Just rewiring the house and have found continuity between live and earth on the main incomer. Is this normal? Had some issues with the bathroom light/fan combo appliance which showed the continuity. Light works but fan doesn't although think that is because of faulty wiring in the fan. Can anyone help please?
Continuity on main incomer between live and neutral
- Thread starter Steperry83
- Start date
Please be PRECISE as to how you found continuity between Live and Earth on the incomer.
The other end of the incomer is connected to the Live and something at the sub-station. You would have found 230 volts between them if you were testing the incoming supply cable.
Do you mean there is continuity between the Live in the consumer unit and earth in the consumer unit. ?
How many ohms is this "continuity" ? That will give a clue as to where the mistake has been made in the re-wire.
The other end of the incomer is connected to the Live and something at the sub-station. You would have found 230 volts between them if you were testing the incoming supply cable.
Do you mean there is continuity between the Live in the consumer unit and earth in the consumer unit. ?
How many ohms is this "continuity" ? That will give a clue as to where the mistake has been made in the re-wire.
Sorry meant live and neutral. As the fan was not working, tested continuity showing live/neutral and worked back to the main incomes showing continuity.
Sorry to be blunt but if you have to ask for help in locating a short between Live and Neutral in the wiring you have installed then one has to doubt that you are competent to safely rewire a house.
Separate the circuits at the consumer unit and find which of these has a short between Live and Neutral. Then repair that fault.
Separate the circuits at the consumer unit and find which of these has a short between Live and Neutral. Then repair that fault.
Is this before you have started the rewire, or are you in the middle of it?
If the fan was not working, would it not have been better to test for voltage at the fan terminals, and also to test for resistance through the motor?
Anyway, if you have had power on which you must have because you say you were testing why the fan wasnt working, then if there really was continuity between live and neutral then would it not be tripping the RCD all the time? You cannot possibly have tested the main incomer on the cutout side??
if you have done the rewire and you do indeed have a low resistance between live and neutral then i think you need to check over your wiring very carefully or get in a pro. I would be asking why is the power coming on at all if there really is continuity between live and neutral, and you have fitted an RCD protected consumer unit.
Even on an old fuse based consumer unit, if you short out live and neutral, then the fuse blows almost straight away. What resistance reading are we talking here? 0.1 ohms or larger?
If the fan was not working, would it not have been better to test for voltage at the fan terminals, and also to test for resistance through the motor?
Anyway, if you have had power on which you must have because you say you were testing why the fan wasnt working, then if there really was continuity between live and neutral then would it not be tripping the RCD all the time? You cannot possibly have tested the main incomer on the cutout side??
if you have done the rewire and you do indeed have a low resistance between live and neutral then i think you need to check over your wiring very carefully or get in a pro. I would be asking why is the power coming on at all if there really is continuity between live and neutral, and you have fitted an RCD protected consumer unit.
Even on an old fuse based consumer unit, if you short out live and neutral, then the fuse blows almost straight away. What resistance reading are we talking here? 0.1 ohms or larger?
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If there were a short circuit between Live and Neutral the RCD would not trip. However any MCB or fuse in the path would trip/blow. But if the short were at the incomer the main fuse would blow.
I suspect the OP doesn't not understand his test equipment and/or electrical terminology.
OooopsOf course.
However, in his first post he said continuity between live and earth,and then it was live and neutral and now im confusing the 2!
Strange how he has not replied back. I wonder if he is trying to sort out a mess right now as we speak?
S
SaladFingers
Well you're gonna get something between live and neutral if somethings still connected, not a dead short though.
AND PLEASE DO NOT TRY AND TEST FOR CONTINUITY BETWEEN AN ENERGISED L + N
In my opinion you do not have the required competance to be rewiring installations.
In my opinion you do not have the required competance to be rewiring installations.
- Did you apply for Building Regulations approval? What did you say would be the way you'd ensure compliance with Part P?
- For a circuit to supply a given load, how would you go about deciding what cable and protective device to use? You can't just copy what you currently have because that might be wrong, and it's going to become your responsibility.
- Do you know which circuits can be ring finals and which cannot, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each are?
- Do you know what the two main lighting circuit topologies are, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each are?
- How do you calculate maximum demand and how can diversity be used?
- What are the 3 different types of domestic single-phase supplies provided in this country, how would you recognise them, and what differences do each make to the requirements for the rest of the installation, particularly any outdoor supplies?
- Can you correctly identify all components and connections of a circuit by method of testing or otherwise? In doing so can you identify or recognise anything wrong or dangerous with the circuit?
- Do you understand how the way in which you install cables affects how much current they can carry? You can't just copy what you currently have because that might be wrong, and it's going to become your responsibility.
- What are the rules concerning cables concealed in walls, partitions and under floors? You can't just copy what you currently have because that might be wrong, and it's going to become your responsibility.
- What are the rules for cables run outdoors, buried in the ground or overhead? You can't just copy what you currently have because that might be wrong, and it's going to become your responsibility.
- Where cables need to be joined, how should this be done / not be done and in what circumstances are different methods acceptable?
- Can you identify extraneous conductive parts, and do you know the requirements for main and supplementary bonding of them?
- Which circuits should be RCD protected?
- It's hard to see how you could comply with BS7671:2008 without replacing the CU, so how do you propose to isolate your supply so that you can do that?
- What about testing? Surely you aren't daft enough to not do any? Do you know what tests you would carry out on the installation - what sequence you'd do them in and at what point you would energise it, and for each test do you know what is being measured, why it is important, how you would carry out the test, and with what equipment, and what sort of results you would expect to get if everything was OK?
As I've asked before, could not these repetitive posts be dealt with by linking to something, rather than by copying/pasting of lots of text?
The questions mainly seem valid to me, apart from the one to which the answer is, IMO, 'none of our business'!
Kind Regards, John
And as I have explained before, and I will keep on explaining until the penny drops, or forever if for some reason you never get it, IF someone has notified and told the council they will be using an electrician THEN our advice MUST be tailored accordingly and THEREFORE it IS our business.
As for the rest of the questions, how would referring someone to a Wiki article work? How could they answer them, if they weren't inline in the topic?
As for the rest of the questions, how would referring someone to a Wiki article work? How could they answer them, if they weren't inline in the topic?
Though if he's pulled the cut-out fuse and is measuring from the cut-out he will find continuity from Live to Neutral! It all depends on the definition of "main incomer"
Of course we do know that he shouldn't be messing with the cut-out
Of course we do know that he shouldn't be messing with the cut-out
No argument with the concept but, as I've said before, you would only have to change a few words to do it without asking an intrusive question. Instead of writing:
... why not simply write:
- If you applied for Building Regulations approval, did you say or imply that toy would be using an electrician in order to ensure compliance with Part P?
I think you can probably discount the possibility that any significant proportion of 'recipients' would ever answer many of the questions, which they will assume to be essentially rhetorical. If it were me, I'd convert them to helpful statements in a wiki article.
Kind Regards, John
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