Hello All, need a little advice

[Joolssq]

I've come across a job where the emergency bulk head is wired direct to the CU, but it isn't lighting up, however if you trip the MCB, then the emergency back up kicks in and it is lighting, anyone come across this before?

Cheers Jools

 

[Spudnik]

Hello Joolssq, welcome aboard. Enjoy the forum.

 

[telectrix]

with the MCB closed, check if you have 240V at the fitting. i assume you have as the battery back up is held off. once this is confirmed, i think you'll find the fault is in the fitting itself. btw, welcome to the asylum. if it's a non-maintained set up, though, then it's working as it should. i.e. no light until the power is dropped off.

 

[Joolssq]

Yeah, it does have 240v at the fitting, thought it might be the light unit but just wanted to double check.

Thanks a lot

 

[Joolssq]

Trouble is, it just happened to fail while I was there doing another job, i've now got to convince client that it's a coincidence

 

[telectrix]

thinking about it, it's probably non-maintained and thus perfectly OK. that means that the 240V supply is only to keep the battery charged, not to illuminate the fitting.

 

[telectrix]

check with the client to find out if the fitting is normally on or off. usually there is a link across 2 terminals that you fit in order to maintain the light on when power is present.

 

[Joolssq]

The client says that, the fire brigade told her that it has to be lit at all times, there is another switched light in the area, so this seems a bit OTT.

 

[shagbite]

I've come across a job where

the emergency bulk head is wired direct to the CU,

but it isn't lighting up, however if you trip the MCB, then the emergency back up kicks in and it is lighting, anyone come across this before?

Cheers Jools

are you saying this emergency light is on its own circuit? if so, how will it come on in the event of a lighting circuit failure?

 

[Joolssq]

ok, will check, thanks

 

[telectrix]

probably a case of just fitting the link to make it maintained. check with manufacturer as to where the link goes. usually between the Lin and an adjacent terminal.

 

[Joolssq]

The CU is a twin RCD board, when one RCD trips, then the emergency light comes on, never seen electrics like this place before.

 

[shagbite]

The client says that, the fire brigade told her that it has to be lit at all times, there is another switched light in the area, so this seems a bit OTT.

depends on the environment. if it's an office with plenty of lights and everyone knows the lay of the land, i would say non maintained is fine.

 

[Joolssq]

I've viewed this forum before but never registered, it's good to know that I can come here to get some good advice.

 

[shagbite]

The CU is a twin RCD board, when one RCD trips, then the emergency light comes on, never seen electrics like this place before.

yes, the rcd will isolate all the circuits that it is protecting. but, if your lights are on mcb '1' and, the em' light is on mcb '2', the emergency light won't be activated when mcb '1' is tripped.

 

[Joolssq]

so the em' light needs to be linked across to the lighting circuit?

 

[Paul.M]

so the em' light needs to be linked across to the lighting circuit?

Yes it needs to be fed from the local lighting circuit in case that circuit is switched off/trips the mcb or rcd.


Where in Leeds are you working?

 

[telectrix]

@ jools. the em's should be fed from the same circuit as the local lights, so that if the supply to those local lights fails, the em will light up.

 

[Joolssq]

That's great, will do

I'm working in Middleton

 

[telectrix]

once worked there for a few weeks on a sports store ( like jjb, but called something else). parked van as close as possible, about 200 yards from site, and this jobsworth threatened to have the bomb squad blow it up as it was close to a bus station. FFS. as if al quada are going to blow up buses in middleton.

 

[Joolssq]

Sounds like the locals

 

[Paul.M]

I'm working in Middleton

Hope you've got a big dog sat in the van whilst your working lol. Better train it to put car/van fire out as well pmsl.


Yes Tel it is that bad as you have seen. Not all of that area but on some streets even the police dont walk by themselves.

 

[Joolssq]

It isn't THAT bad

 

[shagbite]

middleton village is alright.

just stay out of belle isle.

 

[Paul.M]

It isn't THAT bad

It used to be. Mind you I was brought/dragged up on Ebor Gardens estate so Miggy is'nt that bad really. I play golf at Miggy but never through the school summer holidays. Got sick of the teenage chavs on their motorbikes riding on the fairways. few years ago a nicked 4x4 car did donuts on some of the greens.

Anyway have you sorted out this em light yet?

 

[Paul.M]

middleton village is alright.

just stay out of belle isle.

Yep the village is nice (one of our members live there)

NOW with a user name of "shagbite" and you know a lot about Belle Isle, can I put two & two together and make 26? Painting a mental picture right now of you lol. (no offence ment mate)

 

[shagbite]

so the em' light needs to be linked across to the lighting circuit?

jools, if i was doing this job, i'd just put both radials into one breaker - providing i wasn't overloading the circuit. this, by definition, then becomes one circuit.

when testing zs, i'd take a reading from each leg and use the highest one.

 

[Paul.M]

SB thats good thinking as the op says its only one EM light and you are allowed to spur off the mcb for one piece of equipment so do it that way, no need to rewire near the fittings.

 

[Joolssq]

Going back tomorrow to finish off, hopefully, I told client I needed to get advice, there are four radial lights, 2 to each rcd. Shop lights are on same circuit as back room lights. Need to find out when I can go in when the shop is shut so I can safely isolate the CU to work safe, then I can seperate the circuits and make sure it's working correctly. I haven't even taken the cover off of the CU yet, i'm assuming the CU is labelled correctly. But i've made that mistake before

 

[Silly Sausage]

i'm assuming the CU is labelled correctly.

Hahahaha!!!