My electrician has just fitted a 3-phase meter to my 3-phase supply, as I need to separately meter the consumption from a heavy-duty well pump. The meter has the usual connections - terminals 1/3 for L1, 4/6 for L2, 7/9 for L3, and 11 for neutral.
He connected each of the 3-phase cables in turn; when he connected the third one there was a short circuit and a lot of smoke, so he removed it. The pump had been isolated at the time, so this wasn't responsible.
The meter was bought in Germany by a neighbour, who swears the equipment is OK and the electrician must be at fault. I'm stuck in the middle and trying to sort out what might be the problem.
How important is it that Phase 1 (supposedly brown) is connected to the L1 terminals, phase 2 (black) to L2, and phase 3 (grey) to L3? The electrician is trying to convince me that it doesn't matter, but I can only imagine that maybe they were connected differently - maybe even due to incorrect cable colouring.
How can I find out who or what is at fault?
He connected each of the 3-phase cables in turn; when he connected the third one there was a short circuit and a lot of smoke, so he removed it. The pump had been isolated at the time, so this wasn't responsible.
The meter was bought in Germany by a neighbour, who swears the equipment is OK and the electrician must be at fault. I'm stuck in the middle and trying to sort out what might be the problem.
How important is it that Phase 1 (supposedly brown) is connected to the L1 terminals, phase 2 (black) to L2, and phase 3 (grey) to L3? The electrician is trying to convince me that it doesn't matter, but I can only imagine that maybe they were connected differently - maybe even due to incorrect cable colouring.
How can I find out who or what is at fault?