(Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breaker

[BlackbirdViera]

I have a 2 year old 3 storey town house. I turned the bathroom (top floor) lights on last night (4x recessed spots) and there was an almighty flash and the breaker (bottom floor) tripped.

I did a little test and discovered that all the other lights on the top floor work, it is just the bathroom which trips the breaker... Isolate the top floor and no lights work, activiate the top floor, and all lights work, but the bathroom trips it out.

My next test was to swap out one of the bulbs, and the same thing happend - an almighty flash, and it tripped out again - though it appeared to come from one spot this time - the one where I swapped out the bulb.

The bathroom is a main bathroom and at the same time an en-suite, so there are two light switches (on the landing and in the bedroom) - both of these trip the breaker.

Any idea what it could be, and what my next avenue should be?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[ChristianG]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Call out an electrician. Good luck.

There is a list of contractors local to your area on the niceic website.

 

[Starbuck]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Sounds like your 12V transformer feeding the spots is damaged. I assume they are low voltage lights?

 

[Risteard]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Sounds like your 12V transformer feeding the spots is damaged. I assume they are low voltage lights?

Low Voltage lights would not require a transformer if at 230V.

 

[Starbuck]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Low Voltage lights would not require a transformer if at 230V.

Realy? So how do you propose to get 12V from a 230AC supply?If he has LV spots then he will have a transformer.

 

[Risteard]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Low Voltage lights would not require a transformer if at 230V.

Realy? So how do you propose to get 12V from a 230AC supply?If he has LV spots then he will have a transformer.

No. If he has ELV (Extra Low Voltage) lights then he will have a transformer.

 

[Starbuck]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

I said 12V in my post above.

 

[Risteard]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

I said 12V in my post above.

12V is ELV, not LV.

 

[Starbuck]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

OK! So when you said he wouldn't need a transformer if his LV lights were 230AC you were saying that 230AC is LV then yeah?

 

[Risteard]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

OK! So when you said he wouldn't need a transformer if his LV lights were 230AC you were saying that 230AC is LV then yeah?

That's about the size of it, yeah.

 

[Starbuck]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Your being pedantic!! I said 12V - ELV, LV or LDV (vans) I don't give a ---- lol! This guy is not aware of BS7671 but he can go and get a new transformer to fix his broken one

 

[Risteard]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Your being pedantic!!

I can be at times! ;-)

 

[ian.settle1]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Definations from Regs Page 31

Extra Low voltage - Not Exceeding 50V ac or 120V ripple free dc

Low voltage - Exceeding extra low voltage but not exceeding 1000V ac or 1500V dc between conductors or 600V ac or 900V dc between conductors and earth.

HIGH - normally exceeding low voltage.

Starbuck from one of your other postings with regards to changing your career, you should read the Regs before you make comments about other people when they are correcting you as to a mistake you have made over the terminology, if taking the 2382-20 and quoted 12v as low voltage you would fail that question.

 

[bonjovi]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

i bet youre glad you came on now blackbirdviera ,it does sound like your transformer in the loft space above the bathroom has blown
try swtching of the power to upstairs (the circiut that keeps blowing )i better say that befor someone says its the lights thats at fault
removing all lights and bulbs and check for any sign of damage or loose wires that may have shorted , then replace fuse if it still trips its safe to say your transformer is no good so a trip to your local bq or electrical wholesaler if you have one near to replace like for like if possible take your old one with you and they should be able to sort you out

 

[Spudnik]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

i bet youre glad you came on now blackbirdviera...

Quite.

If you wish to discuss terminology, start a new thread.

 

[Starbuck]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Ian not to keep on, but I was trying to advise a bloke who asked for help. If he went into B+Q and asked for LV lights they would take him to the 12V halogen aisle.

 

[Gravid]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

I had this once, but on GU 10 spots. Customer phoned saying the exact same thing, the MCB would trip when they put their landing lights on and they saw a flash from one of the spots when switched. It was a brand new house they'd been in about 12 mths.

They had been wired as loop in loop out and whoever had 2nd fixed them hadn't pulled all the cable out on the last light and just joined it out leaving a leg going to nothing!!! Over time this had melted, i suppose causing a short cct, all the joint box was kind of half melted and brittle too.

Maybe this is the same just a thought.

 

[Des 56]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Bs 7671 speak and B+Q speak are different animals

This is an electricians forun so terminology should be important
This is a non electrician topic so terminology should make sense, to him
No big deal either way folks

The lights may be off one transformer or more
They may be mains voltage ( notice the sneaky diplomatic terminology there)

It will be difficult for him to fault find unless he is familliar with these differences
He needs to provide more info or pay a man to sort it

 

[BEN5637]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

my bet is the 230v cable is too close to the lamp and has been burnt causing the short, failing that its a knackered transformer

 

[Spudnik]

Re: (Non-electician) needs advice please! - bathroom lights pop/flash and trip breake

Could very well be a burnt cable as you say.

Normally, when a transformer has popped, once the MCB has been reset, the lights work again albeit with one out.