Need a quick bit of advice...............

In our house, we've got an extension, and for some reason, lost all power to the extension end of the house.......

Everything on the originsl ring main works fine, and all the plug sockets show power at the live terminals.

Now I'm fine with 12v car stuff, but not too hot on single phase stuff, so would it be possible that there is a break somewhere on the neutral loop?

If so, is there any easy way to check - we have shit loads of plug sockets in the house too.

 

Easy way? Tester, has three lights on. Plug that into sockets one at a time. Turn socket on when you plug it in and faulty wire lights up.

Long way: Unscrew sockets starting in extension. Its highly likely youll see that a neg wire has pulled out of a terminal breaking the loop. If this is so, then the extension has only been spured of the main ring, as the only socket that doesnt work when you get a break in the ring is the socket that the wire has pulled out of!!!!

Hard to explain hope i help???

 

Expanding on what Lee is saying - if it's all wired properly as a ring, you have to have 2 separate breaks in either live or neutral, (or one of each) to cause more than one socket to stop working. By 'Ring' we mean that the cable goes from the distibution box, round all the sockets and back to the dis box again, so a single break won't stop the ring working.
If however the extension is wired as a single-ended spur from the main ring, then a single break will stop everything after it from working.
You're going to have to start taking sockets off to see if all the wires are secure - every socket should have pairs of live and neutral in them if it's wired as a full ring. If you find one with three pairs, that indicates that there is a spur wired off somewhere.

 

Slightly better put than me Rich Good wi me hands shit at owt else PMSL

 

all homo's are like that lee

 

Lee and Rich - cheers for that..................

More information of that helps................

The main fusebox is an old style fusebox with 4 30 amp fuse and 2 5 amp lighting fuses.

All fuses are intact and everything else is working.

From this, and bearing in mind I can't see any other fuses, I would assume the extension wiring is a spur from somewhere else in the house as Lee suggests.................

I also presume, from limited understanding, that the current draw is created by a voltage difference between the live and neutral wires.............

 

Pon. If its old style wiring and fuse box its highly likely to be a radial cicuit. This is like one big spur off the fuse box. One for upstairs one for down. If this is the case it will be more hard to find the culprit socket!. You need to start removing screws and pulling away the sockets starting in the extension. This is the only way you will find the loose/broken wire without a tester. Saying that, the neutral wire may have also possibly come out of the junction box that has been used to spur off to the extension. But, its more liely to be a socket as if the screw hasnt been quite tightened enough the tension on the wires when crammed into the back box eventually come out!

HTH

 

PON mate Clint is a sparks so if you get stuck PM me and I'll forward you his number

 

Lee - on the case now - cheers for the advice..............

Steve - forgot about that............last resort, but may PM ya later.....

 

Steve - you have PM..............

 

Still nothing pon?

 

Problem solved - cheers lads!

Took one plug socket off round the back of the house that I didn't even know was there, and bingo!

One burnt live cable, touching the neutral.................

Next time, I'll wire the fookin house myself!

 

Nice one Rich. Though it would be sommat simple. Oh and get that fooking fuse box changed to a new one mate, old ones are twisted firestarters

 

It's still got the certificate from 1932

What do most houses use nowadays? Circuit breakers?

 

Yes mini ciruit breakers and most importantly an RCD. Some people only run sockets on the rcd, then lights on main switch but i run the whole system through the RCD as more and more light fitting are metal and if what happened in your socket happens in a metal light and some fooker thinks its just the bulb thats gone.......ill let you imagine lol!!

 

Lee Reynolds,

i dont understand your last statement! i too am a spark, and i personally run a split load board everytime i do a rewire, as a fullly protected rcd board can be a pain in the arse!

bulb goes in your bog in the middle of the night,,,, trip goes your 30ma rcd........alarm clock looses its time,,,,, fridge gets warm!!
believe it happens!

what if they wanna run a welder???? these have bad earth leakage's???

and your story about the metal light?? i always earth everything in the equipotential zone!

tell you a little story about a none split load board i fitted once (and last )

rewired a complete fish shop, with flat/home to rear and upstairs,,,, there was an old lady living in the granny flat on the bottom flor of the shop, the upstairs couple left there nan in her flat, closed there roller shutters, and when they was out there was an earth fault on there fridge ( second hand tight twats) this tripped the whole board out, the old lady was locked in for 8 hours as the old lady couldnt open the fire door,, couldnt manual the shutters, and couldnt reach the rcd reset

 

just thought about my story,, and it wouldnt matter if the board was split load as i still would have had an rcd protecting the ring

 

PMSL

Gareth, i do it like that as thats how i been taught. If a earth wire comes off the metal light fitting there is no protection at all on that light. It has a chance of becoming live if a diyer has fitted it and the live also pops out and touches it. The MCB will not trip if this happens as the earth aint there!!!!! Peeps thinks bulb has gone and touches the light...bang!!! If the lights go through the RCD as soon as he touches it the RCD will trip before he fries!

I know its unlikely to happen but i do everything to how ive been taught, and the SAFEST possible way...as after all im a bricklayer by trade Gareth, i have just learned many other trades too

 

Aye i never picked up on that either

 

Lee Reynolds,

having rcd protection is always a plus on the safety side,,, but it can be a massive pain in the arse other times

 

Yeah i know mate, i werent gonna run my lights through it at first but thought fuck it it would be safer

 

cool anyway mate,, you can lay bricks and wire houses, and all i can do is wires

 

And i fully central heat a house, any domestic plumbing and my joinery is second to none Good all rounder i was taught the old way ya see. Id say i was a better joiner than bricklayer TBH

Oh roofing, ceramic wall tiling also on the list

 

skilled as fuck then

 

nah jack of all trades and good at none pmsl

Quite enjoy learning ohter trades i think thats why i done it....cos at work i only work as a bricklayer nothing else! Just learned other stuff for my own things etc

 

And the fuse hadn't blown? - wow!

 

Yeah, that's what I was worried about Tim.................... proper old skool wiring in this house!

 

you dont NEED an RCD at all... only if your taking power outside

ie... cooker point without socket... none trip side, cooker point with socket... trip side

 

Hence my" get a new fooker in" quote lol

 

Erm....you dont NEED a FUSE box You can couple up to the fooking meter tail direct if you like! Aint right safe tho....thats why we uses fuses/mcbs. Nowadays its common practice to fit RCD's for even more saftey! Im sorry but any electrician nowadays who doesnt recommend you fit an RCD is backward

 

theres two sparkies in my house, and we still have no rcd and on re-wireables

 

I didnt recomend NOT fittin one... just sayin you dont NEED one to be upto date.

 

Why not fit two Rcds then one for lights one for sockets safety and convienience