burning smell from cable or somewhere?

[jurgenjay]

Hi,

In the middle of today, we smelled something burning, the first reaction is electrical cable burned! We looked for where it smelled strongest and found it is upstairs hallway near radiator (which was not on at the time) and downstairs living room.

We called the electrician who did the electrical works for the house to come and check, he tested each socket which all worked, and all the lighting & switches were working, so it seems the sockets are fine, the lighting is ok!
He said halogen bulb could get hot and burned but my house is all LED so would not get burned.
Also, the consumer box & RCD was not tripped.

Clearly we smelled it like cable/plastic burning smell so where could it come from?
Or was that burning smell not related to electrical thing?

Thanks!

 

[westward10]

Did they actually look inside any of the sockets etc.....

 

[Deleted account]

Impossible to comment on this one. It needs a visit.

not really helpful I know. Sorry, but there are so many possible places it could be.

 

[jurgenjay]

Did they actually look inside any of the sockets etc.....

No! He did not. Only used a plug thing to test the socket.
Does that need to open the socket to see? Is that possible that the socket is working but inside burned?

 

[jurgenjay]

Impossible to comment on this one. It needs a visit.

not really helpful I know. Sorry, but there are so many possible places it could be.

Even the socket checking was suggested by me... the electrician seems no idea what to check and concluded it is no problem...
We are worried...

 

[Deleted account]

Even the socket checking was suggested by me... the electrician seems no idea what to check and concluded it is no problem...
We are worried...

Is the burning smell still there?

 

[jurgenjay]

Is the burning smell still there?

No, it's gone. Only happened in middle day, after one our by the time electrician arrived it already gone.
I suggested take the oven out to check the cable behind but he didn't...
I suspect something related to the oven as it was the only thing we were using.

 

[partplonker]

Does it smell like fish? That's what the plastic that sockets are made of smell like when they get hot.

If you have loose wiring in an appliance or extension lead, it can cause damage to the socket as the terminals and wiring heat up. You'd smell it, but you might not necessarily see it on the front and the sockets could still test ok.

If you unplugged everything and haven't plugged them back in again yet, you might find the smell goes away but will return when you plug the faulty item back in.

 

[partplonker]

Apologies, I apparently gave inappropriate advice for a DIYer. I had no idea there were people watching for that kind of thing!

 

[jurgenjay]

Does it smell like fish? That's what the plastic that sockets are made of smell like when they get hot.

If you have loose wiring in an appliance or extension lead, it can cause damage to the socket as the terminals and wiring heat up. You'd smell it, but you might not necessarily see it on the front and the sockets could still test ok.

If you unplugged everything and haven't plugged them back in again yet, you might find the smell goes away but will return when you plug the faulty item back in.

Thank you for your advice!
The sockets in the house are either BG screwless flat plate brushed stainless steel or BG brushed steel, so not plastic material.
Please see attached photos. So they are not smelling like fish? But we do know that's burning smell just normally something like plastic or cable burned.
How do we know loose wiring in an appliance? We were using oven at the time when we smelled it, so could it be caused by oven/cable connected to oven?
We did unplug some computer plugs and extension lead but they are not in the area that we smelled it, the smell came from upstairs hallway and downstairs living room.
I'd take all the sockets off in the rooms that smell to check them for damage.===so I need to take the sockets off in the upstairs hallway and downstairs living room?

 

[partplonker]

Thank you for your advice!
The sockets in the house are either BG screwless flat plate brushed stainless steel or BG brushed steel, so not plastic material.
Please see attached photos. So they are not smelling like fish? But we do know that's burning smell just normally something like plastic or cable burned.
How do we know loose wiring in an appliance? We were using oven at the time when we smelled it, so could it be caused by oven/cable connected to oven?
We did unplug some computer plugs and extension lead but they are not in the area that we smelled it, the smell came from upstairs hallway and downstairs living room.
I'd take all the sockets off in the rooms that smell to check them for damage.===so I need to take the sockets off in the upstairs hallway and downstairs living room?

Those sockets still have plastic inserts around the terminals. Do not take the sockets off if you are not comfortable doing electrical work. I have many years experience with electrics and qualifications, I was just saying what I would look for. Were there any appliances plugged in in the rooms that smelled? Was it a fishy smell?

Yes, it's possible it could be your oven. Your oven will have an isolation switch and possibly an outlet plate which are also places to get your electrician to check for loose connections.

If you are using everything normally again and there is no smell, I would stop looking.

 

[jurgenjay]

Those sockets still have plastic inserts around the terminals. Do not take the sockets off if you are not comfortable doing electrical work. I have many years experience with electrics and qualifications, I was just saying what I would look for. Were there any appliances plugged in in the rooms that smelled? Was it a fishy smell?

Yes, it's possible it could be your oven. Your oven will have an isolation switch and possibly an outlet plate which are also places to get your electrician to check for loose connections.

If you are using everything normally again and there is no smell, I would stop looking.

Thank you! Understand your point!
At the time, the vacuum cleaner was plugged in the living room, nothing else. but it did not smell.
The electrician came and turned on the oven and cooker hood for a long time to see if there's further smell. He did not check isolation switch or outlet plate....
I do hope this is forgettable but just concern it meant something bad? Or something worse could happen?

 

[OnlQQker]

No, it's gone. Only happened in middle day, after one our by the time electrician arrived it already gone.
I suggested take the oven out to check the cable behind but he didn't...
I suspect something related to the oven as it was the only thing we were using.

Is it a floor mounted oven, or a built in oven?
Anything in oven that was not heatproof, like a tuppleware dish or similar.
Was the grill on and door shut, is the grill handle made of plastic.

Sometimes it can be something more simple.
Not always , but sometimes!

 

[jurgenjay]

Is it a floor mounted oven, or a built in oven?
Anything in oven that was not heatproof, like a tuppleware dish or similar.
Was the grill on and door shut, is the grill handle made of plastic.

Sometimes it can be something more simple.
Not always , but sometimes!

it is a built-in oven.
the smell was not from oven as we tried to smell near the oven, it was not same.
the burning smell like fishy smell is like plastic burning as we commonly know, that's why we instinctively thought of cable or socket burning.
And it was from upstairs and living room, not from kitchen where oven is.

I hope it is something simple but seems not....

 

[Petej999]

Impossible to comment on this one. It needs a visit.

not really helpful I know. Sorry, but there are so many possible places it could be.

 

[jurgenjay]

I know. But you guys are not from near Dorset...
I will need to find some electrician, possible here the forum?

 

[ferg]

Was it the first time you used that particular part of the oven?
Oven elements are oil coated and this burns off during the first use.
Can be smelly / smokey.

 

[jurgenjay]

Was it the first time you used that particular part of the oven?
Oven elements are oil coated and this burns off during the first use.
Can be smelly / smokey.

Thank you! No, it's not first time, have been using it for months.
Just yesterday the fishy smell/burning smell same out.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Have not read the whole thread, but normally a fishy smell is a loose connection in one of the sockets or plugs arcing and burning the plastic of the socket or plug, switch off your power and take each socket off the wall, give the cables inside a bit of a tug to see if they are loose, when you find the loose one tighten the terminal, it can sometimes be the terminal has been screwed onto the insulation and not making proper contact with the copper, but please only carry out this if you are competent to do so, and DO remember switch off the power first.

 

[littlespark]

Have you distinguished it as a “fishy” smell or just taking cue from suggestions here?

Yes, it could be a loose wire causing heat and melting the plastic, but a burning smell could also be faulty electronics… found in dimmer switches, LED lamps, extractor fans etc.