Wiring

[DCC]

Is the CPC designed to protect the cable or the fitting?

The reason for asking is that surely the person who cuts back the cpc where it is not needed (plastic box, plastic switch) is not in the slightest bit dangerous, all they've done is created a future modification difficulty.

But there lies the danger, for anyone in the future (householder), assuming that earths will be satisfactory because they are there in the cable.
Wiring a system with no earth because of non-conducting accessories falls under the scope of reinforced insulation which has to be properly designed and allowances made for future upgrading.

and it's been mandatory to earth lighting circuits since 1966.
in the case of the op here, he states with the switch reds and blacks disconnected the next room doesn't work either. so with those earth wires chopped off he won't have an earth in that room. and the wiring doesn't look very old. there's no excuse for not connecting/terminating earth wires.

Guess I'm wondering if the real onus should be on future modifications to test that what is required is present and correct (in this case an earth) rather than laying blame on the original chopper offer who possibly did nothing actually unsafe at the time. I can see the temptation - I have this cable at my switch, there is nowhere to put funny shiny one so I'll chop it back to keep it safely out of harms way...)

Thing is, I can see myself doing such a thing in my younger days - say I'd wanted to move a switch and couldn't use the original cable. I'd have worked out where to connect everything at the rose/JB by copying what was there, run the new cable to wherever, find the plastic patris doesnt have an earth connector, neither does the switch - oh well, crop it to get it out of harms way. OK its not the right thing to do but its hardly "dangerous idiot" territory.

 

[DCC]

if you cut a live cable with cpc it is protected and the fuse or mcb would blow.

if you cut a live 2 core switch wire with no cpc (or neutral) the fuse or mcb wouldn't blow.

Indeed, hadn't stopped to think about that (although i was only really responding to the idea of chopping back the cpc at a switch where it has no use - not really thinking about the connection at the rose end.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The reason for asking is that surely the person who cuts back the cpc where it is not needed (plastic box, plastic switch) is not in the slightest bit dangerous, all they've done is created a future modification difficulty.

Really?

And what when they do exactly the same thing, for exactly the same reason, with a plastic ceiling fitting, thus removing the cpc from the downstream part of the circuit?

If all they have done is to cut the cpc back in that box, and everywhere else it is properly connected then they have not created a danger, but I believe that such an action shows so little understanding of why a cpc might be needed that it makes them a dangerous idiot.

Guess I'm wondering if the real onus should be on future modifications to test that what is required is present and correct (in this case an earth)

The onus should be on both, equally, to not do things wrong.

rather than laying blame on the original chopper offer who possibly did nothing actually unsafe at the time. I can see the temptation - I have this cable at my switch, there is nowhere to put funny shiny one so I'll chop it back to keep it safely out of harms way...)

As I said, that shows such a lack of understanding as to make someone as ignorant as that an idiot for deciding that it's OK to work on their electrics.

Thing is, I can see myself doing such a thing in my younger days - say I'd wanted to move a switch and couldn't use the original cable. I'd have worked out where to connect everything at the rose/JB by copying what was there, run the new cable to wherever, find the plastic patris doesnt have an earth connector, neither does the switch - oh well, crop it to get it out of harms way. OK its not the right thing to do but its hardly "dangerous idiot" territory.

Anyone who is such an idiot that they decide it will be OK to work on their electrics even though they know they know nothing about it is dangerous.

 

[DCC]

Of course.... I forgot, world bas = new world(rgb(0x000000),rgb(0xffffff))