Lights Stopped Working! HELP!

[Chris100]

Hi all,

Hopefully you can help me resolve a problem...

I was using an electric drill in a plug socket in a first floor bedroom when it suddenly stopped working. The plug it was plugged into has stopped working as well as the extension lead I was using at the time.

Worst of all, the main lights in the 2 bedrooms on the first floor and 2 bedrooms on the second floor are not working. The landing light, bathroom etc. are though. I do not know how or what has happened. I have replaced bulbs and checked fuses in main electric box with no success.

Please help, Yours in anticipation...

 

[JohnD]

can you lay your hands on a digital camera and put up pics of your "main electric box" and its surroundings?

Were you drilling into a wall, ceiling or floor when it stopped working?

 

[Chris100]

Thanks for your reply,

I wasnt drilling into walls or ceiling etc., was building some flatpack furniture.

Pic of Main Electricity Box - www.muscle-news.com/electricity/

Thanks again

 

[Steve]

a few issues there

1. why an RCD as main switch? appears not to be a TT install.

2. switchfuse LHS - earth suspicious

3. cables at top right all tangled.

4. whats that device at the bottom right?

sorry for the bad news mate, you need a new consumer unit. this install is well past its sell-by date. Makes fault-finding a nightmare.

And for your current problem - there is a possibility that some numpty has put this socket on the lighting circuit and your drill has blown the 5A fuse. You need to check your fuses. And get an electrician to do a PIR.

 

[JohnD]

Thanks for the picture, that's great.

I can see your installation has been neatly done, and I think I can see an RCD as Main switch for the whole installation at the bottom of the pic, which is a good touch though rather unusual there. The square plastic box bottom right, does that feed a garage or shed or what? If you can identify which switch and fuse controls what, we'd be half way to identifying the trouble. Please don't open any of the boxes there, apart from looking at the fuses; and switch off each box before pulling its fuses out.

However, most parts in your picture are very old, the installation has been added to over the years, and I can't see an earth going to the dark brown Wylex consumer unit or to the 15A switchfuse. Maybe it's there but I can't see it, which would mean that the circuits supplied are unsafe.

Do you know what circuits are supplied by what switches in your picture? It is very helpful to attach some labels (I use permanent marker on white sticky tape).

My suspicion would be that the 30A or the 15A switchfuse would be the trouble, as they are the oldest bits, but you have so many connections there that any of them could be at fault.

In view of the age and complexity of the installation in your pic, i think you would be well advised to get a well-qualified local electrician in, and apart from fixing the current fault, improve the earthing, and replace the oldest parts with a much smaller number of modern items.

//edited to say, crossed with crafty because I'm a slow typist, and he's quite right, of course.//

p.s. I wonder if the earth connections had been removed because the RCD kept tripping? That would be a terrible thing to do!

p.p.s. The cables look newer than the switchfuses and CU, I wonder if there's been a rewire by a well-meaning amateur who thought he could save money?

 

[Adam_151]

I can't see an earth going to the dark brown Wylex consumer unit or to the 15A switchfuse. Maybe it's there but I can't see it, which would mean that the circuits supplied are unsafe.

I can, it comes from the henley block thats been used as the MET, goes into the wylex CU using what looks to be 6mm² green, and jumps to the switch fuse next to it in a even smaller size of the same.

Not correct, but a lot better than being missing totally

EDIT: and looks like someone tried to run 16mm² earth to the other switch fuse from the suppliers terminal, and found that they couldn't terminate it in such an old unit...

 

[Lectrician]

That 45amp MEM CU has no DP switch. Shower??



There are two switch fuses which are to the left of the main CU - do you know they have fuses in?? Have you just checked the main CU??

RCD as main switch - some people love them - I HATE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!! Split loader would be the order of the day!

The 16mm earth to term block on the far left switch fuse connected to the CPC of the T+E's - I have good eyes!

Is that the DNO meter?? It is the type we buy and fit in caravans parks - you buy cardboard top up cards to put credit in. Rare for a DNO to use that type of meter - not really very secure - and only has the crappy lead seals as supplied with it - even we change them for the pressed seals. LEad sheathed supply though, and DNO type head, so would be supprised if it was a private supply, unless it was addopted. The meter R1 credit is also at £5 - Bells ring that the pence per unit has been set to 0p, and the minimum credit put on (£5) to effectively make the meter 'invisible' - as not to charge, or cut off the lecky. umm........do tell!

 

[Adam_151]

That 45amp MEM CU has no DP switch. Shower??
The 16mm earth to term block on the far left switch fuse connected to the CPC of the T+E's - I have good eyes!

Looks like there is only one T&E CPC connected there, looks to me like someone couldn't terminate the 16mm² in the earth block in there, and pulled the cpc out of a piece of T&E laying around and joined it on using a terminal block so they had a thinner cable to terminate in the earth block

Maybe you can see whether there is 1 or two cpcs there? I can only see one

 

[kai]

Nice about the PME earth (TNCS Earth cable out at upper right hand side of Service Fuse Block), shame about the rest of the install!