Socket Switching Mystery...

[rowan138]

yes, the single switched socket is part of a ring.

Fair enough. Do I therefore take it that the 'offending' cable, which was supplying the two kitchen sockets (from the single socket's neon terminals!) goes out of the back of the single socket box and straight through the wall? (as I said, there are not enough visible cables to explain it).

However, there is still a theoretical problem. regulation wise. Even given that the switched single socket is part of a ring, it is supplying the (unswitched) single socket before the FCU - which is not strictly compliant with the regs, since it means that an unfused spur is supplying two things (the socket and the FCU), whereas it is only allowed to supply one. If the unswitched socket and FCU were swapped, it would then be reg-compliant.

Kind Regards, John

yes, the wires went straight out the back through the wall. also the unswitched socket has been removed and the FCU wired in correctly.

 

[JohnW2]

yes, the wires went straight out the back through the wall. also the unswitched socket has been removed and the FCU wired in correctly.

That's great - it sounds as if you really have now got everything 'properly sorted'. It's been an interesting story to follow - thanks!!

Kind Regards, John

 

[bernardgreen]

it turned out that some absolute cowboy had in fact wired the two kitchen sockets into where an indicator neon was supposed to be wired into the single switched socket!!!

I knew that was the only answer but never dreamt anyone could be so ignorant / stupid to have actually done it....

 

[JohnW2]

it turned out that some absolute cowboy had in fact wired the two kitchen sockets into where an indicator neon was supposed to be wired into the single switched socket!!!

I knew that was the only answer but never dreamt anyone could be so ignorant / stupid to have actually done it....

Quite. As many of us thought, wrote or implied, terminals intended for an indicator neon are the only thing other than the socket itself which can possibly be switched by a socket's switch - but, as you say (and as Robin0577 said when he first mentioned the possibility), I don't think that any of really believed (in our naivety!) that anyone could be so daft as to do that!

Kind Regards, John

 

[333rocky333]

beleive it or not i was gonna say that, but as the pic only showed 3 cables, i rejected the idea as most terminals accept 3 wires, not knowing there was back entry cables also

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I don't think many of us really believed that anyone would be as daft as to do that

Daftness knows no limits.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=115872

 

[securespark]

Well i'm glad that is cleared up. ... You would have thought he would at least have put some tape over the switch to prevent it being switched off!

... but only if they realised "what they'd done" (which one suspects they didn't) - otherwise they would have seen no reason why the switch shouldn't be switched off!

Kind Regards, John

That's right.

They had no idea.

People like that just go around blindly doing electrical work by trial and error.

The worst part about this is, when it works, it strengthens their belief they have done it properly so they repeat their work over and over elsewhere.

 

[AndyPRK]

Yes I guess if they had been using it for a freezer they wouldn't have realised.