Continuity

[sotonblue]

I have removed a socket and checked the cables for continuity. I have continuity between red and red, but also between red and black. Is this right??

[JohnD]

It is a ring circuit, then?

If you have an appliance plugged in and switched on, at another socket or an FCU, then it will be providing a path between the P and N. Unplug them all and try agan. Do you know the resistance between the red and black?




p.s. in answer to your question "no"

[sotonblue]

I don't know the resistance as i only have a continuity tester.

It is a ring circuit.

Does this mean that if anything is plugged into any other plug socket in the house then i will get continuity between red and black??

[JohnD]

If it is something simple like a lamp, a kettle, or a heater, then, yes. They work by connecting a piece of (resistance) wire between the P&N. It gets hot by the current passing through it (you knew that, didn't you? Or are you the guy with a cannabis plantation in his loft?).

You will have someone along in a minute saying you should check the resistance in the ring, and betwen P&N, and to earth.

But if you are searching, e.g. for a cut or disconnected point in a ring, a continuity test is a start.

[Steve]

test between black and black, red and red, earth and earth. if all three give continuity, you have a ring. ideally, you should be measuring resistance too, as you can have continuity but high resistance (as your red-black continuity is probably showing)

As said, unplug everything, turn off all switches, FCUs, and try again.

[ban-all-sheds]

sotonblue wrote:

I have removed a socket and checked the cables for continuity. I have continuity between red and red, but also between red and black. Is this right??

Why did you measure between red & black?

What did you think you would find, and why?

What did you think the reading would tell you?