Help with an accident!!

[MichaelJ72]

Hi, I've trawled various forums and can't seem to find an answer to this so hoping someone can help.

This afternoon I was just about finished trimming hedges in the front garden when stupidly I cut through the cable with the trimmers. Luckily no injuries, however the power as you'd expect went out in the house. It now won't come back on at the socket in the living room it was plugged in to, but the socket on the other side of the room is fine, also socket at the front of the house in the hall won't work and the front bedrooms. All other lights and sockets in the house work fine.

I've tried flipping the on/off switch on the fuse board back, doesn't trip back off just nothing from these plug sockets.

Any idea if this is a fuse in the fusebox gone (can't seem to remove/swap the little cartridge around to check) or if any wiring is likely to be damaged?

Put a job on rated people not heard anything but guessing if this is a small job nobody will want it, and would like to save further embarrassment and get it sorted myself

Help greatly appreciated

 

[bernardgreen]

Picture of the fuse box would help.

 

[flyingsparks]

Forget Rated People for a start. It is a paid advertising service for people who cant get work through word-of-mouth (hence a lot are no good!)
It could well be a fuse has blown, most likely. Can you pull them out and check them - turn off the main switch first. Is it rewireable fuses or cartridge fuses? Do you have a multimeter? A photo may help.
Also look to see if there is a seperate RCD or switch fuse spur which feeds these sockets which are not working. There could be a blown fuse there.
It is very unlikely to have damaged the wiring.

 

[MichaelJ72]

 

[flyingsparks]

I have seen this DB before havn't I!?
OK so you dont have fuses, you have MCB's. I presume the one labelled RCD tripped when you cut the cable?
Do you have a hot tub? What does that MCB do? Have you checked it is not actually the sockts in question?

 

[MichaelJ72]

Thanks flyingsparks, picture above. I've turned off power, unscrewed wires from redundant 'hot tub' fuse (far left that's switched off) but I'm buggered if I can get it to lift out it feels like it's screwed in somewhere (!) or even that all the cartridges are joined together (?).

Thanks

 

[flyingsparks]

Watch out because there is a lot of live stuff in there! The MCB is held in with a screw at the bottom on to the busbar ( a copper strip which makes the bottom of each MCB live) TURN OFF MAIN SWITCH BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING
Why did you disconnect the wires from the hot tub MCB? Did this MCB trip at the time you cut the cable?

 

[flyingsparks]

I have seen this DB before havn't I!?

OK - its slightly different...

 

[MichaelJ72]

When I first tried to take the hot tub MCB out to swap with the one that had gone off I thought the wires would have to come out to remove, couldn't get it out so have put back.

Update: something really weird going on now! Hot tub has always 100% been off, we've never had one so never needed, always been off. I've just switched it on and the switch for the sockets in the house is off and everything is now working! Is that even possible????

 

[deadshort]

Thanks flyingsparks, picture above. I've turned off power, unscrewed wires from redundant 'hot tub' fuse (far left that's switched off) but I'm buggered if I can get it to lift out it feels like it's screwed in somewhere (!) or even that all the cartridges are joined together (?).

Thanks

STOP . Please get an electrician.

DS

 

[flyingsparks]

Im not sure I follow. So you put the wire(s) back into the Hot Tub MCB and turned it on, but you also turned off one of the other MCB's labelled 'Sockets' but everything (including the sockets which were not working at the beginning of this thread) are now working?

 

[flyingsparks]

I do think Dead Short may be right on this one, it sounds like you may be a bit out of your depth (no offence!)

 

[MichaelJ72]

Im not sure I follow. So you put the wire(s) back into the Hot Tub MCB and turned it on, but you also turned off one of the other MCB's labelled 'Sockets' but everything (including the sockets which were not working at the beginning of this thread) are now working?

Yes correct, didn't touch any other wires, I'm baffled as I know the hot tub switch has always been off.

I've switched off anything we don't need now and leaving well alone, hopefully find an electrician tomorrow to check it over, I'll let you know what they say!

Appreciate the replies ( and no offence taken )

 

[ericmark]

I remember losing power in my dad's kitchen, I took all sorts apart looking for the problem to no avail. Then I found it, there was a fused connection unit (FCU) under the bread bin screwed to the wall, all that was wrong was a 13A fuse had blown.

 

[securespark]

I had an open circuit on the line of a lighting circuit.

Ripped the house apart looking for it....

Turned out an old light switch hidden behind a wall hanging had been wired as an isolation switch for the circuit and had been knocked accidentally & turned off.