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 !

 

[Kate]

Grr can't attach photo again. Please look up a few posts for relevant picture..any ideas greatly appreciated!!

 

[Stroppy]

This one:

 

[Kate]

Hahaha yea you spun it around too

 

[Stroppy]

My 15 years as a computer engineer weren't entirely wasted!

 

[Kate]

Not at all. I'm being lazy and posting from my phone. Thank you
I have so many computer issues here lol reckon u would have a week of work!!


but if anyone has any ideas of next step of fault finding??

 

[HandySparks]

but if anyone has any ideas of next step of fault finding??

Think I'd get out my earth leakage clamp meter to see if there's any part of the installation (or an appliance) that's particularly leaky to earth.

 

[Kate]

There's only 1volt of leakage and considering all the computer equipment that's not a major worry.
The boiler can be isolated by two different breakers on two different DBs. WTF?? Boiler was installed less than 18months ago so customer was going to contact them and get them out to fix this. I'm pinning my hopes on that being the issue hahaha. Whole place needs gutting and starting fresh but customer needs a 'lottery win' for that.

 

[dan86]

all the computer equipment.
old customers.

something not right with that!

 

[Kate]

They have kennels on the property...and a room of the house has been turned into an office for the kennels. They have workers who run that part for them.

 

[44ALLAN]

There's only 1volt of leakage and considering all the computer equipment that's not a major worry.
The boiler can be isolated by two different breakers on two different DBs. WTF?? Boiler was installed less than 18months ago so customer was going to contact them and get them out to fix this. I'm pinning my hopes on that being the issue hahaha. Whole place needs gutting and starting fresh but customer needs a 'lottery win' for that.

Leakage is current Kate not voltage.............buy yourself a leakage clamp meter worth their weight in gold

 

[Kate]

I had one...worked on a big building site...lots of trades...then I didn't have one. Fun times!!

 

[44ALLAN]

Clamp meter ?

 

[Kate]

Yea got nicked

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Yea got nicked

but leakage clamps are specific Kate....
need one of those when RCDs are about love..
as i told you....you can do it using the ramp method....
but a leakage clamp is a damn site quicker.....

 

[Kate]

If I earn any money on this job I promise to buy a new one

 

[Kate]

Tesco sell them for less than a Tenner!!!
TESCO SELL THEM FOR LESS THAN A TENNER!! Not sure if I'm shocked, amazed or appalled???

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Tesco sell them for less than a Tenner!!!
TESCO SELL THEM FOR LESS THAN A TENNER!! Not sure if I'm shocked, amazed or appalled???

not these they won`t love:

Mini AC Leakage Current Tester ST-9810 (AMECaL) | eBay

 

[Kate]

Is that the best one?

 

[GLENNSPARK]

well it does leakage....which is better for you Kate...
i have one of these...so i can vouch for it...their OK...
or you could pay £79 for one that says metrel on it..(its the same clamp...just a bit of badge engineering going on)...
alternatively there`s offerings from fluke that come in at nearly £500...
so, take your pick...

 

[Engineer54]

Take a look at this one Kate. It's basically a re-badged Di-LOG clamp which i've had for a couple of years now. You won't be able to beat the resolution values which compare with clamps 4 X the price. And all for around £89 +VAT (i'm sure i paid more for mine too. lol!!) and your eligible for a 5% discount as a forum member too. Has to be the best buy around at the price..


TM-EL9809 High Resolution AC Earth Leakage Clamp Meter

 

[plugsandsparks]

Kewtech KEW2434 Digital AC 100A Leakage Current clamp 28mm (000631) = £169.00
from ISSWWW, is the one i use, its good for 100A as well.

Anyway had a cracker today, B32 "sockets" tripped wont reset. Got there and its one of 3 "sockets" B32 MCB, managed to determine it was at least Kitchen and utility, disconnected the lot but still not resetting. Client things the garage may be also on the ring but cannot get in as its electric door and not responding to the remote fob. Managed to get half my body through a small window and switch off two plugs plugged into a double socket.
Went for another reset thinking "no such luck" and it held, yippee
Garage door opened and i could get inside and............ found a 3KW convector heater plugged into an extension reel (reel was fully wound in).
Well pulled out the cable from the reel and after about half way gave up. Pulled the reel apart and found the inner half of the cable was a solid mass of plastic.
Reel rating fully wound in 750W, fully unwound 2300W, convector heater on max setting at 3000W . Nice, lucky no fie on this one and 10A fuse in the plug head still happy.....
Think reels should be banned, GP just dont understand how they MUST be used despite a small warning label on them

 

[Engineer54]

Think reels should be banned, GP just dont understand how they MUST be used despite a small warning label on them

Are you bonkers or what?? If anything, it should be all the half wits that should be banned from buying them!!

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Are you bonkers or what?? If anything, it should be all the half wits that should be banned from buying them!!

went to a place this one time...old lady on her death bed..
so, takes a look round...there were loads of daisy chained extension leads all over the place feeding heaters...they were all coming off 2 points....lol..
there was one that was being `back fed`...lol..disconnected that one for em straight away.....it`d been like that for ages ant they were just totally oblivious to the danger...
this is how it is with the general public...they simply dont get it....

 

[plugsandsparks]

Are you bonkers or what?? If anything, it should be all the half wits that should be banned from buying them!!

Dont think so but who knows, fed up coming across them used incorrectly, must have removed a dozen in the last few years on PAT alone. They look so perfect all nice and neat and so attactive to the un-initiated. Ban them, ban them alll

 

[chcnorris29]

One today:
Some one moved a stat on a house just been re-wired. After the move it does not work and goes bang.
How many sparks to find the fault 1 but 3 come before and see no problem.
Problem:
Cable in back box clearly goes up the wall so it make sense to drill a fixing in to the cable to fix the stat to the wall.

 

[lefty10]

Had a good one last week. "Smoke Alarms wont stop beeping" - MCB switched off, batteries out - Still Beeping, two of us looking everywhere. After a good hour narrowed it down to the back of a fridge, cleared all of the rubbish out of the cooling fins to find a nice wee battery CO alarm at the bottom, merrily beeping away.

 

[Stroppy]

That reminds me of a customers 'ticking socket' with nothing plugged in. Turned out to be a clock in a poly bag on the worktop under a load of papers!

 

[zeljuga]

Fresh idea for Gas meter bonding

 

[onions1066]

Fresh idea for Gas meter bondingView attachment 18706

That's straight out the 18th edition

 

[GLENNSPARK]

That reminds me of a customers 'ticking socket' with nothing plugged in. Turned out to be a clock in a poly bag on the worktop under a load of papers!

somebody may have dropped a `bomb` in there....