Help with GFCI

[JeffWaugh]

Hi, we're a year into our new (old) house and I've gotten the big projects done - or abandoned them. So I'm now noticing the little things...
In our kitchen on GFCI frequently trips, 1-2 times per week, usually as I'm flipping the paired light switch off. It always resets without a problem. Here's the real confusion: when it trips, the over-the-sink light is then de-powered but the outlets in the tripped receptacle stay live. I'm pretty sure this is either someone's mistake or faulty equipment. The whole point of having a GFCI near the sink is to deactivate the outlets if they sense a problem! Is there a way you can imagine that this was incorrectly wired to produce this error? Perhaps I just need to change out the outlet, but before I do I want to pick the brains of some more experienced folks and learn if there's something else afoot...

Thanks for the help!

[HayZee518]

outlets at the sink and within a six foot radius of the sink need gfci protection. lights don't need to be gfi protected. shut the circuit off and pull out the gfi and look at it. the receptacle may have four or six screws on it. one pair is power in, the other pair(s) is downstream outlets protected. lights with a flourescent ballast will trip a gfci. low voltage halogen lights will trip a gfi. be mindful of your polarity too.

[JeffWaugh]

Great, thanks! I'll pull the outlet and try to redirect the fluorescents to pre-switch. Any thoughts on why the GFCI isn't shutting down it's own outlets? In your opinion should I just replace it, or could this something corrected by my rewiring?

Thanks again,
Jeff

[HayZee518]

They're cheap enough for the protection they offer. Wouldn't hurt to have a spare.