Ampy 5253 A -red light flashing when power is off

[bart man]

Hi our electricity usage has trippled in the last month- no changes in lifestyle or appliances etc. my question is please: the meter red light still flashes at approx 20 second intervals after I switch off at the consumer unit - is this normal? the digital display can also be seen when the mains is switched off.
also can a faulty fridge/freezer cause excessive power consumption ? the thing kept switching off for an hour and then back on again. many thanks Martyn

 

[bernardgreen]

If everything is turned OFF at the consumer unit then there should be no current flowing so the meter should not be registering any use of power, therefor the red lamp should not be flashing. Is there only one consumer unit ? And are there any night storage heater running on as separate consumer unit ?.

Sounds like a faulty meter if all MCBs and the main switch are OFF and the lamp still flashes.

 

[bart man]

thanks Bernard- there is a separate consumer unit for the shower but this is switched off also. no storage heaters. we have an immersion heater that is always switched off on the wall switch. it may be controlled by the central heating ? - i dont know how it all works. we run our central heating boiler (water) for 1 hour in the morning and still have v.hot water late pm. thanks again Martyn

 

[Lectrician]

These meters are renown for failing. Most usually the screen fails, and the meters get sent off to the manufacturers so the recorded units can be obtained. I have also known these to register units being used when nothing is. They are well known for their issues.

A photo of your setup would help us to confirm you are not missing anything. You don't want to be reporting something that is not faulty.

 

[bart man]

Thanks - a few pics of meter- is that what you meant?

 

[Lectrician]

A wider shot of where the tails/cables lead to from meter?

 

[bart man]

here you go - its not pretty ! thanks

 

[eveares]

From what I can see by the photos, you only have one meter feeding a henley what in turn feeds two Distribution Boards (Consumer Units).

As others have said, you meter is likley faulty.

Also curious why the incoming neutral to the PME fused cutout is red? Also hope the non-terminated T&E wire above the neutral out from the fused cutout is dead! (See 2nd photo.)

 

[JohnW2]

Also curious why the incoming neutral to the PME fused cutout is red?

If we're both looking at the same thing, are you sure that's not just a brown sheath. Mind you, as I've shown before, this pic of the origin of my installation seems to indicate that DNOs use whatever colour cable they happen to have to hand ...


Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Where's my piccie gone?! Try again ....

 

[JohnW2]

Hmmmm - third try with a smaller image (I've posted the full-size one here before with no problems! ...

Kind Regards, John
Edit: That seems to work - why have things changed?

 

[bart man]

thanks for this much appreciated- I think we need to get the meter tested- our bill has gone from £43 / m to £149 / m since end of August !

 

[Iggifer]

wrt to the colour of meter tails, DNOs are a law unto themselves. Did a job where WPD were moving the meter and the guy used two lengths of brown because he didn't have any blue on the van. Put a bit of blue tape round it inside the cutout and said that's all he needs t do.

Rough if you ask me but they work to their own rules

 

[bart man]

another thought- we still get v hot water late pm and still hot enough for a shower at 10pm- but the central heating boiler only heats water for an hr in the morning it. im wondering if the immersion heater is running?? although this is switched off at the Economy 7 box ( we dont have E7 BTW ) would the central heating system control the immersion heater to maintain water temp? the cylinder thermostat is set at 50 degrees and is wired into central heating the wiring centre.

 

[endecotp]

the meter red light still flashes at approx 20 second intervals after I switch off at the consumer unit - is this normal?

This has been discussed before. Some of those meters DO flash periodically even when there is no load but the supply is connected. Others don't.
You may have a problem somewhere, but that flashing could be a red herring.