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Sarah

So, I'm checking why the heating won't work in a little apartment in France. There are 4 wall-mounted electric heaters and there is a timer on the wall which should be controlling them all via a pilot wire. There is a note on the timer in badly scrawled French about the new heater meaning the timer no longer works. This is true, all the heaters work if you use the 'manual' heat dial on each, but do nothing if put on 'automatic' setting. I then unhook one of the heaters from the wall in order to paint the wall, and discover this interesting wiring (see photo). I guess this is the 'new' heater they mean. It looks like someone has cut off the old heater cable and attached it to the new heater, leaving out a couple of wires. I don't really understand French wiring, but I presume they have connected the positive and neutral wires (blue and brown) but left the earth (green) and pilot wires (black). I don't know what is under the tape. I guess the answer is to take the tape off, connect the earth wire if there is an opportunity, and then to join the black wires together in some way - but how? To each other, outside the heater? Will that mean the other heaters all work, as the pilot wire will just bypass this heater? I don't want to do anything that might damage the other heaters or blow something up, naturally. Would be grateful for any help!

Can I join the black wires? Need to improve some hacked French wiring to restore timer control IMG_1379 - EletriciansForums.net
 
How many cores are in the cable coming out of the heater?
 
You nead to know where ths black cables are connected at the other end and for that matter is the earth cable connected at the other end , if you don't have test equipment i would recommend calling the local `electrien.
 
I think you should ask a French electrician to take a look at the wiring for you.

(Je pense que vous devriez demander a un electricien francais de regarder le cablage pour vous.)
Smartass, but I agree mon ami
 
here is one. highly recommended by my ex-resistance froggy friends:
Can I join the black wires? Need to improve some hacked French wiring to restore timer control {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net
 
Sarah,

More seriously, the wiring looks dodgy and you mentioned a problem with the timer. Both argue for a competent French electrician to visit and inspect, fix and test.

For my EF friends - do the French have similar requirements to the UK for post work testing and certification? Perhaps you could advise Sarah what to ask for? My French night school has not reached that lesson yet.
 
The only post work testing and certification required in France is on installation of the supply, bit haphazard as you can have one socket on a wall and they will install if it meats code, other than that a report has to be filled out on sale of the property, only a rudimentary testing of RCD operation and Earthing in accordance with French Regs as EDF or whoever rarely supply the earth, which is normally by Earth Electrode. (Piquet de Terre)
 
Perhaps the French Geezer that did this work is the one responsible for the Notre Dam fire, don't know if I dam well spelt that right
 
Not unusual to have two Pilot (Black) wires into one heater, just means the heater is on the same circuit as the one it is joined too, check the Pilot wire in the next closest heater for continuity.
 
Quite possibly the new heater (or heaters?) don't have pilot wire control, so the pilot wires are just left disconnected?

Possibly also the new heater in the photo is class II and doesn't need an earth, which is why it is not connected.

Some information about the heater like model number might help in this respect.
 
Could be that all four heaters are on one timed circuit (in series) in which case the disconnecting of the cable from this heater would disable the timed on off, can you check that the timer does turn on and off at certain times?

True the heater may be a class II and not need an earth, but it would not do any harm to connect the earth cable to the support bracket shown.
 
sincerely hope these heaters are not in Notre Damm, and forum advice has caused Quasi's burn up.
 

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