Socket sparked

[Ismi01]

Hi there guys I plugged in a floodlight to my socket (I attached the 3 core wire myself to the 3 pin plug and light myself) it was working fine until 5 minutes later when I saw a spark and the upstairs lights turned off so I had to move the switch back up in the fuse box. Why would this happen ? Could it be due to the wires touching each other ? Or not enough power ?

 

[RF Lighting]

Yes it sounds as though something may have caused a short circuit in the plug. When you wired the plug did you expose just enough copper on the plug to connect into the pins? if you are not sure, you could put a photo of the plug on here and we can advise further.

 

[Ismi01]

Hi thanks for your help this is the light and this is the outcome of the spark when I opened the plug the copper wires were touching each other. Is this the right fuse as well ?

 

[danechip]

It's definitely looks like the neutral was lose or not even screwed down. The fuse is massively over rated, so use the smallest you can find, probably a red 3A. 1Amp is more than enough for your 21watt light...

 

[Ismi01]

I left too much copper I believe which then led to them touching each other. Would a 3amp fuse be ok then ?

 

[RF Lighting]

Yes a 3A fuse would be ideal.

You need to discard your plug and replace with new as the blast mark contains soot and vaporised copper which can conduct electricity and cause another short circuit.

You should be aiming for a plug which looks like this:

Remove just enough insulation to connect in to the plug pins with no copper wire on show once you have made your connections.

If you are not sure there’s some step by step videos on YouTube.

 

[Jackrae]

As shown in the photo, if the cable was accidentally strained beyond the capability of the cable clamp, it is possible that the first wire to break free might be the earth wire. The appliance would still operate but would no longer be protected. I was taught to ensure there was enough slack in the earth and neutral wires such that, in the event of the cable being excessively strained, the first wire to break away from its terminal would be the live wire. This would ensure the cable, if still in service, would be incapable of powering the appliance. Of course the purpose of the cable grip is to prevent this happening but this simple precaution adds a level of safety.

 

[JohnW2]

... I was taught to ensure there was enough slack in the earth and neutral wires such that, in the event of the cable being excessively strained, the first wire to break away from its terminal would be the live wire.

Indeed - but I would think that with almost all plugs (certainly ones like that illustrated above), that is inevitably the case, isn't it?

Kind Regards, John

 

[conny]

Indeed - but I would think that with almost all plugs (certainly ones like that illustrated above), that is inevitably the case, isn't it?

Kind Regards, John

I've seen plugs where all 3 cables have been cut to the same length as the earth wire and then 'looped' around the fixing screw hole in such a manner that the earth wire is effectively the shortest!

 

[JohnW2]

I've seen plugs where all 3 cables have been cut to the same length as the earth wire and then 'looped' around the fixing screw hole in such a manner that the earth wire is effectively the shortest!

Yes, so have I. I suppose I should have clarified that I was talking about the situation if the plugs were wires correctly/sensibly!

My point obviously was that 'route' to the L-terminal from the clamp is the shortest.

Kind Regards, john

 

[Ismi01]

Thanks for your help guys I’ll be sorting this out in a few days. Appreciate it