Trip problem.

[RogerC]

Modern ext attached to old redbrick. Kitchen circuit won't stay on. New trip fitted, all appliances unplugged, all sockets removed and de-wired. Still trips, remove circuit earth from common earth strip. It does not trip. Old style red and black cable on one wall but not sure where the builders joined new circuitry. Am I looking at a live to earth wiring short?

 

[DefyG]

Trip! RCD, MCB RCBO??

 

[littlespark]

as above.

It makes a difference what is tripping as the different devices act on different faults.

MCB- overload, or total short circuit

RCD- A fault to earth of over 30mA…

RCBO- A device with a combination of mcb and rcd…. So a trip could be either reason.


A photograph of what has tripped will help.



Disconnecting stuff and turning the power back on is not a safe method of fault finding

 

[mainline]

Modern ext attached to old redbrick. Kitchen circuit won't stay on. New trip fitted, all appliances unplugged, all sockets removed and de-wired. Still trips, remove circuit earth from common earth strip. It does not trip. Old style red and black cable on one wall but not sure where the builders joined new circuitry. Am I looking at a live to earth wiring short?

You need to be IR testing.

 

[RogerC]

You need to be IR testing.

Yes but will need an electrician with a megger. The cable is old red and black but there is only one wire in the load side of the trip and it looks like old 30amp cooker cable so the Polish!!! Builders must have connected that cable to the new ring somewhere in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure it will be the old 30amp cable which has a resistance issue.

 

[RogerC]

Yes but will need an electrician with a megger. The cable is old red and black but there is only one wire in the load side of the trip and it looks like old 30amp cooker cable so the Polish!!! Builders must have connected that cable to the new ring somewhere in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure it will be the old 30amp cable which has a resistance issue.

The trip switch is a Hager ADN 132. 32 Amp

 

[mainline]

Yes but will need an electrician with a megger. The cable is old red and black but there is only one wire in the load side of the trip and it looks like old 30amp cooker cable so the Polish!!! Builders must have connected that cable to the new ring somewhere in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure it will be the old 30amp cable which has a resistance issue.

As @ #2

The easiest thing maybe is to post a pic of the consumer unit.

 

[mainline]

The trip switch is a Hager ADN 132. 32 Amp

That's a rcbo.
It's possible that you have an N to E fault, Which ever it is it needs IR testing.

Does it still trip with the cooker switch off ?.

 

[RogerC]

Yes I'm pretty sure it's a leakage between L or N to earth. The main switch on that box, (there is another!) has not tripped once. The builders left old cable runs from the box to some of the original sockets but I don't have a clue where they meet with the new cabling. The owners are on holiday, I'm only meant to be watering the plants!!

 

[littlespark]

did you take the cover off, or is that how it's left?
Looks like a farmers shed.


is anything important not working? like freezers? Get them working by running an extension lead from somewhere else, notify the owners and let them deal with it.

 

[mainline]

Yes I'm pretty sure it's a leakage between L or N to earth. The main switch on that box, (there is another!) has not tripped once. The builders left old cable runs from the box to some of the original sockets but I don't have a clue where they meet with the new cabling. The owners are on holiday, I'm only meant to be watering the plants!!

The main switch isn't going to trip.

It needs an electrician to have a look as it all looks a bit ropey.

 

[RogerC]

The main switch isn't going to trip.

It needs an electrician to have a look as it all looks a bit ropey.

Yes it is all a bit ropey but they should have picked it up when they bought the place and had a new consumer unit and wiring redone. Looks like it may be rip out time anyway so get are in for a shock I'm afraid (no pun intended).
I'm going to sort out cable runs from other circuits to do the fridge and appliances and put everything back how it was. Thanks for the input all.