Hi Woke this morning electric had tripped , reset on board found to be downstairs sockets circuit the problem, unplugged all appliances still tripping checked all sockets they look ok, swapped fuse with upstairs circuit and its still tripping, sometimes stays on for a few minutes.
Downstairs sockets
- Thread starter carl150
- Start date
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What is tripping? the RCD? (has a test button, usually covers more than one circuit) or MCB? (individual breaker for that circuit, no test button) or RCBO? (individual breaker for that circuit, has a test button).
Have you recently done anything which might have damaged a cable?
You said you unplugged everything, but do you have any appliances connected via FCUs?
Do you have any external lights or sockets spurred from the socket circuit?
You said you unplugged everything, but do you have any appliances connected via FCUs?
Do you have any external lights or sockets spurred from the socket circuit?
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A few weeks ago I reset a cable into the wall , yesterday took it back out to check I hadn't gone through it with the galvanised channel looks ok. The boiler is on the circuit but I isolated it (took out fuse). No spurs coming of the circuit.
If you're certain everything is disconnected from the circuit then the next step would be to test it. To do that properly you would need an insulation resistance tester... it may be time to call an electrician. Usually (for a competent electrician) it's pretty easy to find the fault but repairing it isn't always so straightforward. A neutral-earth fault can trip RCD's so generally things need to be unplugged/completely disconnected from the circuit (and this is needed to fully test anyway), not just switched off (unless double-pole switches) however because the RCD is holding in with the one circuit off at the MCB it suggests it's a live/earth fault not neutral/earth (if it was neutral/earth fault it would likely still trip when other circuits on the same RCD were in use).
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Sorry to say removing fuse does not isolate. The fuse is only on the line the neutral will still be connected. For that reason I like switched FCU as the switch is normally two pole so does isolate whole supply.
Since around here it has started to rain I would look for outside lights often these are feed from socket supply in theory when RCD protected we should use double pole switches but often RCD is added latter and so switch is single pole so again the neutral to earth fault can still cause it to trip even when switched off.
Old rubber cables can fail on insulation but in the main faults are normally either in the back box or where a screw or nail has hit a cable. Spiders and mouse have been both known to get into boxes and cause a fault. With mice they may even have chewed the cable.
Damp can also cause problems cold wall and damp room can cause condensation to form in back boxes.
As electricians we use an insulation tester which uses 500 volt without one of these it's hard to go past the basic testing and they are not cheap so once simple tests are done then time to call an electrician who with the help of the machine can find faults you would not find.
Since around here it has started to rain I would look for outside lights often these are feed from socket supply in theory when RCD protected we should use double pole switches but often RCD is added latter and so switch is single pole so again the neutral to earth fault can still cause it to trip even when switched off.
Old rubber cables can fail on insulation but in the main faults are normally either in the back box or where a screw or nail has hit a cable. Spiders and mouse have been both known to get into boxes and cause a fault. With mice they may even have chewed the cable.
Damp can also cause problems cold wall and damp room can cause condensation to form in back boxes.
As electricians we use an insulation tester which uses 500 volt without one of these it's hard to go past the basic testing and they are not cheap so once simple tests are done then time to call an electrician who with the help of the machine can find faults you would not find.
That behaviour is consistent with what I'd expect from a damp related problem.
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