# Eaton CH dual function breaker: GFCI WON’T trip



## Sunny1 (Aug 3, 2021)

Anyone had this happen? rewired a house with a 90s cutler hammer panel so we got a half dozen or so Eaton CH dual function breakers for kitchen/bath/ etc and when it comes time for the final, one of the kitchen circuits won’t trip with the inspector’s gfci tester. The test button on the breaker trips it just fine, so afci working right, so inspector says must be a bad breaker.

We get a new breaker and… same thing. I mess around with it and realize a gfci tester does trip it, but the button just has to be held for maybe just under a second… still plenty of time to get nailed by a ground fault.

so before i go back to beg for yet another breaker, i need to make sure its not some weird thing going on with my wires, so I put a breaker from another circuit on the ‘bad’ circuit and it works just fine. And the ‘faulty’ breaker still faulty on the previously problem free circuit.

I take the time to change them again with another breaker and same thing. Doesn’t matter what phase it’s on or if there’s load on it, its just a bad breaker. So my supplier kindly and skeptically gives me ANOTHER one and… same thing.

allright, i figure, they got a whole box of duds, so i get one from Agent Orange and yet again the same thing. So now the
plan is just throw in an AFCI breaker from my stash for a lighting circuit and just put a gfci on the one exterior plug on that circuit.

i am just wondering if there is something i am missing or if anyone has seen this before. Maybe it’s just how they work now? But it doesn’t seem right it should be instant. I’ve pulled plenty of hairs out over these breakers with the opposite problem but this is a first for me. Thanks a lot for any insight!


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## MotoGP1199 (Aug 11, 2014)

If there's not an equipment ground it won't trip the breaker.


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## A Little Short (Nov 11, 2010)

First off, the test button on the breaker or receptacle is the only listed/correct way to test them.
Many inspectors think the plug-in tester should trip all of them but they won't. The tester won't work on any circuit that doesn't have a ground (EGC). It creates a short from hot to ground to trip a GFCI breaker or receptacle. If there is no ground, they wont' work. The test button on the breaker or receptacle will work because it shunts hot to neutral in a small amount, it doesn't do anything with the ground.

It sounds like there may be a bad connection with the bonding jumper in the panel and causes the plug-in tester to not work, or not right away. 
If you can't find the problem with the plug-in not working, I wouldn't worry about it as long as the test button works.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

MotoGP1199 said:


> If there's not an equipment ground it won't trip the breaker.


Yep. At least it won't trip the breaker using those little GFI / polarity testers.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

Are you using the same plug in tester every time?


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## Quickservice (Apr 23, 2020)

I would guess that you have a grounding problem because I have encountered the same problem with GFI's in old old houses that had no ground conductors. The breaker or receptacle test button takes precedent in this case.


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## SWDweller (Dec 9, 2020)

A Little short is right on. Your infector is out of the ball park and needs to be educated. 
This is the very arguement I have had with OSHA and MSHA inspectors. The way the specs were written by NFPA each manufacture can get to the result however they choose. Which means the 50 dollar tester he thinks in the cat meow is just garbage for THIS application.

I have not looked recently, last 6 weeks, but there are no testers produced that will measure the trip point. There are a few that will force a trip, but the value is unknown. A trip is worthless unless you actually KNOW the value. Hopping down off my box again.

You need to get the specs on your breaker and show the infector that the way the manufacture says to test it is this way. Be gental if possible go over his head if you have to.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

Hot to ground with a wiggy is my way to trip them.


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## Sunny1 (Aug 3, 2021)

Thank you all for your responses. Despite my overlong original post I failed to mention the house is now all new wire so there is an EGC on all circuits. No subpanels anywhere and all neutrals and grounds make are landed on the same factory bar. Until now I was unaware that the test button on the breaker is the authoritative test, our inspector uses a little plug checker so I've always just assumed that was legit. In this case since its just the one circuit I think I will simply replace it with another afci that already have and GFCI the one receptacle. probably not worth rattling any cages over this one since the CH breakers aren't my go to anyway. thanks again !


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## MotoGP1199 (Aug 11, 2014)

Sunny1 said:


> Thank you all for your responses. Despite my overlong original post I failed to mention the house is now all new wire so there is an EGC on all circuits. No subpanels anywhere and all neutrals and grounds make are landed on the same factory bar. Until now I was unaware that the test button on the breaker is the authoritative test, our inspector uses a little plug checker so I've always just assumed that was legit. In this case since its just the one circuit I think I will simply replace it with another afci that already have and GFCI the one receptacle. probably not worth rattling any cages over this one since the CH breakers aren't my go to anyway. thanks again !


You might want to verify you have continuity with the ground bar back at the panel.


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## EJPHI (May 7, 2008)

You can test the ground fault function in breakers by touching the neutral to ground as long as there is some load on the circuit. I think this is better and safer than touching the hot to ground because you don't risk tripping the overcurrent protection. Works great for finding which breaker is powering the circuit too.


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