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Socket fault

Former Community Member
Former Community Member

Trying to find a fault 



Hello I put in a new fuseboard and the ring circuit kept tripping-  2 circuits on rcd 16amp with one wire and ring with 32amp 



Isolated each breaker to see which was making rcd trip turned out to be sockets 



I checked continuity between each leg after unplugging everything and came cables came back clear 



 



After powering up again and replugging 



I isolated which was faulty (turned out to be the chest freezer) as I checked the wire was showing continuity 



 



After 10 minutes or so it tripped again in kitchen, so unplugged fridge and it was working fine for a good 45 minutes 



 



But when tried to turn on kettle in kitchen or any appliance it kept tripping straight away 



 



Bearing in mind there’s only one circuit for the whole house was wondering if anyone come across this as my fault finding it’s as good still learning 



Only one rcd tripping 



 



No neutrals are sharing 



 



Other rcd is just cooker and lights 



 



Thank you Trying to find a fault 



Hello I put in a new fuseboard and the ring circuit kept tripping-  2 circuits on rcd 16amp with one wire and ring with 32amp 



Isolated each breaker to see which was making rcd trip 



 



Unplugged everything and isolated which was faulty (turned out to be the chest freezer) as I checked the wire was showing continuity 



 



After 10 minutes or so it tripped again in kitchen, so unplugged fridge and it was working fine for a good 45 minutes 



 



But when tried to turn on kettle in kitchen or any appliance it kept tripping straight away 



 



Bearing in mind there’s only one socket circuit for the whole house (one per bedroom and downstairs) wondering if anyone come across this as my fault finding it’s as good still learning 



Only one rcd tripping 



 



No neutrals are sharing 



 



Other rcd is just cooker and lights 



Thank you 



 


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Could if possible be main earthing not connected properly?
  • 0
    Hi Ron


    You have an Earth fault somewhere. What is the insulation resistance of the fridge? How about the circuits with nothing plugged in and lights off. It is quite likely you have a neutral-Earth fault, or poor insulation resistance somewhere. It is probably not a problem with your means of Earthing. Please reply with all the readings.


    Regards

    David
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hello David 

    All the other circuits seemed to be fine. But there’s only one circuit for sockets for whole house but every time I plugged an appliance it would trip straight away 

    I will get readings for you 


    thanks a lot David
  • 0
    There could be a neutral conductor in the wrong bar, check you have lives and neutrals connected to the same RCD.


    Otherwise you could be fault finding for the rest of the day.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hello sparking chip all the neutrals were fine but I guess I’ll have to trace it out. This is the hard part lol thank you
  • 0
    MCBs only interrupt the live - that may not correctly isolate the faulty circuit, if the fault is NE.

    You may have more than one fault - especially if it seems any load trips the RCD, rather than one specific one. A partial NE fault (not quite a short) often gives a load dependant trip. When the neutral current is split so some small fraction returns via the earth path.  If for example there is say 1% of the neutral current leaking to earth, then the L-N balance will reach the  30mA RCD trip level when the total load exceeds 3A - giving the very odd symptom that any high current device trips the RCD, but then some loads only cause a trip if others are also on.


    Do you have a clamp meter that can measure ten mA or less - if so a careful look at L-N current may help.

    Also consider it may be a fault to earth not via the earth wiring, but via the building fabric - concrete and bricks are not very conductive, and can give odd weather (humidity ) dependant symptoms.


  • 0
    Mr Ron D:

    . . . But there’s only one circuit for sockets for whole house but every time I plugged an appliance it would trip straight away . . . 


    Yes, but what tests have you done to prove where the fault is? What tests did you do before removing the original board? 


    Regards,


    Alan. 


  • 0
    I agree - the symptoms are classic for N-PE fault. It could be anywhere - in the fixed wiring or an appliance.


    A simple continuity check may well not spot problems that have a reasonably high resistance - an insulation tester is normally the weapon of choice for such problems (used with care of course, to avoid damage to both appliances and persons).


       - Andy.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Thank you Everyone for the feedback, I really appreciate it 

    I will be going back to rectify it and will keep you updated on the results and what it was thanks once again

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