Consumer unit and RCD

[thehuntedfew]

Hi all, i have wylex CU protected with 2 80A 30mA DP RCD's i have had a new american style fridge freezer put in yesterday (dont think relevent). i have been in the cupboard and noticed that one RCD is up Red and the other is down Green, however everything is on. Any ideas at all before i call out a sparkie ?

 

[Pete999]

Is everything working on the side of the CU covered by the "Green RCD" ? The Alarm, lights and the sockets. If the 3 circuits I mentioned are NOT working, then switch the 3 MCBs OFF reset the Green RCD and switch the 3 MCBs on 1 at a time which ever MCB trips the RCD then that is the problem circuit.

 

[kingeri]

I've had this before, turned out all circuits were on first RCD, one busbar in CU instead of two, second RCD just sitting there doing nothing!

Do the three MCBs on the left turn off what they are labelled up as?

 

[thehuntedfew]

Everything thing turns on and off normally, just the rcd showing being off, everything thing is on, alarm, upstairs lights and sockets, which is confusing me, could it just be a dud rcd?

 

[Octopus]

If the RCD is dud then I would expect the circuits to the left of it NOT to work. I would suggest you get somebody to take a look at this and properly test the RCD.

 

[kingeri]

It's impossible to tell to be honest, but either way you definitely need to get it looked at. I would love to see inside that CU! But please don't be tempted to open it up yourself!!

 

[Pete999]

Everything thing turns on and off normally, just the rcd showing being off, everything thing is on, alarm, upstairs lights and sockets, which is confusing me, could it just be a dud rcd?

Have you tried resetting the RCD?, yes it could be just that a faulty unit.

 

[Pete999]

Everything thing turns on and off normally, just the rcd showing being off, everything thing is on, alarm, upstairs lights and sockets, which is confusing me, could it just be a dud rcd?

You need to contact an electrician to take a look at the CU .

 

[thehuntedfew]

i have someone coming tomorrow, its just so i could narrow the issue down, thanks for your replies

 

[Octopus]

When they come if they say they are going to test the RCD, please ask them for the readings ...............

If you are at home when they come, a photo showing inside the fuseboard could be interesting..

Thanks for the feedback so far.

 

[thehuntedfew]

I've had this before, turned out all circuits were on first RCD, one busbar in CU instead of two, second RCD just sitting there doing nothing!

Do the three MCBs on the left turn off what they are labelled up as?

Yes, they do. I tried turning the RCD on the left on and everything turned off. Possible overload?? Could something have moved and joined the two busbars together?

 

[Wilko]

The plot thickens, I was thinking it was likely not connected to anything. Best leave it be for now, but do get some happy snaps of the internal wiring

 

[Phil Thompson]

im Going with the 1 single busbar based on info so far.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Seen a similar situation before, the outcome was the RCD had been linked out to 'cure' a N-E fault. I'll wager there's a fighting chance this is what has occurred here. Alternatively a Electrical Trainee has just linked it out inside incorrectly

 

[seltechpc]

I notice that the immersion circuit is on the RH side of the CU and connected to a 32A CB. There is a spare 16A CB on the LH side, I think you need to ask the electrician to check whether he thinks the CU is wired correctly. There does seem to be some peculiarities that need checking.

 

[telectrix]

agree^^^^. if turning on the left hand RCD trips everything out, i'd suspect a wiring bodge up in the CU.

 

[DPG]

I hope we find out what the cause was!

 

[DPG]

We should operate a system where the person asking the question pays a £5 deposit. Only when they tell use the outcome do they get it back.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I've had this before, turned out all circuits were on first RCD, one busbar in CU instead of two, second RCD just sitting there doing nothing!

i have too come across similar, some cowboy had changed a consumer unit and did no pre testing. lots of interconnected circuits and additions over the years. when the new Cu was fitted it obviously tripped the rcds. so the guys response was put it all on one rcd... leaving the 2nd one in situ doing nothing. Turned out the cowboy was a kitchen fitter the husband found via friends at work.. who claimed to be fully qualified!