I attempted to install a GFI Circuit Breaker in a panel box. Installing the GFI unit I installed the load (hot) wire to the breaker terminal and then I put the white wire from the GFI onto the neutral bar where all of the neutrals and grounds are commonly connected the breaker faults. If I disconnect the ground wire and have the GFI function as a plain Circuit Breaker it stays on. Placing the ground wire against a neutral or ground it sparks and the GFI opens. Help???
Let's start by being absolutely sure you have ALL the wires involved in the correct locations. A) Circuit Hot wire on the brass screw on the breaker B) The Neutral for the circuit on the white screw of the breaker C) The neutral wire from the breaker to the neutral bar D) The ground wire of the circuit on the ground bar in the panel. If you don't have a separate ground bar the neutral bar will have to do. I think you may have had Both neutrals on the neutral bar. If it still gives you trouble double check wires in each junction box to be sure the ground wire isn't making contact with a hot wire. This happens a lot when pushing receptacles back into the wall box.
Either you have a fault condition in your wiring or a device connected to the circuit -OR- you are trying to install a GFCI breaker on a multibranch circuit where two hot conductors are sharing a single neutral conductor. If it is a multibranch circuit, then a GFCI breaker cannot be installed at the panel for that circuit and GFCI protection must be done at or after the junction where the circuits diverge. If it is not a multibranch circuit, then you will need to hire an electrician to troubleshoot your system. Edit: For clarification, both the hot and the neutral for the protected circuit must be attached to the associated terminals on the GFCI breaker and the pigtail on the breaker must be landed on the neutral bus of the panel.
The neutral (white) from your circuit must be connected to the GFCI circuit breaker, not the neutral bar. From your description I don't think you did that. You cannot make a GFCI breaker function as a plain breaker. If it holds when you disconnect the ground, I would say you have a ground fault in your circuit (or something that is plugged in) someplace. If the neutral of the circuit is not connected to the breaker I would expect the breaker to hold only if there is no load. The sparking part: placing what ground wire against what neutral or ground (you have a common neutral/ground bar so I'm not sure what you mean by 2 places)? But if you mean the circuit ground you disconnected, and touching it to the neutral/ground bar makes it spark, there is clearly a load on the ground which should trip the GFCI. Added: your additional information makes it more clear that you did not connect the white from your circuit to the circuit breaker. This is necessary for a GFCI.
