i got a phone call last night, from work. The warehouse lights had gone out. I told the girl on the phone to check all the "switches" on the "fuse box" (language she understood) were "facing the same way". She said they were, so i sez "well ill have a look when i get in tomorrow".
I looked this morning, sure enough, no MCB had tripped. Odd, i thought, then i looked at the markings, and realised there is actually no MCB for warehouse lights. Or shop floor lights . . . .
Turns out we have a board with turning switches for shop lights, warehouse lights, boiler, etc, with settings for on, off and auto. It has a timer, and is supplied with a C63 3phase supply. Inside is full of relays and MCBs etc. I opened it up and found the MCB that had tripped.
Result: warehouse lights now working, turns out a double flourescent fitting had blown, taking the lot out with it.
My question is this: should i actually be opening this box (it has a key, like a gas box)? All the switches are on the outside, but there are exposed neutral bars and earth bars inside. I would say i should be able to do it myself, since it contains MCBs which may need to be reset, as this morning. Then again, i am exposing conductive parts (and live terminals) by doing this. I also had to study a wiring schematic for the box, to discover which MCB to reset, since they are merely labelled by number. I wasn't going to call an electrician just to reset an MCB which i can do myself. Any comments?
I looked this morning, sure enough, no MCB had tripped. Odd, i thought, then i looked at the markings, and realised there is actually no MCB for warehouse lights. Or shop floor lights . . . .
Turns out we have a board with turning switches for shop lights, warehouse lights, boiler, etc, with settings for on, off and auto. It has a timer, and is supplied with a C63 3phase supply. Inside is full of relays and MCBs etc. I opened it up and found the MCB that had tripped.
Result: warehouse lights now working, turns out a double flourescent fitting had blown, taking the lot out with it.
My question is this: should i actually be opening this box (it has a key, like a gas box)? All the switches are on the outside, but there are exposed neutral bars and earth bars inside. I would say i should be able to do it myself, since it contains MCBs which may need to be reset, as this morning. Then again, i am exposing conductive parts (and live terminals) by doing this. I also had to study a wiring schematic for the box, to discover which MCB to reset, since they are merely labelled by number. I wasn't going to call an electrician just to reset an MCB which i can do myself. Any comments?