electrics upgrade

[shena]

Have had an electrical upgrade within last 2 wks. This has RCD protection fitted into the new fuse box.

When the work was carried out electricians had a fault which at first they could not trace and kept asking me if i have ever had any trouble with my cooker which i had not.

They eventually found the fault which was due to one of the electricians installing one of the cables incorrectly .. to my knowledge this was fixed same day.

First time i used my washing machine since upgrade the sockets tripped everytime the washer reached its final spin (which requires more power?).

I tried turning everything else off except washer but still tripped again and again.

I finally finished my washing by using a socket in my living room by means of an extension cable .. the washer went right through the cycle perfectly .. i have not had any trouble with my washer previously.

Next day the RCD tripped when i used my microwave (different socket to washer). The sockets trip switch refused to go back up immediately to the on position, electrician now tells me this is proof my microwave is faulty and now BUST.

Same day my hoover went wonky turning itself on and off while using it, then the motor appeared to be slowing down and speeding up.

I have had the system checked out again by the contracters no fault apparent on system they tell me. Put my washer on as part of this test ... washer went right through the cycle perfectly this time on the proper washer socket under the bench from where it originally tripped. The electrician came back to check this ... verdict ... intermitant fault on my washer itself.

In short I`m being told that the RCD is showing up prexisting faults on my equipment in other words they are blaming my appliances but i am suspicious of this verdict because of the following,

1) I already know that faulty workmanship NOT my electric cooker was to blame for the fault on the day of electrical upgrade installation. My cooker has always worked fine and so far has continued to do so.

2) I find it hard to believe that 3 of my appliances have developed faults over one weekend which directly followed upgrade.


I have ordered a new hoover (this was an older hoover the rest of my appliances are pretty new). I am about to go out and buy a new microwave but thought i`d do this post first as i am not convinced that my new electrical system has been correctly installed. I know nothing about electrics so need to be able to trust the contracters opinion.

Was talking to someone else who had similar trouble and they said there is something called "back tripping" in which case the fuse box blows your equipment itself and is due to a faulty fuse box/RCD. This may just be nonsense but is there such a thing? Need to be clued up and know how to approach this with contracters can anyone help?

 

[breezer]

you never had a problem before because you have never had an rcd before.
an rcd is designed to detect inbalances to earth and if it detects one switches off.

how ever it does seem a bit odd that 3 appliances caused problems.

you could always ask them to "megger" the appliances (insulation resistamce test)

when i used to work for hp we had to megger the washing m/c before and after we worked on it

it was not uncommon for a w/m to fail the test , but a quick clean of the motor around the brushes solved the problem most times

it could also be that something else has a "slight fault" and a.n other thing is just enough to cause the rcd to trip

so if you will (in plain english) two slight faults = 1 whole fault

my money would be on the w/m

ask thm to IR test it, but it must be switched on (obviously they test it from it un plugged, plug and the door must be shut)

 

[luminaire]

You could ask your neighbour if you try your microwave/hoover in their's if they are RCD protected.

 

[Spark123]

I'm thinking you have a TN-CS supply?
Could be one appliance with a fault and the other appliances cause enough current to flow through the faulty one (thinking somehting like a N-E short?)

 

[sparkyspike]

I can understand why you are worried, if there was a fault with your cooker wiring. However, faults can happen and the contractors did pick up on it whilst testing and corrected it. Have they provided you with any certification? You should be able to see test results which verify that everything is tested and hunkydory. New RCDs often reveal faults that weren't apparent before, whch is why they are fitted nowadays.

This isn't to say that your appliances aren't to blame and that there could still be a problem such as a loose neutral in the fusebox.