Hope I am alowed to post this Question ???

[Cliff]

Hi everyone My first and possibly my last post if not allowed, I am not an electrician but am having trouble finding one that can do the work I require. I thought ask on here and see what anwers I get.

The problem : ( we have been in this house two years , it already had an extension on it. I have not done any recent DIY work so have not hammered a nail into a wire etc.. )

My breaker keeps tripping, this is on a lighting circuit the breaker is a 10 amp ,The circuit seems to have been extended to include the lights in the extension taken off the upstairs lighting supply ?

All lights upstairs go (including the loft light ) apart from a light at the top of the stairs, this I can only assume does not go as it has switches at the top and bottom of the stairs and must be connected to the downstairs circuit.

we also get one light in the main house trip ( back of the house next to the annex) and all the lights in the annex ( mother in law terriority).

I have now had two electricians turn up, both have said the circuit is not overlloaded; 1 didnt have any tools insisted it must be the outside lights checked these and didnt find a problem so left saying he didnt know what it was. But said I should try and narrow it down e.g re set breaker and switch on lights one by one etc.. I have done this and think I have narrowed it down to the annex part of the house.

The 2nd electrician has been here 6 hours today at £32 per hour didnt find it either, 1st took all bulbs out and checked the circuit everything fine.
The went around dropped the ceiling roses checked wires etc everything fine .
Checked the lights in the bathroom (annex) and said they were fine.

Finally after 4 hours found a wire in the loft saying it was that but didnt know where it went ?
Suggested I take up all the floor boards in my daughters bedroom and look for a junction box and it will be there. also said he would recommend rewiring everything. When we moved in we had letters etc saying all electrics updated and new extension wired this included a new fuse box this was done by previous owners in 2001.

The 2nd electrician replaced the breaker with a 6amp one saying the old one was faulty but this still trips. At present it will not reset.

Has anyone any ideas on the problem of where I can find a qualified electrician capable of doing the job. I live in Bromley in Kent.
Hope this post is acceptable and you can help.

If you need more info or I have not explained things correctly please reply and I will give as much info as I can.

Cliff



Mod Edit: Just removed your postcode. Try not to post personal details.

 

[acat]

Hi Cliff and welcome to the forum cant help you because I live to far away but keep checking someone is bound to contact you.


Best of luck


Chris

 

[Mac]

Does it trip with the lights off,or only when you switch them on.Could be a loose cable at one of the switches.Did the electrician check the switches.One of the cables maybe nicked by the face plate screws

 

[bazza2541]

If the breaker will not reset I'd be looking at a short in the wiring.
If it does reset then blow again I'd be looking for an overload, tell me this, does the weather affect the tripping of the breaker?

 

[Cliff]

It seems to trip at various times, He said he checked everything (all switches etc)

But when he re set the breaker for the last time and I went around and put all the bulbs back in I tried 3 lights in th eannex and it tripped again. He checked switch and didnt know.

I can have all lights on and it's fine and then one hour later with no one touvhing anything it trips ?

Cliff

 

[senor_fabulous]

Welcome along. The circuit breaker if iam correct is an mcb and will only work on 1. overload (possibly not unless you have lots of downlighters all over the place) 2. short circuit. I appreciate the new breaker is now faulty, but can you remember if the breaker tripped if after you switched on a particular light. Just trying to see if a light fitting has developed a fault. Any diy work lately, does it trip when it rains. I would get the spark back out who replaced your breaker if possible. Fault finding can be notoriously time consuming, i am sure you will be able to find a friendly and reasonable elecrtician locally. It is a bit far for me I'm in sunny Luton. Good Luck.

 

[Cliff]

Hi I think it's an MCB it's make is Doepke (DLS5 EN60898ce B10) I do not have downlighters :
I hope you are right and I do find a local electrician,


On the circuit that trips I have

Upstairs : 4 lights all with low energy bulbs in ( 11W ), 1 light fitting in a walk in cupboard with 3 low energy bulbs in (not sure of the watts all have two pins , electrician said they were low energy)
In bathroom a light fitting with 3 GU10 50Watt bulbs. In the loft a 5ft tube saying 58Watt on the side.
Also an extractor fan but this has never worked (electrician didnt check this )
these all trip

downstairs :

1 light fitting in our part of the house with 3 X GU10 50 watt bulbs

In the mother in laws part of the house (ground floor annex) :

2 chandelers 10 candle bulbs in total all 40 watt each ( all replaced when we had the problem so all new)
In Kitchen 2 spot screw in bulbs both 60 watt
In bathroom extractor fan working (but trips with the lights )
2 lights also in the bathroom 1 = spot 60 watt over the shower in a special fitting for a shower ? so I have been told) has a cover over it. But the mother in law has told me this fell off weeks ago and she didn't tell me so she has been using the shower with no cover over the bulb if that makes a difference.
1 also in bathroom in an enclosed glass dome. Electrician had this all down and said everything was fine.

Finally we have two outside lights I believe both 60 watt all enclosed and watertight

I outside light on a seperate fused circuit (not checked as yet as I forgot about it until now, outside the
front door the mother in law uses)

and finally a 500 watt security light, never worked but 1st electrician checked it and said it was just the bulb. I do not know if this light is on the same circuit. I need to replace the bulb tomorrow.


All the above info just in case someone can help.

Thanks very much for the help so far.

Cliff

Bazza,
sorry just spotted your post and realised I had not read it all. No the weather is not a problem it's trips when it likes. It has just re set so does that mean no short in the wiring ?
I have also just taken all the covers off the switches and all wires are connected and with no wear.

Just heard the breaker trip again as I type, checked with everyone and no one had just switched on a light. Not a single light was on that circuit when it tripped ?

What does that mean.


I think I am going to the off licence tonight and sod the lights

Cliff

 

[bazza2541]

If it has reset then its not a dead short, if its tripping out again then I surmise that there is something else on the circuit that id drawing current.
Are you certain sure there is not something else tied into that circuit?

 

[Cliff]

I dont have a clue, nothing else was used at the time when it tipped ?

 

[bazza2541]

Would there be a small pump or fan on it? Maybe a bell transformer?

When did the problem start? Can you remember if anything else had problems at that time?

 

[not clever]

Strange one.
When the circuit is isolated take a look round the house & see if anything else is now not working, that was working fine before.
I suspect something else is wired into the circuit.

As for looking for a reputable electrician try here
Contractor Search - NICEIC Group

 

[bazza2541]

When you get it sorted will you post your findings here?
You got me intrested now.

 

[kduck]

Are all your earths sleeved correctly ie well insulated, no earths showing behind light switch's etc?

 

[lister]

Alarm bell start to ring when you say " bathroom fan - this has never worked"
and " electrician didn't check this"

 

[jambo65]

if it is the fan the fan will prob b getting a sw+ n from the bathroom light, so u could check by keeping the bathroom light off and seeing if all the other points in the circuit work while this is not in use if they do then thts possibly ure fault, otherwise prob an overload

 

[tacon]

are the outside lights P.I.R controlled and have you got energy saving lamps in them. I had an intermitant fault from rodent damage before tested ok.

 

[jambo65]

just tried to work out the max demand on the circuit, on a rough calc it seems fine unles ure spot lights/floury hav a higher start up current, other than tht i would hav to get my mits into it to c and i dont fancy the commute from glasgow, is there any mains smoke detectors in this part of the house???

 

[Cliff]

Thanks everyone I have a few things to check and will not be doing this tonight as it's getting dark with no lights LOL.

When I do find out the cause I will post the answer.


Thanks again for all the help.

Cliff

 

[cheeky_blue]

Cliff, once you have noted the wattage of every light add them all together then divide by 230 (voltage) this will give you the current being drawn. Did you say you have two chandeliers each with ten 40 Watt lamps?
I would get those fans checked out though.

 

[silva.foxx]

Hi everyone My first and possibly my last post if not allowed, Cliff

Cliff

It's pleasing to see someone be so informative on a site where you're not too proud to ask for help. We're usually acustommed(?) to "My lights are tripping; what's the problem?" but your post is great.

Never be afraid of asking anything here. These guys are fab.

As to your problem: it's a tricky one. Loose connectons somewhere, iffy tranny on the low energy lighting (if 12v etc...), under-rated cable in the radial somewhere, over-rated lamps in lamp holders ie 60w in max 40w, sound something possibly heat related, etc... not much help but things to check.

Is there a electric towel rail in the bathroom that could've been added to the lighting circuit?

Did the spark do a current check on the circuit?

Any cabling run along central heating pipes?

Did the sparky leave any test results that you could post here?

These are blooming annoying faults. I feel for you, mate. Hope it gets resolved soon. Again, glad to see someone put so much into helping themselves by providing good info.

Regards
s.f