Are you a piano tuner by any chance?
Lights out RCB ?
- Thread starter kenthetuner
- Start date
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Hi Martin, there are 9 bulbs on the circuit. No nails into walls or floors for at least 12 months now. Yes considerable current lots of blue sparks when trying to reset mcb. I am going to start disconnecting lives and neutrals at the ceiling roses until it will reset. Hope this will narrow the looking down a bit. Sorry no not a Piano tuner, retired engine tuner but the names been with me 30+ years.
Hi
I suppose no one will convince you that this is not the best way to solve the problem. Should really be done by dead circuit testing.
but please let us know how you get on.
Where about in hants are you, I was going suggest a swap of services.
Martin
I suppose no one will convince you that this is not the best way to solve the problem. Should really be done by dead circuit testing.
but please let us know how you get on.
Where about in hants are you, I was going suggest a swap of services.
Martin
Also confirm that after disconnecting L/N/E at the CU, the MCB can be reset. If not then you have a damaged MCB as well which will need replacing.
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Hi Martin, thanks for your suggestion of swop of services, but unless you have a 2 stroke classic racer of some sort I'm not much help. Any way I seem to be getting some where by disconnecting lives. So far I have 2 fluorescent units working a one bulb!!
Martin, forgot Andover.
Lighting circuits are wired in a radial format in domestic settings so when you get to the faulty fitting/dodgy connection, you will have located your fault as your MCB will trip.
OK, the fault appears to be the live feed from lounge wall switch to the lounge light ceiling rose. If I leave this disconnected at the switch all lights to this point work without tripping the mcb. If I connect it and disconnect it at the rose it trips the mcb. What is the easiest and right way to replace this twin core and earth cable?
It would mean pulling in a new length up the wall and across the ceiling
So that's floorboards up.
You should not need a whole new length. The fault will probably be at either the switch or the rose end. look carefully for a short. Now's the time for a test meter to see if its a shorrt between live and neutral, or live and earth.
Just as a quick check. Does the MCB hold in if you discomect the switch cable (both wires) at the ceiling rose)?
So that's floorboards up.
You should not need a whole new length. The fault will probably be at either the switch or the rose end. look carefully for a short. Now's the time for a test meter to see if its a shorrt between live and neutral, or live and earth.
Just as a quick check. Does the MCB hold in if you discomect the switch cable (both wires) at the ceiling rose)?
Ken: I've read this carefully about ten times, and it doesn't seem to make sense as you describe it.
You are obviously getting close, but you need to be very accurate in your tests at this point.
Thanks again for your quick replies chaps, the switch for the lounge light is wired differently. There is a live and nuetral that that comes from the kitchen rose and goes to the lounge rose as well as the live that is switched ie from rose to switch and back again. It is the live that is the problem not the switched live. Taking the floor boards up not going to be easy the stud walls for the bedrooms were errected after the floor was laid is this normal? BTW tomorrow I am going to get a length of cable and bypass the cable I think is at fault just to make sure.
That doesn't sound like to bad an idea,,
HOWEVER you must make sure that you are "bypassing"/temporarily replacing the right cable
Dead testing with ohm meter and insulation tester would be best though!
HOWEVER you must make sure that you are "bypassing"/temporarily replacing the right cable
Dead testing with ohm meter and insulation tester would be best though!
Couple of things. People have said that you need expensive equipment to do this investigation. As you have a totally consistent short (less than 15 Ohms) then the most you need for dead testing is a multimeter which measures Ohms. Around £5 from Maplin.
Ken has demonstrated a respectable grasp of logic, and should easily be capable of locating this fault.
The only problem I have is that the most recent description of the fault seems back to front. I can see how disconnecting at the rose might fix the problem, but not how disconnecting at the switch could.
As said, the substitute cable experiment is a good idea (compaired with say removing plaster) but it would be good to combine this with a drawing and an analysis of the possible fault.
I'm currently leaning towards a live/earth fault. A meter would give more data to work from, with less connection experiments.
Ken has demonstrated a respectable grasp of logic, and should easily be capable of locating this fault.
The only problem I have is that the most recent description of the fault seems back to front. I can see how disconnecting at the rose might fix the problem, but not how disconnecting at the switch could.
As said, the substitute cable experiment is a good idea (compaired with say removing plaster) but it would be good to combine this with a drawing and an analysis of the possible fault.
I'm currently leaning towards a live/earth fault. A meter would give more data to work from, with less connection experiments.
so come on now, own up..
you've changed a light fitting or the switch haven't you?
or the missus has hung a new picture up... or you've put up the christmas decorations and the pin has gone through the cable..?
we want photo's of the fitting wiring, the switch wiring and the area of wall directly above the switch as proof you haven't...
you've changed a light fitting or the switch haven't you?
or the missus has hung a new picture up... or you've put up the christmas decorations and the pin has gone through the cable..?
we want photo's of the fitting wiring, the switch wiring and the area of wall directly above the switch as proof you haven't...
Coljack, there has been no nails or diy for at least 12 months but yes I did replace this light switch ages ago because the original was a dimmer switch and we had changed over to energy saving bulbs. What I can't understand is I sat watching tv with wife, kids in bed nice and quiet and the lights go out no warning nothing. Why the delay?
I will take some photos later.
I will take some photos later.
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