- Jan 6, 2024
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- United Kingdom
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DIY query
Have narrowed down the source of an occasional trip to one light circuit which is a varilight v-pro master dimmer slave set up.
This is one of 5 LED, low total wattage light circuits connected to one 6A RCBO breaker (so the issue could be a short or a ground leak). Zero problems with the other 4 circuits.
It was a professional installation with no issues for over 6 months then suddenly a trip. Initially identified via multimeter that one module in the master (not slave) had failed. Replaced the master and reconnected the wires as before and all was ok again for a week, until turning the dimmer up triggered a pop, not just a trip.
Light fittings all checked and everything neatly wired up and properly earthed (brass/metal fittings)
I’ve since disconnected the slave and put in a basic switch just on the problem circuit.
All initially ok, then a random trip.
Today I’ve investigated why there were 2 live/feed wires at the master module in the first place, expecting one to be the feed and the other to be a feed for another circuit - so I expected another light to be off when I removed one of them. But no, all lights working ok when 1 live removed. I then expected this ‘spare’ live/feed to read 0 volts if it were the feed for another circuit but it reads 240v. I wondered if it’s powering the slave as this spare live is on a 3 core and earth cable, but again no, the slave modules are all providing normal voltage readings.
So in summary, would it seem that 2 live feeds into either basic switch or master dimmer is the cause of the trip?
Why no issues for 6 months?
If this extra live is redundant, what’s it doing there in the first place?
Helpful comments welcome, thanks
Have narrowed down the source of an occasional trip to one light circuit which is a varilight v-pro master dimmer slave set up.
This is one of 5 LED, low total wattage light circuits connected to one 6A RCBO breaker (so the issue could be a short or a ground leak). Zero problems with the other 4 circuits.
It was a professional installation with no issues for over 6 months then suddenly a trip. Initially identified via multimeter that one module in the master (not slave) had failed. Replaced the master and reconnected the wires as before and all was ok again for a week, until turning the dimmer up triggered a pop, not just a trip.
Light fittings all checked and everything neatly wired up and properly earthed (brass/metal fittings)
I’ve since disconnected the slave and put in a basic switch just on the problem circuit.
All initially ok, then a random trip.
Today I’ve investigated why there were 2 live/feed wires at the master module in the first place, expecting one to be the feed and the other to be a feed for another circuit - so I expected another light to be off when I removed one of them. But no, all lights working ok when 1 live removed. I then expected this ‘spare’ live/feed to read 0 volts if it were the feed for another circuit but it reads 240v. I wondered if it’s powering the slave as this spare live is on a 3 core and earth cable, but again no, the slave modules are all providing normal voltage readings.
So in summary, would it seem that 2 live feeds into either basic switch or master dimmer is the cause of the trip?
Why no issues for 6 months?
If this extra live is redundant, what’s it doing there in the first place?
Helpful comments welcome, thanks
