Is this a case of a faulty MCB?

[pomegran]

Hi,

Been having a problem with an MCB over the last few days and not sure what to do before I get an engineer in!

I have a socket in my kitchen which houses a fuse. I found this had been shorting and finally gave up this weekend. I have now replaced this (socket and fuse) but everytime I flick up the MCB, it trips. Nothing is plugged in at all apart from 2 lights which I am hesitant about unplugging. It has been working fine for over a year.

Is it possible the fuse socket has blown my MCB? Would it behave like this if faulty?

Thanks
Mark

 

[Steve]

"fuse socket"

what is a fuse socket?

Is it a 3-gang socket unit with built in fuse?

Or is it a fused connection unit? If it is, what does it supply?

 

[didthathurt]

If you have just done some work and the mcb starts tripping you have got to suspect that you have done something that is causing it. Before you even consider that the mcb might be faulty check and double check your work. Mcb's trip due to a high current flow, normally related to a short between live and either neutral or earth. (Why do you not want to unplug the lights?)

Remove the new socket completely and insulate all the loose wire ends, see if the mcb trips upon being reset now. If it does, you probably need pro help, if it does not, then use a multimeter to be absolutely sure you have correctly identified the live and neutral correctly and then reconnect.

 

[pomegran]

Sorry, excuse my lack of terminology!

It isa fused connection unit. This needs to be changed anyway as it is a fuse that is used fr the boiler, some lights and fridge! Hence talking about the lights and whether I should remove these.

It's really bizarre, nothing is plugged in at all and it trips.

Any ideas welcome.

Mark

 

[sm1thson]

It's really bizarre, nothing is plugged in at all and it trips.

it will do if you put a screw through the wire when putting the front back on, or did something else wrong on it, follow the advice above (about taking it a part, insulating it and turning on the mcb....)

 

[Spark123]

Did the MCB make a popping noise when you tried to reset it? If you turn off the main switch does the MCB reset? I agree with what has been said above, if there is a fault it is likely something to do with the FCU.