ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area A puzzel for Henry C

My 2 cents on this puzzle.
If the breaker was OFF and the GFI receptacle had power but tripped the test/trip buttons on the receptacle, then the breaker must be defective.

If the breaker was OFF and you couldn't rest the test/trip buttons on the GFI receptacle, maybe you needed power in order to reset the buttons on the receptacle.