What's up with the kitchen extractor?

[onzadog]

Apply a bit of logic and a bit of reason and you can usually come up with an answer, however, I'm really struggling with this one.

We had a new kitchen fitted in September last year and as part of what they did, we were told our consumer unit (original from mid 80's) was U/S and a new unit was fitted. Everything has ben fine since.

The good lady informs me tonight that the extractor hood isn't working. By this, she means the fan doesn't work and the lights don't work. So, first port of call I look at the consumer unit. All MCB's are on and so is the RCD. Everything else in the house is working (well, in the electrical sense anyway). So, it's looking like the extractor is the problem.

So, up I go and remove the cover. First check, is there juice coming in? Unless I've suddenly forgotten how to work a multimeter it would seem there's no power coming in. The 2.5 mm T&E coming out the wall just hooks up with a 3 terminal adaptor, no switch, no fuse.)

So, here's what I'm struggling to get my head around. if it was on it's own supply from the consumer unit, I can't see it. All the labels seem to match up with what they do.

There's only one piece of cable coming out the wall so it can't be part of a circuit. If it was a spur off a circuit, where's the accessible connector?

If it's the end of a radial, any idea how I can find where the break must be?

Do cables often give up without warning? Nothing has been moved, cut, knocked or experienced and earthquakes recently so I don't know what might have caused the change.

What I'd like is for someone to point out the obvious I've missed and give me a nice easy fix. Any takes?

Cheers.

 

[Spark123]

Is there a switched fused spur unit for it? Possibly on the socket circuit?

 

[Taylortwocities]

The last 3 jobs i have been to like this have been caused by a hidden FCU in a cupboard or worktop. The householder has switched it off by pushing in a box of Honey Nut Wheetos into the cupboard.

OK guys, i know you're on my case if i generalise so i'll come clean:,
its not always Honey Nut Wheetos to blame for this

 

[breezer]

ours is plugged in, didnt get unplugged did it?

 

[onzadog]

Thanks for the replies so far.

The single cable disappears into the plasterboard wall in a horizontal dierction. It does pass behind a cupboard but there's no swith in there (or any honey coated breakfast cereals either).

I've checked all the cables near by. I've even had the floorboards up on the landing to see what goes where. It's mad. There are two circuit cables run down into the kitchen. If I remove the socket face nearest to the extractor I can see two cables going to the socket behind the fridge and two going across to the switch for the lights under the cupboards but no sign of anything that would supply this extractor.

I'm liking the suggestions so far. This is the sort of thing I want it to be.

The boss asked what I've got to do to sort it. Unless one of you strikes it lucky I told her I'd have to take the cupboard down and hope there's a fused switch there that's popped. If not, it's chasing back the cable to find where the spur (I assume it's a spur being a single cable) comes from.

imagine what sort of response that got. The kitchen was only fitted in September and the people who did it didn't make it run smoothly. I think she's gone for a stiff drink now at the thought of more work in the kitchen!!!

 

[onzadog]

By the way, is it worth buying a cable detector? The sort of thing I've seen in the screwfix catalogue that's in budget only detects live wires. My problem is that the wire which should be live, isn't.

Live or not, I'm still switching off at the CU when I start digging about it the wall!!!!!

 

[Steve]

While the sparks that worked on your kitchen sound reputable, by the fact that they updated the main fuse box, the wiring in the kitchen would lead be to believe otherwise . . .

Is there a cooker isolator?

 

[onzadog]

there is isolation for the cooker in practical terms but I'm not sure if it's the formal way to do it. Both the electric oven and the (ignition for) the gas hob run off a double socket in one of the cupboards. It'd only because I know it's the oven, there's no switch labelled as such. Not one of those nice big red "cooker" switches I've seen elsewhere.

Interestingly the guys who fitted the kitchen got someone else to come around and fit the new CU. Looking back, I have my suspicions as to whether it needed doing.

I'm sure there are reliable trades persons out there but the real trick is finding them. After the fun we had with the kitchen, I've learned an awful lot around the house as I simply don't want to get stung again but that's a whole different story.

In answer to your question about the cooker isolation, sort of!

 

[wiggles]

By the way, is it worth buying a cable detector? The sort of thing I've seen in the screwfix catalogue that's in budget only detects live wires.

Cable detector may help. They are also a metal detector so they normally give one tone for live cables and another tone for metal that's not energised.

 

[onzadog]

Thanks to all those who offered their thoughts on what might be up. Thought you might like to know what happened.

I took the cupboard down behind which I expected to use a metal detector to trace the cable behind the plasterboard. However, what I found was much more amusing. There was a surface mounted fused switch there. the fit was such that the switch was partially depressed and I can only assume that as the desert bowls were pushed to the back quite vigorously it must have flexed the wobbly back just enough to break the connection!!!!!

So, I've cut a whole in the back of the cupboard so we can now access it and insisted that we have more deserts so that the bowls stay further forward.

Who was it suggested it might be a cerial box? Well, I guess your idea was almost there!

Thanks again for the ideas.

 

[JohnD]

grrrr, stupid place for a switch.

I always maintain that sockets, switches and FCUs in a kitchen should be in a neat row 150mm above worktop height, with the cable running horizontally betwen them. Any outlets to be directly vertically below or above their controlling switch or FCU.

 

[Taylortwocities]

its not always Honey Nut Wheetos to blame for this