Great fault

[Edd]

So sent to property, small bedsit, to carry out EICR after new tenant moved in. first thing she poins out is that the twin socket in the lounge must be kept on for the kitchen to work!!!
Ok I entertain the idea, nothings pluged in the normal twin socket, and as im starting to explain that the switch will only break whats ever pluged in she switches it off! and I watch the boiler and fridge die!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She switches the socket back on and the power to fridge and boiler comes back up.....


Im looking at it and I lean down and do the same. I have to admit I was gob smacked, a normal switched twin socket with nothing pluged in that kills the kitchen as soon as you switch it off.........


Ok it didnt take long to find the fault but if someone phoned up with such a fault you would bet your life they were lieing.


Turned out that there was no Ring continuity, and switching the socket on and off moved the brass conection at the back of the socket just enought to make and break the live conections.
Just shows the kind of random stuff that can cause a fault.

oh the ring cont problem was a proper loose conection at the other side of the kitchen

 

[Jay Sparks]

I had something similar a while back but on an outside light. The customer phoned up and said, when she turned the outside light OFF, it tripped the RCD!! But when it was switched ON, it was ok. Turned out to be the little terminal screw on the un-used L2 side of the switch had come loose and was touching the bottom lug of the back box!! Never had owt like this before and probably wont again...!!