Now I have a problem with the power in the garage!

[Parm]

Here is the incoming.

I’ve got it sussed now!

You’ve got the wrong plonk

What an Earth were you expecting to happen?

 

[123hotchef]

I’ve got it sussed now!

You’ve got the wrong plonk

What an Earth were you expecting to happen?

why do u think it is in there

 

[123hotchef]

I'm wondering if these two faults you've had are linked? Do yo know what type of supply you have je TN-CS, TN-C or TT?
A picture of the supply cable, head and main cut out fuse would probably tell us. I'd be looking for a loose neutral somewhere, check all the main cables and terminals in the D/B. Have any of the neighbours had trouble?

TN-S if i have read up correctly on the subject

 

[mtt.tr]

TN-S if i have read up correctly on the subject

Yes tns

 

[MCKDAVID]

Can't you just split the ring main to narrow down the problem area?

we always called that the "half rule", break the line in half, check both sides, find the one with the fault, then break that line in half again until you fin the fault... excellent method of diagnosis, you can use the same principal for everything really..

 

[Chriso996]

As you’re taking your sockets apart, pay attention to how the conductors are dressed inside the box to see if anything has been nicked/crushed as they’ve been screwed back. Particularly valid if you’ve got metalclad sockets.

chris

 

[123hotchef]

A fair few are metal boxes aye.

She u say break in half just take the middle out and go from there.

 

[dobbslc]

Here is the incoming.

Ok that's TN-S so my idea of a broken neutral (PEN) conductor on the mains side is a non runner! You can get some odd and dangerous faults if that happens.

TN-S if i have read up correctly on the subject

 

[Chriso996]

A fair few are metal boxes aye.

She u say break in half just take the middle out and go from there.

unless you’ve got test kit (insulation resistance tester), inspection is your first port of call. You might get away with just using a standard multimeter, particularly if the breaker trips immediately on resetting. Otherwise just have all the fronts off and have a good nose around.

If you don’t spot anything obvious, you’ll need to use test kit. As has been mentioned split the ring, test each half, you should end up with a good half and a bad half. Keep repeating this procedure to narrow down the location of the fault

chris

 

[Memmeddu]

I didn't understand if you solve the problem but I can leave an advice to simplify problem solving in the future
Use one of this things in the breakers panel and connect the sockets directly to it
If you have a problem and you cannot figure out where is the problem you can disconnect the the cables without to open every single plug and socket , light or whatever you connect to it
Few screws , and much cleaner work

 

[Memmeddu]

Ok that's TN-S so my idea of a broken neutral (PEN) conductor on the mains side is a non runner! You can get some odd and dangerous faults if that happens.

Must remember that the breaker and RCD can be faulty

 

[123hotchef]

Now the switch won't switch on in the consumer unit. Stuck off. I will break it in a minute lol. Should there be resistance across the positive and negative

 

[Woody.v8]

Now the switch won't switch on in the consumer unit. Stuck off. I will break it in a minute lol. Should there be resistance across the positive and negative

Is your supply DC?

 

[123hotchef]

Is your supply DC?

No sir it's a.c shall I rephrase black and red should I have resistance across them.

 

[WorkshopChris]

Should there be resistance across the positive and negative

With everything unplugged and switched off you should not have any resistance between the L & N on the installation side with the power off. Do not try to measure with the supply energised.

 

[Woody.v8]

With both ends of the cable disconnected you should have non or very little resistance between conductors , maybe you have water in the insulation?.
I had this with SWA and i had to pull in a new cable.

 

[ajlelectronics]

I didn't understand if you solve the problem but I can leave an advice to simplify problem solving in the future
Use one of this things in the breakers panel and connect the sockets directly to it
If you have a problem and you cannot figure out where is the problem you can disconnect the the cables without to open every single plug and socket , light or whatever you connect to it
Few screws , and much cleaner work

That's great if you are using radials like most of Europe. However it doen't help with ring mains.

 

[Memmeddu]

That's great if you are using radials like most of Europe. However it doen't help with ring mains.

Here in Italy isn't unusual to find old installations that use the ring scheme .
Today is common to divide in radials
Every room 1 or more connection boxes

 

[Maker]

We've got the same problem, an RCD keeps tripping all the sockets in the house, seemingly regardless of what's plugged in. Landlord said unplug everything and plug it back in one by one to see what trips it. It only started when the basement flooded so we're not bothering.

 

[123hotchef]

The supply comes into the garage from the house. From a switched fused box. I will have to take the cover off that and disconnect the wires and then check the resistance. The switch is now in pieces so I need a new one of those also.