Recent content by Ragnar_AT

If there is a neutral and any current flowing through it (but not through the RCD) the RCD will trip. Otherwise it won‘t, with or without a neutral. Absolutely the only thing that relies on a neutral connection to function is the test button on most RCDs but there are still some that have the...

Same here. Nuisance tripping of a 100 mA RCD from the 80s, very sporadic. Two electricians tested the RCD and the installation, everything measured perfectly fine. Insulation resistance of two circuits was suspiciously low at around 8 MΩ but still well within limits and far above what would trip...

There's a special kind of current-sensing relay that automatically prioritises the shower. It's called a load shedding relay. These are pretty common in places with smaller supplies and beefy electric showers (Germany has plenty of 18-24 kW 3-phase showers in homes, that's a bit tight if your...

At least some of the visible signs are in English, I'd guess India or thereabouts.

Since the square/rectangular back boxes have become a de-facto standard I don’t think any sane manufacturer would sell sockets that require special back boxes. That means flush sockets are extremely likely to stay as they are. Of course some manufacturer could design a more compact...

L goes to L One of the blues from N goes to N, the other to N1 NO goes to L1 It probably doesn’t matter which blue wire goes where but I‘d try to see which one is part of a cable with the brown that‘s connected to L. This blue wire goes to N. The short link goes into the bin, it’s already...

The old thermostat probably has another unused relay contact that could be connected to a terminal labelled NC. Depending on the state of the thermostat, the relay connects COM either to the NO or the NC terminal. The NC would be used for controlling an air conditioner. Since the relay contact...

In most civilised parts of the world class 0 appliances (single insulation inside metal enclosures, no earth) have been banned for several decades, in some countries for almost an entire century. So everything we get should be class I (earthed), II (double-insulated) or III (SELV). Along with...

Use a maintenance-free junction box.

If this model needs two wires to work (like my Testboy) the signal should disappear at the break.

The switch closer to the camera seems to be a double-pole switch but the connections don’t line up with that.

Put both T&Es into the „In“ terminals and the flex into the „Out“. Better not to mix solid and stranded under one screw.

Lights out of sequence (e.g. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 on one side and 1-2-4-3-5-6-7-8 on the other) means swapped wires. Two or more lights on at the same time means two wires shorted together, missing light is wire open (not at all).

Usually because you want to identify a circuit without turning anything off (connect the sender to a socket and run the receiver along the MCBs in the DB).

These testers clip onto a cable and basically turn it into an aerial. You can pick up an audible signal when you get the receiver to within 50 mm or so of the cable. Great for tracing unknown cables in walls. This one looks like my Testboy 26 in a different case. It’s great but it does have one...