Reverse wiring indicator for GFCI receptacles

An integral AC receptacle and ground fault circuit interrupter for protecting said receptacle, comprising:

• a housing;
• first and second terminals carried by said housing for connection to the line and neutral conductors, respectively, of an AC source;
• a receptacle outlet carried by said housing for receiving an AC line cord plug, said receptacle outlet having first and second contacts which are electrically connected to said first and second terminals;
• third and fourth terminals carried by said housing and electrically connected to the first and second contacts of said receptacle outlet, respectively, for optionally connecting said AC receptacle in parallel with a remote AC receptacle for which ground fault protection is desired;
• first and second sets of electrical contacts for selectively connecting said first and second terminals to said first and second contacts, respectively, of said receptacle outlet when said contact sets are in a closed position and for selectively disconnecting said first and second terminals from said first and second contacts, respectively, of said receptacle outlet when said contact sets are in an open position;
• a manually resettable latching mechanism for releasably latching said first and second contact sets in the closed position, said latching mechanism being actuated by a RESET pushbutton carried by said housing;
• a control circuit for detecting an imbalance in current flow through the line and neutral sides of said receptacle outlet that is indicative of a ground fault condition at an AC load connected to said receptacle outlet;
• an electrical solenoid operated by said control circuit for deactuating said latching mechanism to open said first and second contact sets;
• a test switch for selectively connecting one of said first and second terminals to one of said second and first contacts, respectively, of said receptacle outlet in order to simulate an imbalance in current flow through said receptacle outlet and thereby cause said control circuit and said electrical solenoid to open said first and second contact sets, said test switch being operated by a TEST pushbutton carried by said housing;
• and
• a removable barrier interposed between the contacts of the contact set that is connected to the contact of said receptacle outlet other than that to which said test switch is connected, said removable barrier preventing a return current from being established through the contacts of said contact set in response to actuation of said test switch under circumstances in which said AC source has been erroneously connected to said third and fourth terminals rather than to said first and second terminals.

A method for testing for improper wiring of an AC ground fault circuit interrupter receptacle having a pair of AC source terminals, a receptacle outlet connected to said source terminals, a pair of AC load terminals connected in parallel with said receptacle outlet, first and second latching contact sets connected in series between said source terminals and said receptacle outlet, a control circuit for releasing said contact sets to disconnect said source terminals from said receptacle outlet and said load terminals in response to a ground fault condition, and a test switch for simulating a ground fault condition by selectively connecting one of said source terminals to the one of said load terminals having opposite polarity, said method comprising the steps of:

• latching said first and second contact sets;
• temporarily open-circuiting at least one of said AC load terminals in order to prevent said test switch from simulating a ground fault condition when an AC source is connected to said load terminals rather than to said source terminals;
• operating said test switch while said open circuit exists at said AC load terminal;
• and
• observing whether the operation of said test switch causes said contact sets to be released.