Rant: I learned the hard way that AI can hallucinate electrical code violations on a real job site

Was rewiring an old house in Portland last week and used an AI chat tool to double-check a weird 3-way switch setup. It gave me a wiring diagram that looked perfect, but when I tested it, the circuit almost shorted out. Turns out the AI invented a code rule that doesn't exist for that specific 200-amp panel. Nearly cost me a day and a half of work. Has anyone else nearly gotten burned trusting AI for code compliance stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbaraschmidt20d ago

My cousin's a marine electrician in Seattle and he had something similar happen with a dock power pedestal installation. He asked an AI about GFCI requirements for a 50-amp 125/250 volt shore power outlet and it told him he needed some weird double-pole GFCI breaker that doesn't even exist in that amperage rating from the major manufacturers. He spent two hours on hold with Eaton before he figured out the AI just made up a product code. You check that Portland panel's neutral bonding again after that scare?

skyler_fox7220d ago

That Eaton thing is exactly the kind of mess that makes me second-guess everything now. I had a buddy in Tacoma who does commercial solar installations and he asked an AI about grounding electrode conductor sizing for a 400-amp service on a warehouse roof setup. The AI told him a #2 copper was fine for a 400-amp service, but the actual code in Washington state requires a #1/0 copper for that size due to the building's steel frame needing a bigger path to ground. He almost ordered all that wire and had it delivered before a foreman caught the mistake. Did your marine electrician cousin ever find the correct breaker part number from Eaton, or did he have to switch to a different brand entirely?