hi,landing light tripping rcd.but with rcd still off the low energy bulb is flickering.all other upstairs lights ok.any ideas what could be causing it,moved it over to non rcd side just to see what happens.and it works ok,now back on rcd side but light left off.
flickering low energy with no power,
- Thread starter panny300
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Is the tripping RCD in a newly fitted consumer unit by any chance?
Do I take there is ANOTHER lighting circuit which is connected to the non-RCD side?
It's a possibility at the landing light the live is from one circuit and the neutral is from another circuit. With only one circuit connected to an RCD, such an arrangement would cause tripping.
Out of interest, when you moved the cable at the consumer unit, did you move the live AND the neutral?
It's a possibility at the landing light the live is from one circuit and the neutral is from another circuit. With only one circuit connected to an RCD, such an arrangement would cause tripping.
Out of interest, when you moved the cable at the consumer unit, did you move the live AND the neutral?
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downstairs lighting on non rcd side.yes moved live and neutral for upstairs to non rcd side,if the neutral to the landing is on the downstairs is there any way to sort it or will both have to be left on non rcd, thanks
yeah yardie it's a two way circuit,so you think the landing light is on upstairs live but downstairs neutral
yeah yardie it's a two way circuit,so you think the landing light is on upstairs live but downstairs neutral
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Years ago two way lighting often used twin and earth cable and they borrowed a line from another switch.
This was all well and good although it could cause main hum on radios it worked. Then people decided to split their lighting circuits into upstairs and down stairs and at this point there was a problem as in one combination of the two way switches (4 combinations in all) it was using a borrowed neutral which is very dangerous for anyone working on the system.
Although dangerous it still worked until a RCD is fitted at which point one combination of switches works OK and the other combination will trip the RCD.
This leaves the installer with a problem. The only real cure is to re-combine up and down stairs lighting once back on the same MCB no problem. But the whole idea is to split circuits with down stairs sockets being with upstairs lights and vice versa.
So it needs a risk assessment in my house the cure was a battery backed light so be it MCB, RCD or full power cut light on stairs still works.
Pre-2008 it was common to have non RCD protected circuits. Even after 2008 if marked you could have circuits without RCD protection but from June (I think) that goes and all circuits need RCD protection.
So today consumer units don't have a non RCD side you may have a group of MCB's using one RCD and then a group of RCBO's which is a RCD and MCB combined but all should be RCD protected.
It would seem likely you have a borrowed neutral problem but putting all lights with no RCD is not really the answer.
This was all well and good although it could cause main hum on radios it worked. Then people decided to split their lighting circuits into upstairs and down stairs and at this point there was a problem as in one combination of the two way switches (4 combinations in all) it was using a borrowed neutral which is very dangerous for anyone working on the system.
Although dangerous it still worked until a RCD is fitted at which point one combination of switches works OK and the other combination will trip the RCD.
This leaves the installer with a problem. The only real cure is to re-combine up and down stairs lighting once back on the same MCB no problem. But the whole idea is to split circuits with down stairs sockets being with upstairs lights and vice versa.
So it needs a risk assessment in my house the cure was a battery backed light so be it MCB, RCD or full power cut light on stairs still works.
Pre-2008 it was common to have non RCD protected circuits. Even after 2008 if marked you could have circuits without RCD protection but from June (I think) that goes and all circuits need RCD protection.
So today consumer units don't have a non RCD side you may have a group of MCB's using one RCD and then a group of RCBO's which is a RCD and MCB combined but all should be RCD protected.
It would seem likely you have a borrowed neutral problem but putting all lights with no RCD is not really the answer.
The simple solution is to have both upstairs and downstairs lighting on the same RCD split, the don't have to be in the same MCB but the line and neutral need to be on the same RCD.
thanks for the help,had a look at switch at bottom of stairs and the live for the landing light has been linked from the hall light (double switch),so live from downstairs and neutral from upstairs i am assuming,
i was asked by friends wife down the road to have a look because lights had tripped,and her husband is on nights,
i was asked by friends wife down the road to have a look because lights had tripped,and her husband is on nights,
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