3587 GFCI power outlets not resetting

[JwPwns]

Last night after turning on a space heater, tv, sound system, dehumidifier, another space heater then comes my girlfriend forgot about the fact that we are on a boat turns on the hair dryer.. haha well the power went off like many times before so I check the panels nothing's jumped. I flick them to off and back on anyways. After that the aft outlets have power but forward gallery, and forward rooms including the smaller room doesn't have any power. So I reset the master GFCI outlets. The outlets with switch to test works but the ones without are still powerless.. any help and information about where to start diagnosing will be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time in advance.

[MonteVista]

Check around the boat for another GFCI that has a RESET button. It is possible that the outlets without a RESET button were wired in series with another outlet (with RESET) which still requires reseting.

Good luck.

[Pcpete]

There could be another gfci between the ones reset and the hair dryer. Usually, if there is a gfci circuit set up, there is one at either the beginning of the circuit, like the first outlet, or the first one in an area where it’s a good idea to have one. When one is properly installed at some point in a circuit, everything past that outlet is protected. That’s why you may see one per outlet circuit in a household kitchen. Often, people will install gfci’s at every outlet creating a department of redundancy department, and a riddle until the owner figures out the wire path.

[B95054]

If there is no GFCI upstream it could be that you have blown the GFCI and will need to change it for a new one. If you go that route, consider a GFCI/AFCI combination receptacle. This will give you all the benefits of GFCI safety with arc fault sensing from things like wires that have rubbed raw or shorts along the system. IMHO the AYBC should make them mandatory on all new marine applications.
Here is a link:

http://ecatalog.hubbell-wiring.com/press/pdfs/Original_WLFG005.pdf

[businessgetmoney]

As well even if its not a gfci thats bad, could be any outlet thats gone bad in the series circuit. $2 swap them out, they do go bad

[JwPwns]

Thank you for your replies, I searched the whole boat and found only two switch with resets. Wonder if there's a fuse somewhere in between those outlets ? Both GFCI works however all forward sections outlets doesn't I will replace the GFCI that controls the forward receptacles and see if that will solve it.

[businessgetmoney]

Start at the first outlet that doesnt work, replace it. See if you have voltage at the hots on eiher side. If you do on one side its a bad outlet. Like old xmas lights if one outlet goes bad the next wont work.

If you wish when you rewire them you can leave hots connected with a pig tail (so 3 blacks total) to feed the outlet. This way if the outlet goes bad it wont black out the rest.

[B95054]

If you wish when you rewire them you can leave hots connected with a pig tail (so 3 blacks total) to feed the outlet. This way if the outlet goes bad it wont black out the rest.

Sorry if this sounds harsh but this is such bad advice that I want to be very emphatic so that nobody does this.

Please do not bypass the GFCI ! It is there to protect everyone on board from electrocution. Jumpering the hots on a GFCI bypasses all of the built in safety for the entire circuit and defeats the purpose of having a GFCI in the first place. In a marine environment this could easily result in death or if you are lucky just injury.

if you have any concerns about wiring consult an electrician.....but following the above mentioned advice is definitely something that you should not do.

[builderdude]

OP says both GFCI outlets work so I assumed business was referring to the fist outlet fed from the load side of the GFCI. many times these outlets are being used as connection points to outlets further down stream. Adding the pigtail at these outlets only keeps the rest of the outlets (fed from the load side of the GFCI) functional in the event the outlet itself fails.
To be clear: DON'T PIGTAIL A GFCI OUTLET!

[B95054]

Okay re-read businesses advice and now I see how he could be talking about downstream devices.
However my warning remains unchanged.........
ALL outlets on the boat should be GFCI protected. Pigtailing downstream outlets bypasses the GFCI protection for that outlet putting the safety of the occupants at risk.
Not only are boats in an environment that is wet and requires GFCI protection, but the OP has an electrical issue which is tripping the GFCI. Jumpering the outlet only removes the protection and exposes humans to the potentially deadly shock.
I stand by the statement: Do not pigtail the outlets on your boat !
Instead, diagnose what is causing the device to trip and repair the problem.

[builderdude]

Okay re-read businesses advice and now I see how he could be talking about downstream devices.
However my warning remains unchanged.........
ALL outlets on the boat should be GFCI protected. Pigtailing downstream outlets bypasses the GFCI protection for that outlet putting the safety of the occupants at risk.

Outlets connected downstream of the GFCI (outlets connected to the load side of the GFCI) can be pigtailed and this does not bypass thier ground fault protection.
Now if your pig-tailing at the GFCI outlet then you will remove the ground fault protection for all outlets downstream and the only outlet that will be protected is the GFCI itself.

It sounds like OP has a bad connection at either the load side of the GFCI or the next downstream outlet.

[B95054]

Woke up this morning, read the most recent post then got all indignant and went back to a diagram that I had drawn to illustrate my point...... Still had the GFCI pigtailed in my diagram. Damn I hate having to admit that I was wrong but I don't see anyway out of this (haha). You are right and I am wrong - the downstream pigtailed devices are still protected.
I stand corrected !

[Norton_Rider]

... The outlets with switch to test works but the ones without are still powerless.. any help and information about where to start diagnosing will be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time in advance.

Does your boat have an inverter or inverter/charger? Rather than being wired to one of the GFIs, the the outlets in question may be wired through the inverter relay. If so, you may need to reset the inverter.

[businessgetmoney]

Wha ha! I win. Its what we do in commercial wiring..

[JwPwns]

Does your boat have an inverter or inverter/charger? Rather than being wired to one of the GFIs, the the outlets in question may be wired through the inverter relay. If so, you may need to reset the inverter.

Yes it does have inverter and charger I will look into that as well, thanks for the advise