Tell us about your faults!

[rbelecserv]

Had to change a load of sockets in a customers house to chrome ones a year or so ago, isolated the downstairs ring and checked with tester and it was still live, isolated the upstairs and kitchen ring and was still live?? With no more socket circuits left on the cu i turned the whole board of at the main switch and it was still live. So I took the cover off and the ring main had been connected into the top of the main switch with the tails! I tested the circuit and there was a nuetral to earth fault on it so instead of finding the fault they just took the rcd and the mcb out of the equation. Dont know how somebody can walk away and leave something like that!
Ross

 

[Carnegstar]

 

[bigbaddave]

I have piles

 

[bigbaddave]

Recently been carrying out some emergency light replacments, can you spot the errors?

I see it, They have put the sticker on the wrong terminals. lol

 

[Geordie Spark]

I have piles

I'm intercontinental and have to (Part) Pee every 10 minutes.

 

[tidyboiler]

I have too many to mention.

 

[DJ Ovengloves]

I'm addicted to drinking braking fluid.

It's OK, I could stop anytime!

 

[telectrix]

went to a nightclub once. they wouldn't let me in without a tie. " go see if you've got one in the car" says the head bouncer. all i could find in the car was my jump leads, so i put these round my neck. bouncer says " yoiu can come in now, but don't start anything"

 

[Andy78]

There's always a reason for low IR readings....

 

[Stroppy]

Yikes!!! Let me guess: downlights?

 

[Andy78]

Nope, kitchen sockets. Had been frying for a while and emitting occasional bangs that blew the 15a fuse wire protecting the rfc. :S.
I suspect it was either damaged during building work, or a rodent started the rot. Was so charred and degraded it was impossible to tell.

Scary thing was that power to a spur that fed an outside light was gone because of this fault. The elderly customer said the light hadn't worked for a couple of years !
Never seen a burnt downlight circuit ......yet.

 

[Stroppy]

No? I've not been in this game long and I've seen loads.

Usually this sort of thing:

and

 

[monkeyelectric]

Kitchen fitters!

 

[andyd55]

Re: Tell us about your faults !









Check out this install!

Nothing was labelled either so nightmare trying to find everything!

How many faults you can spot!?

Plus this was how I found it too, no covers on!

 

[Kamikaze]

This beauty took six hours to track down, baring in mind all the pipes were lagged. The works electrician was busy one day, so in his infinite wisdom the works engineering manager decided that the works painter and decorator should carry on with the installation of some trunking and SWA’s on the roof. That decision will cost the clown dearly.

 

[wallygerk]

hi long time viewer first time poster had a good one the other day had a call out from an old boy said the builder he employed was filling up his bucket at the outside tap got a nasty belt.


turns out roland had got in and the old boy decided to stuff wire wool into the air brick not noticing the chewed up 2.5 legs of the kitchen ring dont know how he didnt get a beltbut at the other end of the wire wool is wrapped around the copper tube going to the outside tap. which was joined onto the kitchen cold feed with a plastic elbow.

 

[Konrad]

I leave it without the comment.

 

[gdtrelo]

I had a call to check out a lighting fault on a transportable building (construction site locker/change room). Tried the switch first, the lights (there were about 5 or 6 fluro light fittings) did not come on. Had a look at the main switch board in the hut, none of the circuit breakers were tripped, operated the test button on the lighting circuit RCD it worked ok and reset ok. Next I isolated the power at the main switch board and removed the cover of light switch (a double pole 2 way switch, a rocker type not a toggle type, some of you may have twigged already... ) it was wired with the neutral looped at the switch. checked the continutiy of the switch action, that was ok, Powered up the circuit to test if there was a voltage at the switch, that was ok. Where to next? Power off, needed some steps to reach the closest light, as I looked down the other end of the hut and just behind the last 4 lockers I could see the the top of another exit door. Went down the end and sure enough to fit more lockers in they had blocked the end exit door. I moved the lockers to reveal the other 2 way switch. The locker had been pushed up against the switch and the switch was neither on or off it was stuck half way. Normal 2 way switches will always be one or the other position but because it was a 2 way double pole switch one of the poles must have switched and the other not. Anyway flicked the switch (checked that it had not been damaged) switched on the power and all was ok.

 

[JVB]

Had a good one just before Xmas.
Customer phoned stating she couldn't get hold of her usual handyman and that her wall lights weren't working.
when I arrived she informed me that a handy man had wired and install 2 new wall lights 6 months ago, he couldn't get them to work correctly they kept flickering so he advised the customer he would send an electrician, 6m later still no electrician.

On closer inspection I could find no joints for the feed or sw so I started quizzing the customer, turns out there had been a 3rd light which hadn't been required on an adjacent wall behind a large picture.
after having some fun with a hammer and chisel I found all the cables in terminals blocks and just plastered over, no box, no tape no protection at all, and to top it the nail for the large painting had missed be about 20mm

 

[DNS]

I'm just about to tackle almost exactly the same problem at a house I have just renewed the kitchen, typical Asian ( I'm not being racist) "CAn you just have a look at this while your here" Can you just put these new lights up in the hallway" .....All of the wall lights in their conservatory are not working, plus the outside lights which on inspection, get a feed from the switch for the wall lights. Trouble is, there is no live feed to the switch, the wires are there but no feed. It probably is meant to come from a cieling rose in the dining room. but I'm not going any further until the kitchen's finished. Turns out the HANDY MAN who installed the lights some time ago is just a friend of the cleaner lady.....apparently they did work briefly.......worms and can ...comes to mind

Had a good one just before Xmas.
Customer phoned stating she couldn't get hold of her usual handyman and that her wall lights weren't working.
when I arrived she informed me that a handy man had wired and install 2 new wall lights 6 months ago, he couldn't get them to work correctly they kept flickering so he advised the customer he would send an electrician, 6m later still no electrician.

On closer inspection I could find no joints for the feed or sw so I started quizzing the customer, turns out there had been a 3rd light which hadn't been required on an adjacent wall behind a large picture.
after having some fun with a hammer and chisel I found all the cables in terminals blocks and just plastered over, no box, no tape no protection at all, and to top it the nail for the large painting had missed be about 20mm