Slightly strange one this, replaced a few socket fronts in a dining room today, all wiring original but new plasterboard on a studded wall. Its a ring final circuit which does the rest of the house apart from the kitchen.
R1 and R2 all ok etc, loop test fine but doing the insulation resistance shows nearly a dead short L-E and N-E but if you reduce the test voltage to 250V its showing about 100 meg. The upstairs rooms are absolutely full of junk and furniture and a few sockets look to be DIY fitted, extension cables under carpets, that sort of thing so no way of finding the fault without emptying the room and the company is only getting paid to put the sockets back the way they were.
Firstly what do people do when they come across stuff like this, if you insist on the house being emptied the insurance company will just use another firm that isn't as picky and the insurance money the contractor gets is good enough to buy him a new electric Porsche so that is definitely not going to happen, and the guy with the Porsche gives us loads and loads of excellent work so we aren't going to be awkward either.
Secondly I didn't think of this until I'd left, is it possible the fault is caused by a surge protection extension lead plugged in somewhere, I've had it in the past where it mimics a short to earth but once unplugged the readings are fine. If there was a real fault there is would show up on the 230V setting as well wouldn't it.
R1 and R2 all ok etc, loop test fine but doing the insulation resistance shows nearly a dead short L-E and N-E but if you reduce the test voltage to 250V its showing about 100 meg. The upstairs rooms are absolutely full of junk and furniture and a few sockets look to be DIY fitted, extension cables under carpets, that sort of thing so no way of finding the fault without emptying the room and the company is only getting paid to put the sockets back the way they were.
Firstly what do people do when they come across stuff like this, if you insist on the house being emptied the insurance company will just use another firm that isn't as picky and the insurance money the contractor gets is good enough to buy him a new electric Porsche so that is definitely not going to happen, and the guy with the Porsche gives us loads and loads of excellent work so we aren't going to be awkward either.
Secondly I didn't think of this until I'd left, is it possible the fault is caused by a surge protection extension lead plugged in somewhere, I've had it in the past where it mimics a short to earth but once unplugged the readings are fine. If there was a real fault there is would show up on the 230V setting as well wouldn't it.
