Safety Warnings!

READ FIRST BEFORE YOU CONTINUE

This Ground Fault Installation Error, is the most common mistake made people installing a GFCI for a hot tub or spa.

The installer of this particular ground fault circuit breaker was confused, The way this thing was wired, caused the GFCI to never engage, or turn power on to the circuit.

Notice in the lower left, all of the neutrals and ground wires in the box are tied to the neutral bus bar. Also take note that the pigtail from the gfci is floating with a red wire nut on it. This is all wrong.

The white pigtail must be connected directly to the neutral bus bar in order for the ground fault circuit breaker to operate. The white neutral wire going to the bus bar from the spa must be installed in the neutral terminal in the gfci.

The best practices method of installing this box, would be to tie the neutrals to the bus bar, and connect the grounds separately, and tie them to the ground bonding bar inside the box (diagonal looking strip of metal underneath the wires, attached to the back of the box). The neutral bar in this box is actually isolated from ground.

A repeat of the above installation error... well almost. And this is the real 'most common' error.

When I first saw this even I was confused... Turns out it was a temporary installation just to get the tub up and working immediately.

The bottom wires are going to the tub, and the box is actually fed 230 Volt power from the left.

The error here, is that the load neutral (white) going to the hot tub, is connected to the neutral bar, instead of the (almost hidden) neutral socket in the circuit breaker. The breaker has to be removed to install the neutral wire on the bottom.

Use this information at your own risk!  Consult or hire an electrician if in doubt as to your particular application.