Hi all,
About a month ago the main RCD in our CU suddenly started tripping out every 5 minutes. After a bit of head scratching I thought I'd try and turn on appliances independantly to see if they were causing the RCd to trip.
When I went to turn the heating on I heard what I would describe as a very quiet 'arcing' sound coming from the washing machine which is near the heating switch. Pulled the washing machine out was was about to start opening it up to see if I could find the problem, and I realised that it was the socket behind that was making the noise.
The socket has the washing machine and dishwasher plugged into it, always on. Undid the screws on the face plate and slowly pulled it out so I could disconnect the cables and the Neutral cables (I'm pretty sure it was the neutrals) simply slid straight out as the screw had become loose. Tightened them all up properly and it seemed to fix the problem.
However today its tripped again, so I'm assuming that the socket issue was purely coincidence. Now I know that its trial and error to find either a faulty appliance thats causing the problem, or a dodgy piece of house wiring. But seeing as its been a month since it last happened, it could take ages before it happens again.
Whats the best course of action to take? Is there a piece of equipment I can buy to test each appliance without having to wait for it to trip the RCD? I'm wondering if it's the fridge....I have plug style RCD - if I use that will it trip that RCD before the main CU RCD?
Not a split load CU which makes it harder to trace....and more inconvenient!
Thanks, Phil
About a month ago the main RCD in our CU suddenly started tripping out every 5 minutes. After a bit of head scratching I thought I'd try and turn on appliances independantly to see if they were causing the RCd to trip.
When I went to turn the heating on I heard what I would describe as a very quiet 'arcing' sound coming from the washing machine which is near the heating switch. Pulled the washing machine out was was about to start opening it up to see if I could find the problem, and I realised that it was the socket behind that was making the noise.
The socket has the washing machine and dishwasher plugged into it, always on. Undid the screws on the face plate and slowly pulled it out so I could disconnect the cables and the Neutral cables (I'm pretty sure it was the neutrals) simply slid straight out as the screw had become loose. Tightened them all up properly and it seemed to fix the problem.
However today its tripped again, so I'm assuming that the socket issue was purely coincidence. Now I know that its trial and error to find either a faulty appliance thats causing the problem, or a dodgy piece of house wiring. But seeing as its been a month since it last happened, it could take ages before it happens again.
Whats the best course of action to take? Is there a piece of equipment I can buy to test each appliance without having to wait for it to trip the RCD? I'm wondering if it's the fridge....I have plug style RCD - if I use that will it trip that RCD before the main CU RCD?
Not a split load CU which makes it harder to trace....and more inconvenient!
Thanks, Phil
