Tell us about your faults!

[kung]

Hi ALL
Just thought id put this one up for all those faults we find.
heres one to kick it off !
Domestic RCD tripped and wouldnt reset cause was a blown low energy light bulb.
There you go now for yours !

 

[electricians]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

This is more of a fault with an electrician

I was working with an electrician who could not understand that a RCD main switch would trip , even with a circuit breakers switched off when you touched neutral and earth together ( cutting the cable for instance ) .

We worked in a street of houses for 3 months , same job every day , 2 houses a day , he was upstairs and I was downstairs in the same house , both installing extra sockets . I used the cooker socket for the drill . He would always trip the RCD by cutting the cable when I was in the middle or drilling a hole . When he was making the joint - he would also trip the RCD . It was not long before I was getting a bit upset about this and eventually just reset the RCD without discussing it with him .

Then one day , he did not actually isolate the supply to his circuit correctly and whilst in about a metal joint box tripped the RCD , upon my reset he was electrocuted . He screamed like a baby , was hilarous , for me anyway . Was not happy with me but as I told him , you should test the circuit properly . This happened a second and a third time , I would get use to his screaming , the tenants a little less .

One particular day the tenant decided to go out leaving us to get on . During another hole drilling , trip goes the RCD . I went to the box and reset , at that moment there was a knock on the door . I opened the front door to a salesman , before he had a chance to say anything there was screams of severe pain from upstairs . Being used to this I never even flinched , the guy at the door looked at we with concern . " it ok mate " I said " its just someone upstairs being electrocuted , " I think I'll maybe come back later " said the salesman and took to his heels . Must of thought I was a madman

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

I sent him and the Landlord a letter registered post and one to the HSE Plus I have the photographs as evidence
he did get an electrician in some sort of mate and fitted a very secondhand 3 way dis board
his responsibility now

 

[andyjohn07]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Went to a house where a kitchen fitter had removed the gas hob and capped off the gas supply (he wasn't corgi or gas safe) He then fitted an electric hob using the 1.00mm flex which was previously being used for the gas ignition (he wasn't electrically qualified) I actually went to repair a leaking pipe which he had drilled through when fitting a piece of baton on the wall for the worktop.

 

[m25maintenance]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

i remember as a teenager we were helping build a show jumping arena in old ireland and my brother came up and said i keep getting shocks when i step in the water as i roll up this extention reel.was one shock not enough. i still wonder if he is all there. try unplugging the ******* thing

 

[topcop999]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Here's a good one from yesterday. Got called to an outside PIR light which was appeared correctly wired from a fused spur. When I measured the voltage at the lamp L - N gave 181v AC. But L - E gave the expected 242v AC. After checking connections in an outside suitably IP rated junction box, I re-examined the fused spur connection unit where I found the the Neutral load conductor was just about at the point of snapping, which it did when I moved it. I've never experienced this before and would have expected the current to be affected rather than the voltage.

 

[Ohmyword]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Looked at a property today with a "relatively new" dist. board. (You could see where the original Wylex had been). This "NEW" unit had 7 ways, each with a circ. breaker BUT NO MAIN SWITCH.
It must have "burnt out" I suppose, and had been replaced with a couple of lengths of 16.0mm tails clamped between (I suppose) the original terminal lugs (of the old main switch).
It might even have been an RCD there originally that either "burnt out" or proved too much of a nuisance, tripping all the time.

I have just got myself a new HTC phone and although able to take photos, (which I did of this incident), haven't got around to setting everything up to get it on here yet :-(

 

[rocker]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

I've never experienced this before and would have expected the current to be affected rather than the voltage.

If the conductor was snapped and was barely touching, there would in essence be a whole load of resistance on the neutral conductor, therefore the easiest path to earth changes from the neutral conductor to the CPC, and that's why you get the voltage going down the earth cable rather than the neutral. That's the way I understand it, anyway.

 

[Burnt Fingers]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

I love this one. I have ssen some sad boards but this addition of a circuit takes the biscuit. Post 2005 tho, correct colours.

 

[ringer]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

I knew customer needed a 3ph socket installing, but he said he had already promised the job to someone else. Six weeks later, it finally got installed. I had a quick shufty today because have not seen the inside of one of these before, and noticed the interesting choice of earth link between the isolator switch above the unit and the socket itself.

 

[pennywise]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Two isolator switches lol, so he didn't think the integral one on the 3ph commando outlet was quite good enough. As for the grommet between the accessories instead of using the right adaptors love it.

 

[ringer]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

I hadn't noticed the grommet! Talking of grommets, why do people fit them but then not take care to ensure they are securely in place?

 

[pdenni]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

installed new mains smokes to premises, got called back to say they were constantly beeping, went back and listened found old battery smoke hidden in cupboard that customer had removed from loft day before and thrown in there for storage.

 

[brucelee]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

heres another to cheer you up, I might even put a photo on, only might
sorting out the wiring in a house for a client, I asked her to tidy as much stuff away as possible due to the drilling and chasing going on
it makes cleaning up easier, she was staying away for a few weeks to let us get done
first day not too bad, dirty lots of chiselling etc, then a good clean up
towards the end of the week we move upstairs for some alterations
go in the bedroom to locate a socket put my hand round the back of a small cabinet to pull it out, my hands are touching some wires and the next thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
a tingling feeling
I jumped right back thinking I had got a belt off a loose wire
then a knocking and rattling on the floor??????????????
now this house is a bit spooky all dark colours and dead bats on the walls
I am thinking some kind of small living thing is waiting to eat me
my mate comes up and having better eyesight than me he walks round the cabinet laughing and lifts out the problem
oh my this thing was huuuuuge
it had more battery power than a toyota prius, what was worse neither of us could work out how to turn it off
we must have looked well weird laughing and fiddling with it
glad the customer was not at home
eventually we susses its remote control and I have kneeled on it!!!!
at my age I dont need shocks like that any more
we thought that was the end of it, should have known better, this house had a double socket above the gas cooker so you can imagine the sort of things we found
a 230v extractor fan in the shower compartment
a shower with no CPC connected
when clearing out the bathroom to sort the shower and fan and light in the cubicle (230v)
I trod on a plastic thing and snapped it, not sure what it was I kept it in case it was important
it looked like a plastic cover to put over your eye
we both thought it was for trimming your eyebrows so you dont hurt your eye!
I left it in the kitchen and when the job was done apologized to the customer about breaking her eyelash trimmer, she gave me a very confused look
I gave it to her and she laughed so much neither of us could get any sense out of each other
seems it not for your eyes?
now after being married for well, a long long long time I thought I had seen it all
now I have
whatever next

nearly fell off the pc chair laughing that much heheheheheheh!

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

just when you think it cannot get any worse!!
I visited a client this evening, she had downlighters installed on the landing upstairs, she is clearing the house out ready to rent it when they noticed the insulation covering them so they call me
initially I considered smoke hoods
upon climbing in the attic I found a GU10 downlighter next to the attic hatch, exactly where you would place your weight, and only 12 mm from a joist, it was also hanging down
another 2 exactly the same,
I said th ebest option is to remove them and fit a single fitting in the centre and I will patch the ceiling for them to paint
next problem I check the smoke detectors, unable to open to check the battery as they have been painted shut and held on with screws into plasterboard (from new)
hey ho
next we walk into the bathroom in zone 2 at 2.00 metres is a light fitting with no cover, no cpc, and loose exposed wires
easy to touch from the shower bath!!!
more work
but the finishing touch of greatness and one which I will photograph in daylight and put on here is the hot tub
go outside to look as they want it moved to the new house, found a 16A commando socket screwed to a fencepost, not IP67 or even 44 just the standard item for use in a workshop!!!!!!!
I then look at the SWA its not even cleated or fixed in any way to the post, and when I touch it the whole thing comes out in my hand wires an all
no armoured gland or sheathing?????????????????????
I notice a carrier bag wrapped around it???
we then examine the consumer unit, its to 16th ed and has an rcd for the sockets, but the rest of the house is just MCBs via a 100A isolator, so is the 20 amp MCb for the hot tub, even under the 16th it should have been via an rcd??
i dropped the supply of it
the worse thing is that it has a certificate of installation, now I have not done too many hottubs the bigger ones have there own control panel with rcds built in but not this one
whatever next

 

[m25maintenance]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

moderator wats d largest size pix we can upload. i tried a 2.4 meg pic and it wont upload

 

[marcusone]

A bit OFF THE WALL !

Hi All

Just had to pop this photo up. Found this morning. Main incomer, meters etc, supplying 4 flats.

Mark

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

wow
that took some real thought to make a mess like that
I wonder what the rest of the building is like!!!

 

[brucelee]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

top job eh mate
did you just put a very large red sticker saying complete fail
or a large yellowand black one saying its knackered lol

 

[marcusone]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Scary thing is the whole lot has fallen off the wall and is hanging on the incoming service. The service is almost completely bent back on itself.

Horrified to find that there wasn't a mixed wiring colours label either

 

[james hanley]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

here s one customer says her kitchen lights keeps blowing bulbs out ,i have checked the load seems fine ,this happens every couple of weeks occasionally main rcd trips the whole house power off too any advice ?