popping noises
- Thread starter sijaysee
- Start date
B
breezer
pop corn?
Loose connection?
Whatever it turns out to be, it needs to be found.
Leaving it will only make it get worse.
Whatever it turns out to be, it needs to be found.
Leaving it will only make it get worse.
Yes...
Popping to me sounds like water shorting on a connection.
1. Call an electrician
2. In the meantime do some basic tests
i) Disconnect any cordless kettle - water in the base can cause popping, arcing, smell
ii) Check the consumer unit / meter / cutout for any obvious smell or heat, power off the installation if CU side, call the DNO emergency line if the meter/cutout side
iii) Turn off each appliance in turn and notice if the problem stops, notice if any plugs are hot or the cable entering them.
iv) Turn off every circuit breaker in the house, turn on each in turn until you notice the problem occur (narrowed it down)
If uncertain, do i) & ii) only.
Could be as simple as water in a connection, or a loose connection at the back of a socket/light-sw, or worse a connection failing somewhere which may cause a fire. Hence it needs investigating.
I assume the smell is "fishy"?
If so that is the smell of PVC getting hot, by arcing/shorting or overheating.
I assume the problem is persistent, versus intermittent (can be a pain to track down although an electrician will do an IR test on every circuit which will pin it down, if not EFLI or EFLI with any RCD bridged out as the 25A test current will indicate an intermittent short if L-N).
Popping to me sounds like water shorting on a connection.
1. Call an electrician
2. In the meantime do some basic tests
i) Disconnect any cordless kettle - water in the base can cause popping, arcing, smell
ii) Check the consumer unit / meter / cutout for any obvious smell or heat, power off the installation if CU side, call the DNO emergency line if the meter/cutout side
iii) Turn off each appliance in turn and notice if the problem stops, notice if any plugs are hot or the cable entering them.
iv) Turn off every circuit breaker in the house, turn on each in turn until you notice the problem occur (narrowed it down)
If uncertain, do i) & ii) only.
Could be as simple as water in a connection, or a loose connection at the back of a socket/light-sw, or worse a connection failing somewhere which may cause a fire. Hence it needs investigating.
I assume the smell is "fishy"?
If so that is the smell of PVC getting hot, by arcing/shorting or overheating.
I assume the problem is persistent, versus intermittent (can be a pain to track down although an electrician will do an IR test on every circuit which will pin it down, if not EFLI or EFLI with any RCD bridged out as the 25A test current will indicate an intermittent short if L-N).
Everyone was right to point out the seriousness of how dangerous this fault is. It does need immediate attention. I would, however, like to thank JACKC for his contribution, I split my sides.......loved that piece of humour 
I had exactly the same noise in a kitchen a few years back. I eventually tracked it down to the kettle, water was getting into the connector and shorting it. In a way it turned out to my advantage as it was then i discovered that the cooker socket that fed the kettle had no earth connection.
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ROTFL..Like pompey, I too had a good guffaw!
On a serious note, the last time I encountered this was when I discovered a cable, eaten through by abrasion & banging when there was a short.
It was behind a dishwasher and in the gloom I could see the end of the cable sparking & glowing.
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