Ring main problems

[Michaelsf90]

So in my house of horrors yesterday I split the downstairs ring main. I put the utility room on its own as it does power outside and has a dryer and chest freezer

Now when I crimped the downstairs ring main through I had no earth and no end to end on the neutral. I knew I had no end to end on the earth. My guesses is when I've been moving the cables one is on a junction box under the floor and its come loose. All floors in that area or tiled or laminate. The problem I'm having is finding the cable thats faulty

Any experts on fault finding on a ring main?

For now I've put the earths for the new utility ring together with the earths for downstairs so everything now has an earth. The neutral problem I'm planning on down rating to a 16a rcbo until I replace the faulty leg

 

[muffking]

From a quick read, your options look like:-
find at which points the ring is splitting the earth & neutral and run a new cable between them to complete the ring.
Or split the ring where E & N are missing and run them as two radials.

 

[AndyPRK]

Turn power off

Unplug all sockets. And remove your temporary fix.

Disconnect the problem earth from the cu.
If u have a long piece of test wire (wonder lead) connect it to the problem earth at the cu.

Run the long wire to each socket and connect your meter to one end of it.
Use the other meter end to probe each socket earth pin in turn (and/or screw head.)

At some point you won’t get continuity.
This is the vicinity of the fault.

Loosen socket front off or the previous socket which did work and check earth connection.

You can do similar for the N wire but use an old plug with N wire hanging out, to plug into each socket. Make sure the socket switch is on.

Let us know if you don’t have a long piece of test wire

 

[Michaelsf90]

I found the fault. It was a socket behind the cooker where the natural and earth had come out. A socket I didnt touch but one of the legs I messed with went to that socket. Slight movement must have caused it to come out. And I mean slight. Some peoples workmanship is shocking

I'm an electrician but fault finding can be a right head pickler. The earth problem is theirs open circuit between the hall socket and the mains.

So now I had end to end live. End to end neutral and no end to end on the earth. So the earth is a radial and it ends at the hall socket. I'm not too fussed about that. What frightens me is between sockets wires are different colours. Must be junction box city under the floor

 

[EFLImpudence]

I'm an electrician

You don't sound like one.

 

[AndyPRK]

The fault could have been their for some time, assuming the socket still worked or it was not being used. (the ring could have been open)

All sockets should be earthed