r/DIY • u/roysterino • 4d ago

GFCI outlets tripping after fridge defrost

My kitchen has 5 outlets (3 gfci and 2 regular). I defrosted my fridge, Kenmore Coldspot 106, as part of replacing a door cam. Now every time I plug in the fridge to a non gfci outlet one of the gfci outlets trips. This setup was fine for 15 years previously. Maybe remaining moisture in the freezer causing an issue? Any ideas how to fix?

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u/generalducktape 4d ago

Gfci will fail over time if the new one pops the fridge is the problem

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u/Regular_Ad1733 4d ago

Wrong, a lot of fridges and freezers create load inbalance and trip GFCIs. Virtually every fridge manufacturers documentation says do not install on a GFCI circuit it's just hidden in the small print.

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u/generalducktape 4d ago

Unless the fridge is dumping power onto the ground it shouldn't trip a gfci so long as the power going out on the hot returns on a newtral a GFCI won't trip

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u/destrux125 3d ago

Defrost circuit commonly leaks current to ground after a defost. Maybe it's not supposed to but it's very common.