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i=p/u

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Arms
i got call today saying rcd tripping one side of the board, he called when i was passing , so i popped in and tuned all switches off and turned on one by one and leads me to the fused spur for the gas heating... anyway left to monday now ...... what would you logical approcah be to this, i will start from scratch, has anyone anytips to speed me up as i am slow as a donkey when comes to this fasult finding.... thanks
 
so, what led you to the heatinf FCU.?was it that the RCD tripped when you turned the FCU on?
 
so, go round and turn everything off. then switch the FCU on first. if it trips, you've found the fault. if not it's probably cumulative leakage. i.e. a bit here , a bit there till it adds up to the RCD threshold. i would suspect the boiler and it's associated garbage as a plumber has been there.
 
well she said plumber came out and fittered about with it and says the problem lys with in the fcu or thermostat on other wall.... would acumlitive leakage build up over time.... cause has only happened
 
There are a number of things associated with the boiler that can cause the RCD to trip. If you have proved that only the boiler FCU trips the RCD then disconnect the outgoing boiler supply and test the cable back to the CU. If that checks out fine then the fault lies within the boiler/boiler control wiring, ie, roomstat, pump, motorised valve, cylinder stat on tank (which often get damp when the sleeve they sit in fail), trapped cable when the plumber put the boiler cover back on etc. So this could take 10 mins or 2 hours !
 
so if i do my R1 and R2 and insulation resistance between cu and fcu and thermostat. it has to be problem with bolier... or as telectx said earth leakage between 4 circuits on rcd.. has any of you evr turned upto a job where you couldnt do nothing as was fault with gas boiler... did you still ask for payment???
 
so if i do my R1 and R2 and insulation resistance between cu and fcu and thermostat. it has to be problem with bolier... or as telectx said earth leakage between 4 circuits on rcd.. has any of you evr turned upto a job where you couldnt do nothing as was fault with gas boiler... did you still ask for payment???
Is it a combi or condensing boiler?
 
could i just swap to non rcd side,, what is the risk factors with this???
This is something I would never recomend doing because you only hide the problem and could possibly be the cause of a fire .
There is nothing to say that you dont have a low resistance fault between live and earth that will trip a mcb anyway.
at present the RCD could be tripping first because it is more sentive to live/earth & neural/earth faults.
If you think it could be a problem with the rcd then test the rcd as normal you could also ramp test the rcd to see what current it actually trips at.
If the rcd test is good you could Isolate supply and try removing the feed to the pump first and see if this makes a difference.
 
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You should IR test all circuits.....even if turning something off/on appears to stop/cause the tripping.... RCD's are funny things and the problem may lie elsewhere. Only a full IR test on circuits connected to the tripping RCD can truly eliminate other causes.
 
could i just swap to non rcd side,, what is the risk factors with this???

Are you telling us that you have left someone without heating and if it's a combi most likely without hot water over the weekend, and there is a non protected side of the CU available?
 
well this is what i was getting at, i thought i should of done this, but ive never even installed never mind fix a heating circuit.... its only the rcd for the circuits tripping,
Are you telling us that you have left someone without heating and if it's a combi most likely without hot water over the weekend, and there is a non protected side of the CU available?
 
if it ain't tripped over the weekend with the boiler FCU off, then it's time to get a heating engineer in. we all know I=P/U and pipework don't do well together.
 
if it's on it's own circuit, try it on the non RCD side, but don't be surprised if it goes ---- up and the house ends up looking like thailand. as i said, if the FCU for the heating is off all weekend and no trip, then pass it over to the wet wipers.
 
but would the gas dude not just saym ive checked everything , its the thermostat which is part of the electrical system, im giving up this job as i havent enough epierience and he still ows me for fitting a bathroom fan.. i dont like to ask for cash i like to be remembered. but if i fixed this problem i would say you ow me for fitting and supplying bathroom fan......aswell
 
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was at one this morning same thing happening turn on heating fcu rcd tripped disconnected pump and m/valve turned on heating fcu rcd tripped, turned out boiler needed constant feed for fan run on disconnected fan at boiler turned on no trips faulty fan inside boiler.no heating or hot water till at least tuesday
 
the fan, thermostat, pump are all part of the heating system and as such need to be left to whoever looks after the heating. your responsibility as an electrician ends at the FCU
 
Hi
I had problem a little while ago the same as yours the fused spur of the up stairs ring tripping the rcd of the ccu i found it was the pump motor going to earth it had a short not saying this is your problem but as it is a fixed installation and i believe now one really has renewed any thing i would certainly be pointing my finger at the pump !! go to the heating junction box where all the pump,thermastat ect are wired into and disconnect the supply from there to the pump numbers are line no8, neutral no2 and cpc no3 this is for a y plan bud and then retry and see if rcd trips
 
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when i went in and had quick look around all i could see was the fused cu and a thermostat in wall, is the programmer built into the condensing boiler, the boiler still had info on boiler when power was off , does it have a batteryback up(the programmer)
 
Could do with some more info mate programmers do have battery back up
Do you have the make and model of the boiler?
from what you say and If there is not a programmer external to the boiler it sounds like it could be a combi?
If it is a combi then could you try linking out and temporary remove the room stat?(just a idea)
If the fault turns out to be the boiler itself then its a job for a heating engineer.
sorry to not be much help but without seeing the job I am just guessing.
 
This is all part of learning the trade, mate. Fault finding is a logical process you need to go through. Just follow the whole circuit, consider what is attached at each point, and apply appropriate tests. And don't put 500v across electronic components! Some faults you find easily, others can and do take hours. Just do your best and learn from the experience.

Another important aspect is to keep the customer reassured. If you are going to spend several hours tracing a fault, keep them informed. Blind them with technical detail if necessary. Just don't let them know you are cacking yourself because you don't know what the problem is. Because you will identify it eventually.

You will find that some customers are ungrateful, but others will be impressed with your professionalism, dedication and attention to detail. You may get paid or you may have to write off a day's earnings, but either way you will gain considerable experience and next time it will be easier. You may well also gain lucrative contracts from the customer and their friends. A good reputation is a very valuable thing to have, but it needs some investment from yourself.
Come on mate, you CAN do this.

Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk
 
i dont care what they say about you ringer, your ok and your right cacking myself if takes hours to find.

if is combi with just a room stat, fused spur to boiler and then there is a connection to room stat but where does this come from?? boiler.cant remember or picture it again. cause i could just take stat out of circuit and see if anything changes, if is stat why would this happen? in your expierience
 

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i=p/u

Arms
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