what have I done?

[theomum1]

Hello people...

I have owned my house for 2 weeks and have made massive progress - however today was the day the wardbobe fitment was oinked out and the previous owner had blank faced the original double plug socket on the wall which was in a wardrobe and clipped extension cable from the socket through to a cnetre dressing table area to where he placed a double socket... it worked ok but I did not want it there so I trned off the power and cut the cable back to the original (point A) socket, wired it up
Red to live. Black to neutral and yellow/green to earth.
Turned on the mains and now none of my sockets both up and down don't work.
Lights are all ok

The mains board shows all switches in the up position... however the RCD switch and the test button do not respond

What have I done?
Tanks for help.

 

[sparkwright]

Try pushing the RCD trip switch all the way down, and then up.

 

[theomum1]

Hi and thanks for fast response.... I did try that, it seems to like being in the middle position - not up - not down.

 

[sparkwright]

Next step, check inside the socket. Maybe you have pinched a wire against the earth, or the box if it's metal.

 

[Lectrician]

That seems to be the most obvious if the RCD will stay up after first pressing it fully down.

 

[theomum1]

ok, I will look at it again.. I am not living in the property but there in the morning.. I have turned the mains off for safety. Could I have pinched the wore by tightening up the screw too tightly?
my dad always taught me to tighten fully the half turn back.

 

[theomum1]

^wire

 

[1john]

you may have trapped the wire when screwing the cover on, dont slacken off electrical connections thoughm you will create a high resistance joint which will create arching and possible fire.

As stated here, be sure to push the RCD switch down then up if it is stuck half mast!

Good luck and if you dont have any joy then take some pictures of the socket, inside it, the consumer unit and anything else that may be of use to us here and post the pics up.

 

[sparkwright]

If a wire, for example, gets into contact with a front faceplate fixing screw it can cause a short which will knock out the RCD.

On a socket the faceplate screws are connected to earth via an earth bar.
You will observe a metal strip that gets into contact with the fixing holes.
This is to ensure the fixing screws and even the back box (if metal) is earthed.

If you still have problems resetting the RCD unplug everything (don't just switch off at the wall sockets). You may have a dodgy appliance somewhere causing the fault.

 

[theomum1]

thank you both so much for coming to my rescue... I am really out of my depth here. wish my dad was stil about, he would have sorted it in an instant ...I am going to the house tomorrow morning, is there any way that someone could call me to talk me through this, I obviously don't want to post my phone number "out loud" is there a way of private messaging it to you so that someone can help me tomorrow?

 

[sparkwright]

Just looking inside the socket should tell you if all is well.

Inspect the wires closely for any damage in the insulation.

And make sure the wires are in the terminals nice and tight.

And work safely.

If in any doubt seek advice first.

 

[theomum1]

what do you mean by damage in the insulation?

when my dad was alive he was an electronics engineer and a 100% jack at all trades too - us girls learned as much as we could but I forgot to pay complete atention - hence this situation

anyway, I cut the cable with pliars and then used a brand new stanly knife to gently "pear" back the wires within the insulation, the way my dad did . is it possible that I have nicked a strand that is causing my problem?[/i]

 

[1john]

Just to clarify, have you removed the flex and blank plate and reinstalled the socket on the wall where it used to be or have you done something with the old flex??

 

[Richard1]

if you need help, send me a message with your number and I will talk you through it.

 

[theomum1]

Hi John1
I have cut back to the original cables in the back box
the prev owner had used crimping "bits" then extended the cable