Blown something?

[kirikee]

Got a new consumer unit recently and had some new cables wired for sockets by an electrician. One exposed socket cable contacted its metal casing (the box in the wall) and blew the unit. The only fuse I can see (that looks like a main switch) has not blown. And none of the trip switches now have any effect. They'll go up or down alright but there's no power. The button that trips all electricity (is that an rcb?) has no effect either.
Any comments gratefully received...

 

[felix]

Are you sure that main switch is in the ON position? Give it a try. If it's on you should have power and the test button should work. The rather ominous possibility is that the main service fuse has gone. You can't fix this yourself because it's sealed by your electricity supplier. Time to get that plonker back to sort it out!

 

[comms]

On the main switch if it is an rcd there will be a button with test printed on it, if so you may need to push the lever (not the button)of the switch to the full off position before it will let you reset it to the on position.

 

[felix]

you may need to push the lever (not the button)of the switch to the full off position before it will let you reset it to the on position

Good thinking comms. I was caught out once by a 70 amp 3 phase breaker that worked the same way. Kirikee, give it a try.

 

[delmel]

Is the RCD actually resetting ?

 

[has]

Do you have an external meter box and have you checked that there is not a seperate rcd in there.

 

[kirikee]

Thank you for your responses. The problem occured in a flat in a large house. It doesn't have a separate electricity supply though it does have it's own meter and board. No other part of the house was affected. There is no external meter box but there is a main box in the main house, with large fuses none of which have blown. The rcd unfortunately will not reset.

 

[Damocles]

Is there still a fault on the circuit? If so it would be impossible to switch the RCD back on.

I presume that if you switch the RCD off and then on, nothing happens. If it appears to switch on, does the 'test' button switch it off? Or did you mean that it will not latch into the 'on' position. If so it either blew up, has no power coming in, or there is still an unrepaired fault.

Have you identified which fuse elsewhere should be powering this. Not one hidden somewhere which has blown?

 

[kirikee]

I presume that if you switch the RCD off and then on, nothing happens. If it appears to switch on, does the 'test' button switch it off?

Yes thats it, sorry, and no the test button has no effect. Thanks. Actually turns out a fuse at the main board had blown, but I had to take the fuse out of its holder to notice this as it had looked fine.