Problems with circuit breaker

[RobinTW]

Hi, apologies if this seems a little mundane, but my electrical knowledge is limited and I was hoping to try and diagnose the problem before calling an electrician out.

The sockets and shower in my flat appear to have tripped the b. However, when I went to access it, all of the switches appear to still be in the "on" position, apart from the unlabelled one next to the button (see picture). If I flip this one, it flips back down straight away. I have turned all appliances off at their sockets.

Is this switch the problem? If so, how do I turn it back on?

Regards, Robin.

 

[EFLImpudence]

That is a Residual Current Device which detects, in layman's terms, current flowing where it shouldn't in any of the circuits to the right of it.

That you can't reset it means the fault is still there.

If it is an appliance causing this, then unplugging will remove the fault, but
if it is a faulty circuit, then I think you should call the electrician.

Has anything happened recently?
New screws into walls or floors, lots of rain in outside appliances.
If it has just happened out of the blue then it is probably a faulty appliance - heating and motors being the most likely.

 

[Echo the husky]

Turning off all the MCBs to the right of the tripping RCD may allow you to reset the RCD. If it stays on now you can then switch each MCB on until it trips and then you can check the circuit that trips. There are a number of possible faults where this method doesn't work such as neutral faults or faults between circuits, but it may help you get at least some power back on.

 

[davelx]

If it stays on now you can then switch each MCB ON until it trips and then you can check the circuit that trips.

 

[EFLImpudence]

If it stays on now you can then switch each MCB ON until it trips and then you can check the circuit that trips.

That may not be the circuit where the fault is.

 

[davelx]

That may not be the circuit where the fault is.

Indeed, I was just about to edit the post to point out that there are certain types of fault where that would be true - I was thinking about the best way to explain it.

To the OP: You should UNPLUG all appliances and turn off all Switched FCUs before trying the above test. If you can then turn all the MCBs back on with no problem then it's likely (but not guaranteed) that you have a faulty appliance - try each in turn until you find the one that causes the trip. If you find that turning on any appliance causes a trip, then it's likely there is a circuit fault.

If there is an N-E fault on one of the circuits fed from that RCD, then applying a load to any of the circuits fed from that RCD will cause it to trip, so you may not be able to identify the faulty circuit. If you find this happens then it becomes more difficult to fault-find and you will probably need to call an electrician.

Note: the above description is not exhaustive!

 

[Echo the husky]

oops edited!