusadr
    2 years ago

    Semi-knowledgeable homeowner here. I have heard that GFCI (not sure about AFCI) breakers are susceptible to tripping from inductive loads, the most common being motors. When you turn them on. I've seen this in my own garage when turning on things like an air compressor. Is it possible the OP is seeing this behavior related to the refrigerator compressor and/or dishwasher pump?

  • kudzu9
    2 years ago

    "Also this has passed the code inspection does that mean there is truly no wiring issue or it’s a miss from inspector?


    An inspection is often superficial and just means that the inspector was satisfied that code was met on whatever he/she checked on. Don't confuse passing an inspection with some kind of certification that everything was done right. It only means it appears to be done right to the extent the inspector checked. Inspectors aren't perfect, and many things can be missed with even the best inspectors.