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killer_cujo · Nov 23, 2009, 08:09 AM

Hi, I have a 15 amp double pole gfci breaker, square d , wired into my panel, it powersa 240 submersible pump in the lake to supply house water.
Everything works great, but when the inspector tested the breaker it wouldn't trip as it should.
Any ideas?
It is a standard submersible with the typical pressure system ( pressure cut ,in out switch)
Maybe a wiring problem in the panel I wired wrong that allows it to work properly but not trip when tested??
Thanks for your time

EPMiller · Nov 24, 2009, 04:00 PM

Did it work when first installed and tested? If so, you will have to replace it. If it never worked, is the neutral pigtail hooked to the neutral buss bar? That must be hooked up for the test button to work.

killer_cujo · Nov 25, 2009, 08:12 AM

Hi, thanks for answering. Upon further looking, it is a 3 wire from the pump to the control box, hot ,neutral and ground, out of the control box to the panel is 2 wire and ground of course, the breaker has load 1 and load 2 which are connected and panel nuetral which is connected, but a line neutral that is not connected! I am assuming this is the problem, but one neurtral from the control box to the panel is hooked to the panel neutral , so I have no idea where the other neutral is from??
Again it is 2 wire to the panel and the breaker has load 1 , load 2, panel neutral , and line neutral
If you could tell me how this should be wired it would be MOST appreciated!!

killer_cujo · Nov 25, 2009, 08:12 AM

Sorry forgot, the pump works perfectly but not sure if I ever tested the breaker till now
Thanks again!

EPMiller · Nov 25, 2009, 07:33 PM

Uhhh... If the cable to the pump is hot, neutral, gnd then it is a 120v circuit which would require a single pole breaker. For the GFCI to work, the neutral from the protected circuit must go through the breaker. Only the pigtail from the breaker will be hooked to the neutral buss bar for that circuit.

If this is actually a 240v pump and the cable has black, white and ground conductors, that white is NOT a neutral. It is the other hot side of the 240v circuit. It should also be marked with tape to show that.

I reread your post from this morning and I believe you do have a 240v pump. There is no neutral. Let's ignore the ground, it will take care of itself and is of no farther concern to us if it is hooked up correctly. I am going to assume that you have a cable from the panel to the pump control that has 2 insulated conductors, black and white. Those 2 conductors should be hooked up to the Load 1 and Load 2 terminals of the breaker. The white pigtail from the breaker should be hooked to the neutral buss bar. There will be no connection to the "line neutral" terminal of the breaker as there is no neutral needed for the pump.

This is the best I can do with your description of your wiring. Your punctuation and capitalization leave much to be desired and so my interpretation of what you meant could be wrong. If you installed this originally and never tested the GFCI when commissioning the installation, you never finished the job in the first place. If the GFCI still doesn't work, call a real electrician, that way you can be assured that everything works as it should and it will be safe.