Consumer unit keeps tripping ourlt

[Keitai]

My consumer unit keeps trippin̈g out. My lights are working but sockets, cooker etc are out. When I push lever up it just flicks back down again. What do I do?

 

[pete01]

Switch the 3 switches to the left of it off then try and switch it back on, if it goes on switch the 3 switches back on one by one, the one that makes it trip will be the problem circuit.

That should narrow it down.

 

[ericmark]

@pete01 has given you the start. In the main it will turn out to be something plugged in. Although most on/off switched turn off the line, many do not turn off the neutral. Both line and neutral are live, and if either has a path to earth it can cause a trip, so need to unplug which turns off both line and neutral rather than simply switch off.

The meters to test are expensive, so what we try to do is find it without the meters. First one tests if the RCD is OK, second one uses DC to test for leakage, but since our supply is AC it is only an indication, the third meter actually measures the leakage, but clearly can't be used once the RCD has tripped.

So we try to guess what has gone wrong. Water is the main culprit, so outside lights, and anything with a mineral insulated water heater, that includes kettles, immersion heaters, dishwashers, washing machines, and tumble driers. But also auto defrost freezers, which are a real pain as the heater is only used on the defrost cycle, and we clearly do not want to unplug to test.

So we now look at how the house is wired, my house is split front to back, so before solar was fitted, I could run an extension lead one side of house to the other, to run the freezers off a different RCD, many home it would need a lead up/down the stairs, as many are split up/down rather than side to side.

Because I have solar, my freezers are on a dedicated uninterruptible power supply from the solar panels batteries, so do not fail with a general power cut. Also, I paid the extra to have all RCBO consumer unit, so I have 16 RCDs so if one fails, not that much to test, one needs to accept if doing things on the cheap, when it goes wrong not so easy to find.

15 years ago the RCBO (RCD and MCB combined) were not available for many consumer units. So we had no option, today we realise "Every installation shall be divided into circuits, as necessary, to: (iv) reduce the possibility of unwanted tripping of RCDs due to excessive protective conductor currents produced by equipment in normal operation" means we should at least offer to fit RCBOs, but 15 to 20 years ago it was not seen that way.

 

[robinbanks]

Have you disconnected/isolated everything from the problem circuit(s) before you tried turning it back on?

 

[Murdochcat]

When you say keeps tripping - every 10 minutes? Every hour? Once per day?

 

[robinbanks]

When you say keeps tripping - every 10 minutes? Every hour? Once per day?

Seems like instant:

When I push lever up it just flicks back down again

 

[Nail In]

My consumer unit keeps trippin̈g out. My lights are working but sockets, cooker etc are out. When I push lever up it just flicks back down again. What do I do?View attachment 409470

I believe your suppose to leave it off and uplug all appliances on that circuit then turn the switch back on. Then start plugging everything in one by one until you find the appliance that is no working probably.

Heres a guide on what to do: how to safely reset a tripped circuit breaker

Hope it helps

 

[helplessowner]

Silly question, but is the switch one of those annoying ones that cannot be properly switched back up without first pushing it down (to feel a click)?

 

[pete01]

Silly question, but is the switch one of those annoying ones that cannot be properly switched back up without first pushing it down (to feel a click)?

No dont think so

 

[davelx]

The first thing you need to do is what pete01 wrote in the first reply - though I would turn each one on individually. Then you'll know which circuit has the problem.
Let us know the result and we can give further help.

 

[ericmark]

The problem is, an RCD can trip with a neutral fault, and the MCBs do not isolate the neutral, however an isolator does, so turn off the cooker isolator and the immersion heater isolator and unplug everything as there may be a neutral to earth fault. Also turn off main switch (Isolator) will the RCD reset then? If it does not reset with main isolator off, then the RCD is faulty.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The problem is, an RCD can trip with a neutral fault, and the MCBs do not isolate the neutral, however an isolator does, so turn off the cooker isolator and the immersion heater isolator and unplug everything as there may be a neutral to earth fault. Also turn off main switch (Isolator) will the RCD reset then? If it does not reset with main isolator off, then the RCD is faulty.

This thread will run for years!

 

[Taylortwocities]

Silly question, but is the switch one of those annoying ones that cannot be properly switched back up without first pushing it down (to feel a click)?

No. It Hager, so no mid place blues. It’s MK (IIRC) that has the mid way thingy.
In any case, the photo shows the RCD in the tripped position.

 

[blup]

He's had 48 hours to follow the advice

 

[Old Salt]

Unplug the kettle
Unplug the toaster
Unplug the iron

Its always the kettle, iron or toaster