Year ago garage fridge tripped garage GFCI. No other appliance from compressor to tools will trip it. Move it to another outlet which is on a different GFCI circuit and it hasn’t tripped in a year. Move forward to hurricane Dorian. Rearrange garage for storage reasons and move fridge back to original GFCI and it has worked since then. Today it trips. I plug it back into the pre Dorian outlet, on a heavy duty extension cord to test and it does not trip GFCI. I know the circuit works because I can do the test trip at the GFCI plug which happens to be in the Kitchen. Why would it trip one and not the other? Additional wire length from circuit and extension cord provide enough resistance to prevent trip?

Update, regardless of outlet used. Neither trip when test cord is used. And GFCI has been replaced.

Any ideas? Someone on here is much smarter than me on this issue.

Thank you

I don't have any grand advice. Likely there is something odd about the ground or neutral of the troublesome outlet. Could the fridge frame be intermittently touching another ground? Measure the resistance from each pin in the power plug to the frame. Do you know if the trip occurs at startup?

The long extension cord will lower the current draw somewhat.

It might be interesting to measure voltage between pins on the problem outlet and the same pin on another outlet while the fridge is starting. (be safe while doing this)

It is immediately upon plugging in. Distancing fridge from GFCI through use of test cord or plugging into a outlet fed off GFCI located elsewhere results in not tripping. Odd.

Did you inspect the outlet by removing it from the J-box? Is it possible that the line is connected to the load terminals?

Check the resistance between each conductor at the GFCI that trips, with the previous device in the line.

Prob a short in the GFCI circuit, somewhere.

I do know line and load are hooked up correctly. I will disco load from back of GFCI to eliminate other outlet and wires as a possible cause. Still don’t understand why adding a cord stops the problem.

Keep Fridges off of GFCI. Not meant for it.

Said this before. In the garage, which is a wet area, a freezer is to have a dedicated circuit with a single outlet (meaning not a duplex) as that IS the code.

That’s what I’ll do Trunk. However fridge circuits here are dedicated, but duplex outlets are used.

This is a well-known problem. We should all be aware of it by now. I've seen comments on this over at least the last ten years.


I'll guess that resistive, capacitive, and inductive influences of the added cord act as a snubber, lessening EMI created when an inductive load (a motor in the refrigerator) turns off.

It's a known problem. See [Link: diy.stackexchange.com]

It was amusing to read there that a recommended solution is no GFCI... and why don't the refrigerator manufacturers supply the solution... but they do... they supply no GFCI. It's hard to communicate that the solution has been supplied when the solution is nothing.

Actually, the answer is in the electrical code.

In doing central vacuum systems, where the cannister was mounted in the garage, I ran into this same issue many times. Didn't matter if it was a dedicated circuit, the inspector wanted to see a single outlet so the circuit couldn't be shared.

On those GFCI circuits, the vacuum would usually trip it on start up, or shut down.

Going mobile home style. Will put a dedicated circuit and plug right next to GFCI.

With the extensive troubleshooting I just completed with a Pool pump tripping a GFCI breaker instantly it has to be something in the wiring on that specific receptacle/circuit causing the issue. The way a GFCI works is by monitoring the difference between the HOT and NEUTRAL terminals (keeping in mind the neutral is connected to ground) this is why older houses that have Knob and Tube wiring it is acceptable and code (in our area anyways) to have a GFCI breaker/receptacle supply this circuit as there are no ground wires within the circuit.

Are you positive that you have a GFCI receptacle and not an AFCI receptacle? With older appliances (and some newer cheaper appliances) they do not have efficient motors in them (mostly AC motors) causing an ARC at startup and tripping the circuit (an ARC between HOT and GROUND).

In any case a Fridge must be a dedicated circuit and does not require GFCI/AFCI protection. Depending on the area most places allow a duplex receptacle for the fridge as it is typically enclosed within a cabinet so using it as a general purpose plug is not easily achieved. If the circuit is located in an area that the plug could be used as a general purpose plug as well as the fridge then I can see an inspector requesting a single receptacle to eliminate the opportunity to plug something else into it.

This same "Knob & Tube" holds true with older homes that have two conductor wiring.

In both cases it's fine to use a GFCI, and standard three prong duplex receptacles, but all MUST be labeled with "GFCI protected, no ground." in order to pass code.


Code will require a single outlet in a wet area (other than a fridge as you point out) , and an inspector that pays any attention WILL require it.


At one time the manufacturer of M&S units had new labels printed that did not include "UL listed", and the inspectors wouldn't issue a CO.

Are you plugging into the actual gfi plug? If so put a regular plug there then move gfi to next outlet. That way it’s not on the GfI and rest of your outlets will be.