no lights upstairs but fuse not blown

[baloo02]

hi ,i need urgent advice ,called at my fathers house who is 68 and not well ,his upstairs lights dont work in bedrooms and bathroom ,ive checked his fuse box which is the old wired type and was shocked to find it only holds 3 fuses which i presume are up and down and cooker,all fuses are intact ,he does have a electric shower but thats unusable,that has a 13 amp switch outside the bathroom but if you turn the shower on after a few mins the 13amp fuse blows so he now doesnt use it ,any advice would be brilliant ,the other problem we have is that he has let himself and the house go to a mess and he wont let any one in and he doesnt have money to repair,is there any organisations out there who could help him ,thanks for your time

 

[Calder]

So there are a number of things here!

Firstly, without more information - or may a picture of your fuse box, there is not a lot that can be done form afar. Where about in the country are you? you may find a friendly electrician quite close - you never know your luck - a most (depsite popular opinion) will be very un judgemental in an untidy home.

let's start at the very beginning....
Have you tried changing a light bulb for one that definitely works? - or did they all go out at once...

only 3 fuses sounds a little odd?

There is a scheme that started fairly recently, whereby you can apply to have electrical work done, and get huge discounts (and in certain cases the work done for free) - but even so, an electrician will have to call at the house!

I'll see if i can find the info for this over the weekend...other may post before hand.

good luck, PM if you need

Calder

 

[Spark123]

An instantaneous electric shower (which heats its own water) requires its own circuit, the Kw rating of the shower depends on the size of circuit required. A 7kw which is about as small as they come requires its own 30A circuit.
When you checked the fuses, did you check them with a meter?

 

[sealeon]

Have you tried help the aged maybe or your local council and ask if they know of help you/he could get

 

[sparkyspike]

What colour are the fuses? The lighting fuses are (usually) 5A with white dots. Double check that they have blown, as they can occasionally break under the porcelain where you can see them, or even snap at the terminal screw. As Spark123 says, use a meter to be sure. Sounds like you'll want a spark to visit anyhow, as the installation doesn't sound like it's in very good condition.

 

[baloo02]

What colour are the fuses? The lighting fuses are (usually) 5A with white dots. Double check that they have blown, as they can occasionally break under the porcelain where you can see them, or even snap at the terminal screw. As Spark123 says, use a meter to be sure. Sounds like you'll want a spark to visit anyhow, as the installation doesn't sound like it's in very good condition.

yes one of the fuses has a white dot ,one has a red dot ,the 3rd has at some point been changed for a newer fuse ,the type that trip on a fault ,theres defo only these 3 fuses on the box its shocking ,after some digging i believe the instalation took place in 1970 and hasnt been touched since the old man is a stubborn so and so and doesnt understand we are trying to help him ,he calls it interfering ,ive been on to social services etc but they dont want to know ,only how much money as he the answer to that is not 2 pennys to rub together ,if i cant get this sorted for him i can see a disaster looming