I was a US Navy mechanic for 20 years. I very often found that when something was malfunctioning, and I took it apart, didn't find anything obviously wrong, and put it back together, it was magically fixed. I think it's because in the process, I accidentally cleaned out whatever bit of debris or tightened whatever loose thing was causing the original problem. Gremlins broke it, gremlins fixed it.
i learned the same thing as a kid working on million dollar machines at a newspaper. the head maintenance guy told me just un-seat and re-seat all the connections, that fixes most problems
As someone who spent over 10 years in the Navy who was allowed to assemble/disassemble a few more electrical components than I probably should've due to my electrical background, can confirm. "Mechanical agitation" is a real troubleshooting step, even if the SOPs don't explicitly say so
Mehdi is so selfless. He goes around the world to test electrical systems in tourist areas to make it safer for all while letting his own home become neglected with failing outlets. He is the true hero we need!
We have a saying in my language: _"The horse of the smith and the kids of the cobbler, they always walk barefoot."_ Of couse, it rhymes in my language. The meaning is that what you do as your work, you are less likely to do in private.
@@Youarenotme01374 That's the proverb. _"The cobbler's children have no shoes."_ You can be stupid if you like, but you don't have to be a dick to other people about it.
If he made one mistake and it caught a glowing wire or caught fire somehow he would need to get skin grafts. That stuff he used as "protective" gear, well that's literally liquid fire when it ignites, dripping, oozing, splashing is guaranteed. Especially if you handwave in a panic. I still shiver at every move he makes even without overthinking it the way I just demonstrated, it's a miracle (oh and a lot of skill) he still has all his digits and original skin.
He did wear gardening gloves waaayyy back in the Graphite video (I think that's from 2017), but that didn't end very well for him😂 I'd recommend going back and watching that.
For as often as Mehdi performs his GFCI tests, he ought to 3D print some sort of enclosure that would let him put his probes and resistor all in place ahead of time. Sure, wouldn't make as much of visual spectacle, but it'd be easier!
I strongly suspect most of the shocks/pops are added in post. 🫠 He's got a good schtick worked out, but he's intelligent- he wouldn't actually allow himself to be shocked by say, house current for example.
No it’s often frustrating because you’re like why isn’t this piece of shit working so you take it apart, find nothing wrong, put it back together and it suddenly starts working again
When you disassemble stuff you inadvertently remove dust and debris that might have accumulated on the device that was most likely causing the malfunction. It's pretty common.
Here in Uruguay we have a saying: "En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo" (in a Blacksmith's house, a wooden knife), so you get where I go with this. I always found that the greatest of professionals (specially the most creative) usually tend to be pretty careless about their own workplaces... Maybe because they know exactly when each plug in the house is gonna burst into flames, who knows.
Lol I never understood how people have trouble with mechanical devices. You can just look and see how it works, whereas electrical circuits are the ones with invisible operation.
@@ErrorTH and here too, I haven't finished any school, yet I can understand the overall mechanism and circuit when it is shown to me, but to think about it from a new project perspective and i wouldnt be able to differentiate an open gate and polarities most likely lol
@@alexturnbackthearmy1907conventional VS electron flow notation. Picking one would require engineers and physicists to compromise. We don't get along.
Unfortunately, I have extensive experience with AFCI's and GFCI's. Nuisance tripping of GFCI's is sometimes associated with inductively coupled noise onto the feed lines, such as a compressor starting for an AC or Refrigerator. Another source is that the GFCI is very sensitive to high frequency conducted emissions and will trip. While your Tesla Gun does have very high voltages, they may not be at a frequency that is worst case for the breaker you have.
Although tempting to put a GFCI socket on a refrigerator it's usually better not to because that last thing you want is for the refrigerator to de-power (and de-ice) without you knowing. Also, invariably the socket is right behind the refrigerator making it a PIA to reset it.
So, what can be done in the case of noise on the feed lines? Do you just have to try different outlets until you find one that is less sensitive, or can you stick something on the input lines to suppress the noise?
@@sadlerbw9 Currently there are multiple efforts to define at Agency Level (i.e. UL, IEC, NEC, etc) a way to improve performance of these systems in the real world. One example was when the compressor on a refrigerator started, and the inrush current occurred, this inrush would impress a current in an adjacent wire for the bathroom, and the GFCI would trip. Not the GFCI for the Kitchen but the bathroom. In evaluation it was shown that the feed cable for the bathroom ran in the same holes in the studs that the kitchen did. it was over 12ft of running in parallel. The solution was to replace the breaker panel GFCI breaker with the outlet version in the bathroom. This stopped the impression of a differential current in the wire. This issue affected about 60% of a 600 unit apartment complex. It is very complicated and technically challenging to resolve. Also each case is different. You can look for the offending signal source, but may never find it. Many times it requires changing the outlet GFCI and or AFCI to another manufacturer to get a better noise immunity.
Hi ElectroBOOM I just wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for all the incredible content you create. Your videos are not only informative but also highly entertaining, making the often intimidating world of electronics accessible and fun for everyone. From your detailed explanations of basic principles to your adventurous experiments, you have a unique way of making complex concepts understandable and enjoyable. Your approach to teaching is refreshing, blending humor with serious education, which keeps your audience engaged and eager to learn more. The way you demystify electronics, breaking down intricate ideas into simple, digestible pieces, is truly a gift. Your dedication to safety and your relentless emphasis on the potential dangers of working with electricity is something that sets you apart. You manage to balance the thrill of experimentation with the essential reminders of safety, ensuring that your viewers are well-informed and cautious. Your personal experiences, often humorously painful, serve as valuable lessons to us all, and they certainly make your points unforgettable. On top of your educational content, your creativity and willingness to take risks are incredibly inspiring. Whether you're building elaborate circuits, testing the limits of various components, or demonstrating electrical phenomena, your enthusiasm is infectious. You've inspired countless people to pick up a soldering iron, experiment with circuits, and dive into the fascinating world of electronics. Thank you for all the hard work, dedication, and passion you put into your videos. You have a remarkable talent for turning what could be a dry subject into an exciting adventure. Your ability to educate and entertain simultaneously is unmatched, and it's clear that you truly care about your audience and their learning experience. Please keep up the fantastic work. We are all eagerly looking forward to your future projects and the unique way you will present them. You are not just a great educator but also a fantastic entertainer who makes learning an enjoyable journey.
fun fact: those stickers aren't even legally binding in most countries, including the US. They're just there to scare customers from repairing their own products really
Thank you for this, I often get asked about these in my line of work and haven't really had an opportunity to take a working one apart. I work in this weird little niche bridging electrical and electronics, specifically dealing with high voltage surges that blow up electrical and electronics in people's homes, mostly from lightning strikes and damage from the electrical grid. These fail are many ways and you let me understand how they basically all work. One is obviously catastrophic where plastic blows out and electronics are burnt. But they also will sometimes not reset, sometimes they will not hold a reset, sometimes the button is permanently and firmly depressed down, and sometimes the button will be press-able but it won't do anything.
this is actually a very strong test of electronics - you can understand whether the white smoke on which it works has escaped However, surprisingly, the protector works even after the smoke has escaped
@@ijtsuken oh, I know it's a very valuable test as often it will tell something is wrong even before sparks/or smoke. Just funny that (at least on the cut he released) he started with that test, when often that is a second or third test after you've done tests before making power live, lol
@@___Bruh__ come on bruh, you really don't think he meant to shock himself when he took the glove off then immediately picked up the outlet?... did you know that wwe is real too?
I mean pliers are usually metal but they need to be voltage tools that have insulation on the grips/handles and screwdrivers need to be insulated until the actual tip.
This video is giving me dad vibes. Mehdi is just so loveable and seeing him work while explaining things is just like my dad when I help him with stuff.
Fantastic video! I was literally dealing with this same exact issue last week. I removed the faulty GFCI and pulled it apart (unfortunately I had to destroy the casing to disassemble it) and I saw basically the exact same hardware you saw. I figured out the solenoid coil, and disconnecting contacts, but I couldn't understand what was going on between the line terminals. Thanks to your video, now I know!
@@memejeff Strangely, the case was all plastic. There were 8 plastic tabs that kept it together, but unlike normal plastic tabs that can be pushed aside with a small screwdriver, they had been heated and formed after insertion to make it impossible to disassemble non-destructively. The only way to get past the tabs was to cut either the tabs (which didn't work very well) or cut open the holes they were threaded through (which was much easier, but way more destructive).
@@geraldalexander8093 wow. I have never seen something like that before. Shame that they made it like that. Sounds like a shockingly complex way of sealing it.
This is the really cool stuff I also come here for. Mehdi is a pro as disassembling and learning things, only to put it all back and teach us something, especially with everyday household items like a GFCI outlet. I absolutely love it
The better way to measure ground leakeage is to actually disconnect the ground/earth on the pannel and put an ampmeter between the connection 💀💀💀 PLS dont do it.
Taking something apart and learning from scratch is always so fun love seeing others do it as well it feels the most authentic and most constructive way to learn for myself at least
8:20 oh god, I had a GFCI in my kitchen die in such a scary and violent way that I thought the house was burning down. Heard this ungodly buzzing noise and then a loud pop like a firecracker. Kitchen smelt like burnt wiring, half the outlets were dead, half weren't. At the time I had no clue. Panic-called electricians and they came out first thing in the morning. They diagnosed it to the GFCI. After they replaced it, I took the old one apart like you did and found that the little coil there had a visible break in some of the windings, and under an electric microscope, I found insanely tiny bits of copper everywhere. So I guess something inside mechnically failed and that coil smoked itself until the copper melted and formed a break that caused a violent short/arc.
It could also have been that the coil was trying to break the circuit, but had physically gotten stuck, you can see in his video when he was playing with it. it was buzzing angrily and started smoking. in my experience with GFCIs the test resistor and that coil are not meant to see full 120 volts for very long. they will often fail. usually spectacularly with pops and electrical smells and the mysterious grey smoke.
@@compzac That's the most likely scenario. It was trying to trip but for whatever reason failed to shut off the power. That's probably part of the reason they say to test monthly, that ensures everything keeps moving freely.
@@compzac If that was the case I can't imagine why. At the time nothing was really using that circuit, and after they replaced it with a new GFCI and I turned everything on, nothing ever tripped. I wasn't in the kitchen at the time it happened and nothing was on but a little LED light, so I'd be confused as to why it wanted to trip.
I had the same model of Eaton GFCI outlet installed, and it also failed in the same way, despite no ground faults, and got to the point it wouldn’t even reset. Took it apart after replacing and now it works fine
It's funny that I just had a faulty GFCI of a different brand that was several years old - It would randomly pop when a particular low-power server was added to my homelab rack. Even after swapping the guts into a new chassis with a known-good power plane at the behest of "voltage out of range" diag messages, it'd still pop after 1-2 hours. After reaching wit's end after many tests the fix for me also was swapping it out for one that looks like your replacement! Whether it was a failure due to a design flaw, years of semi-high (5a-10a @ 120v) constant load, or some weird transient noise that an additional (and extra-sensitive) protection feature didn't like my setup, I'll probably never know. All I can say for certain is maintaining sanity is definitely worth the $20 for a new GFCI when nothing else can isolate the outlet, wiring, or devices that it feeds as this isn't a completely uncommon failure mode for old GFCI outlets. They don't last forever!
That basically means the test button does not simulate the ground fault but only provide energy to the tiny rail gun inside. No worry Mehdi you will be safe🥰
Yeah that’s super weird. In Europe RCD test buttons literally close a circuit between live and neutral outside the sensing coil (through a resistor) thereby directly simulating a fault.
@@killingtimeitself but simulating a current imbalance will also cause the whole closing mechanism to activate as it would in a real ground fault, and it will also catch issues with the current sensing system itself
@@thebaker8637 yeah, obviously, either code demands that it only insure the closing mechanism work, or it's simply just not that big of a deal. Using a test load would be more reliable though.
Knowing how it works is the first step you need to take before you can even attempt to fix it. But I generally agree, that sometimes disassembling something and then reassembling it can fix the problem.
Electrician here, gfci receptacles are the most common device changed out when on a service call, they have gotten better over the years but they are still very prone to going bad in one of a thousand different ways
Medhi, thank you for making the videos you do! Four year ago, as an aspiring college student, I wasn’t sure which path to take. Your videos helped me significantly in making that crucial choice. I am graduating with my Bachelors in Electrical Engineering in a week and I tell everyone you made the choice pretty easy! Keep doing what you do sir!
Hi Mehdi I remember your video from a while back on peltier devices when you said you didn’t understand the reason for how they work, I think I finally understand it. I think that the peltier effect ( cooling effect upon application of electricity) is due to the conduction bands of 2 different materials being slightly different from each other, We can try thinking it through with the example of an electron(e-) moving from a lower conduction band to a higher one. So if an e- is trying to move from 1 material to another, it will need to jump to a higher energy level, Total energy = Kinetic + Potential energy. The Potential energy gained by the e- has to come from the previous material’s particles. But since the inner shells of the previous atom should already be filled, none of them should be giving out energy by decreasing their energy level, thus only kinetic energy is loss. Meaning a very small temperature drop would be measured per e-. This is just from what I managed to read online, I do not have much knowledge about conduction bands, but hopefully this helps :)
It's nice to see you have so many subscribers. We live in a very extrovert world, but this just tells me that we have a ton of introvert nerds out there, and it's nothing to be ashamed about.
8:05 the coil there is the solenoid used to disconnect the circuit when a short is detected. it starts smoking because normally only gets powered for a very short amount of time
As a Master Electrician with an Electronics technician degree, MANY TIMES with the GFCI Receptacles, I have discovered that the lack of space in the box, combined with too many wires and improper installation, can put a forward bow between the mounting screws and the face of the GFCI. and can cause this exact reaction. A few simple spacers under the mounting screws solve this.
Notice on the sponsor ad (a few seconds later) how he zooms himself out into a tiny little man to make space for the sponsor graphics? I'm guessing that's why he used a greenscreen.
This scratched the itch I had as a kid to take things apart and (pretend to) understand how they work. Also appreciated the realization of not fixing the original problem after going through the effort of putting the whole thing back together again.
@@Okurka. As a general rule of thumb: No, we don't. The long answer is that it depends on your particular local distribution grid and your particular house. I have 15 A 240 VAC. Getting shocked by that will absolutely kill you if the current happens to pass through your heart. I have a friend who lost his dad from electrocution by simply cutting a live cord he assumed was not plugged in, without GFC.
Mehdi, that was reallly cool. very well explained, and the mechanical nature makes it very easy to understand, congratz on putting it back together, btw. thanks!
From an EU perspective, it's actually crazy to see that only on the outlet in the wall and the size of the circuit just to protect 2 plugs. What I have in the fuse box here works both as a circuit breaker and a GFCI to protect all the outlet in my place and people at the same time. It's crazy how different it is in NA compare to here. I would be so lost trying to work in canada or US.
GFCI breakers are a thing in the US. Code specifies what needs protection, but both methods are acceptable. Typically only 'wet' (bathroom/laundry/kitchen/garage/basement/outside) locations. One main advantage of the wall plug GFCI is that the state is visible and it can be reset from the point of use.
@@kratz9 Current code requires AFCI in most living spaces, so a lot of new construction puts all of the protection devices in the panel. Personally, I prefer it that way, because with circuits shared between multiple rooms, the receptacle with the AFCI/GFCI might not even be in the same room as the point of use, and which room it's in is entirely up to what substances the electrician who installed it was on that day.
Actually, in many european countries it is no longer accepted to use asingle RCD for the whole house. You must use more to avoid loss of power everywhere and several minutes or hours of profanity if a ground fault happens.
Suggestion: The tripping solenoid composes a tank circuit with some spurious capacitance on the circuit, making it resonate in a certain RF frequency that coincides with some thing around your house. Might be some radio station or a neighbour using a blender. Alternively, the current sensor can be the one who picks de RF.
Was watching some ghost hunters recently and thought I'd love to see Electroboom take apart the ghost hunting equipment and do tests on what sets it off.
Vibration can do the trick too. I think as they get older the solenoids aren't as strong so if you give them a good flick or drop something on a counter near them it can cause them to trip as well. One failure mode I've seen on this style is the test button getting locked down too. When that happens it just functions as a normal receptacle. Never bothered to fix them as that just doesn't seem like a wise thing to do on safety equipment, lol.
8:13 "it's so mechanical" every electrical engineers worse nightmare, like when i tried to fix my fans button, those 4 buttons off/1/2/3, so i opened it up but i didn't know how to put it back, i literally need to watch a video on how they work, i need to open it up 3x because i put the "THINGIES wrong💀💀
Ground is not needed for these devices. In fact, if you buy them, there will be a sticker that says "No Equipment Ground" which you put on if the socket is not grounded. Yes, it is code legal to replace a two pin ungrounded outlet with a 3 pin GFCI outlet, and it's safer that way too.
I have a video suggestion and it might help others too.. Smart switches that requires a neutral wire do not work in buildings that have no neutral wire in the switch box. What can you create that will make them work? 🤔😃 One product example is TP-Link KASA switch on/off. Will not work. I have heard about adding diodes, resistors, capacitors to bring the neutral in from the junction box at the light to the switch... Anyone interested in Electroboom helping the community out on this? 😮 For Science
Can you do a video debunking “Grounding Mats”? I got an ad for one and I don’t want to be on this planet anymore. Especially after seeing there are hundreds of supportive comments 😭 And most content about them is about how great they are!!!
2:55 i did some extra calculations to figure out whether or not the resistor would have gone up in flames :) the video was too blurry to tell whether the resistor was 22kΩ or 220Ω, but if it was 22kΩ it would draw ~0.055A or ~0.65W. if it was 220Ω it would draw ~0.55A or ~65.5W :D
Mehdi, we in the community have so many ideas for projects we can do! Just give us a heads up you will be making a LATITY video and then we will repost all of the ideas we have been submitting on the subreddit over the last few years! Otherwise if you just react to it without warning, you might only see terrible memes or things of that nature
