ground fault
Current escaping dangerously
A ground fault is an unintended electrical path between a current-carrying conductor and a grounded surface.
This happens when current "leaks" from its intended circuit—often through damaged insulation, water, or a person touching live wires.
Ground faults create shock and fire hazards.
A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) detects these leaks and cuts power within milliseconds: The bathroom outlet has GFCI protection.
Also called an earth fault.
- fuseProtective melting wire
- arcCurved line segment
- earthSoil or electrical grounding
- currentDirected flow of charge
- circuit breakerAutomatic power cutoff device
tripped breaker · surge protector · residual · fire hazard · GFCI · shock · neutral wire · insulation · wire · milliamp · trip · voltage drop · equipotential · spark · power grids · code violation · outlet · short
- safeguardssafeguards, safety valve, protections, kill switch, defenses
- AC electricityAC, alternating current, hertz, sine wave, voltage
- electrical safetyelectric shock, circuit breaker, fuse, GFCI, surge protector
- electrical wiringwires, wire, circuit, hot wire, wire gauge
- faultsflaw, defect, imperfection, shortcoming, failing
- hardware failurespower failure, hard drive crash, boot failure, overheating, thermal runaway