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RE: AC neutral return caused main fuse to jump

Posted by mikeyb on December 6, 2010 at 16:46:47:
If your power source uses a GFI (ground fault interrupter), there may be an explaination. GFIs work by monitoring the difference in current between the 'hot' and 'neutral' wires. They should always be equal an opposite, so that the difference is zero. Should the differance exceed a few mA, it means that some current is bypassing the neural wire; that is, current is flowing from 'hot' to ground. When that happens, the GRFI will 'trip'. By connecting 'neutral' and 'ground' together, you have created a condition where the ground and neutral wires share the load current. This is a very bad idea; the ground wire should never carry current. No equipment should ever tie the 'neutral' wire to chassis ground.