Live Earth Reverse

[mackatoon]

Hi Guys

So has anybody had this issue as I'm baffled. I've completed an EICR today and all other circuits apart from the ring main were fine. I had no continuity in the ring.

I tested each leg and can see there is a break between a couple of sockets...probably under a Floorboard as between the socket connections we're fine.

Anyway I continued my tests and recommended I come back to check on the break. However I've connected everything up at the board and there tv socket wasn't working...where the break is I'm now getting a Live Earth Reverse (according to my lap tester)

The Live Earth Reverse us literally for 3 sockets, I've checked the sockets and there fine...I didnt actually mess with the connections anyway. All other sockets in the house are fine, these 3 are in the middle. I've checked the board and tge connections are in tge right place and voltages are correct.

Confused.

Andy

 

[Rockingit]

Which conductors are broken in the ring? All of them or just one?

 

[mackatoon]

Which conductors are broken in the ring? All of them or just one?

Well using voltage testers can get continuity but my megger doesn't like it so couldn't get an R1. Earth no continuity whatsoever

 

[mackatoon]

If would make more sense if I was called out to a fault. However I haven't messed with the connections and the 3 sockets worked fine before apparently.

Not sure if running the IR down each leg has caused an issue

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I'm now getting a Live Earth Reverse (according to my lap tester)

This indication can be caused by a broken neutral especially if there is load connected past the dis that pulls the neutral pin of the tester up to line volts. What the tester then sees is voltage E-N but not L-N, which is the wrong way round so it indicates a reverse connection. I suspect there is a faulty connection in the N that has been disturbed during inspection.

 

[timhoward]

I have had something similar, and it was so long ago the details are hazy.
I also had a broken ring.
I wouldn't do it like this now, but at the time I made a 2nd break in the ring (safely wago'd) building a picture of what worked and what didn't. In my case I had "Live and Neutral reversed " between the break I put in and what the break in the CPC that was already there.
In your case I would bet you have a broken Neutral and the tester is confused, they are fairly primitive in their logic.
EDIT cross post with @Lucien, sorry

 

[Rockingit]

Well using voltage testers can get continuity but my megger doesn't like it so couldn't get an R1. Earth no continuity whatsoever

Sorry - I'm struggling to understand what you're meaning here. Live <> Live = fail? CPC <> CPC = fail as well??

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Note that when I say a disconnected neutral I mean one that creates an island of sockets with no neutral connection to either leg at all, e.g. if there is the existing loss of ring continuity and then another connection has been broken a few sockets away during testing.

 

[mackatoon]

Sorry - I'm struggling to understand what you're meaning here. Live <> Live = fail? CPC <> CPC = fail as well??

Voltage testers show continuity, but I can't get an actual R1 result from my megger. Cpc continuity total fail

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Voltage testers show continuity,

Voltage testers show voltage, Continuity testers show continuity. Horses for courses.

It's possible for a voltage tester or multimeter with high impedance input to display a normal-looking voltage with hundreds of kilohms of resistance in the circuit, off the scale of a continuity tester by a factor of 1000. Therefore in this situation testing voltage is probably misleading.

 

[mackatoon]

Booked in to go back, finished the EICR at 3pm but was then faffing around trying to find a nuetral problem until 5pm. Neither socket either side of the break had an issue

The break must be under the boards and running the tests today must have made the issue worse.

Thanks for the assistance guys.

 

[UNG]

How old is this installation and are there any signs of any alterations / modifications to the RFC

You say the fault appears to be under the floor do the cables from the sockets go up or down the wall, have had it before where one of the fixings for a shelf or a cupboard had damaged a cable and also a skirting board fixing after a laminate floor had been laid and new skirting was fixed

 

[telectrix]

sometimes a missing cpc at a socket will show L-E reverse on a socket tester.

 

[brianmoooore]

It's possible for a voltage tester or multimeter with high impedance input to display a normal-looking voltage with hundreds of kilohms of resistance in the circuit,

Almost exactly the same sentence that I've written dozens of times when replying to questions on a car forum that I contribute to.