Single cores outside enclosure

live and accessible to ordinary persons ? Or in a lockable cupboard or out of reach ?

m

maybe - it would depend on where and what else is there, I cannot see it. 

It maybe even a C3 for the inaccessible wiring behind the downlight - depends if the cavity behind is totally enclosed and what else is in it that the wire may snag on (pipes or bits of metal for a partition or suspended ceiling full of other cables  are more of a concern than an void bounded by  only non-moving brick and plasterboard)

Brittle plastic is interesting , serious if cracked and flaking off to bare copper less so if just a bit stiff . For me a with pulled out SWA I'd be worried about loss of earth and loss of weather proofing more than a bit of exposed red or brown - though if the core is rubbing on a thin metal edge them I'd be more worried again .  I'd also be wondering who did the glands up and what else they may have done equally badly.

Mike.

The problem with a rule-of-thumb approach such as this is that it does away for the requirement to apply engineering judgement.

For example, the exposed cores. Are they exposed because they were installed sloppily, and therefore might remain just as they are reasonably safely; or is is because they have pulled out (whether by gravity or some other force) and might get pulled out some more.

mapj1: 
 

It maybe even a C3 for the inaccessible wiring behind the downlight - depends if the cavity behind is totally enclosed and what else is in it that the wire may snag on (pipes or bits of metal for a partition or suspended ceiling full of other cables  are more of a concern than an void bounded by  only non-moving brick and plasterboard)

 

I know this is the essence of the guidance in Electrical Safety First's Best Practice Guide No. 4 … but I'm just going to deviate from type for a moment and play devil's advocate. ?

What has being inaccessible got to do with anything? If placing out of reach is only permitted in installations controlled or supervised by skilled persons (Regulation 417.1), we can't pick or choose between “can touch it from the floor” vs “can touch it on a chair” or “can touch it when I remove the downlight”

Regulation 521.10.1 does not say “Non-sheathed cables don't have to be enclosed if they are inaccessible”. Regardless of where you run the cables, Regulation 521.10.1 clearly states:

521.10.1 Non-sheathed cables for fixed wiring shall be enclosed in conduit, ducting or trunking. This requirement does not apply to a protective conductor complying with Section 543.
Non-sheathed cables are permitted if the cable trunking system provides at least the degree of protection IPXXD or IP4X, and if the cover can only be removed by means of a tool or a deliberate action.

Surely, as the risk could be fire as easily as electric shock, leads to C2 in precisely the same way regardless of accessibility, unless the installation could be considered suitably controlled by a skilled person so that placing out of reach could be considered?

So if it’s single cores in trunking lid with single cores hanging out a C2 would be relevant unless the basic insulation is damage? As long as everything is IP2x is this the case as i know a CU without a blank would be classed as a C1 along with a broken socket outlet 

MrJack96: 
As long as everything is IP2x is this the case as i know a CU without a blank would be classed as a C1 along with a broken socket outlet.

On the assumption that an adult (British Standard) finger would easily fit through an 18 mm slot (at lealmost invariably yes C1 for a CU; but not every damaged socket outlet is going to be C1, let alone C2.

Here is an example: the working part of an unswitched socket has become partially detached from the cover plate so that when the user tries to put in a plug, it falls backwards. However it is not so loose as to allow a finger in the gap. How would you code it and why?

(I do bear in mind that sockets are accessible to small people with small fingers.)

would be a C1 as the insulated cores are exposed and have no fault protection is this correct? 
 

For me, lack of shock protection under fault conductions (no such fault being present at time) would be a C2 for me. It would bare conductors to make it an immediately dangerous C1 in my book.

521.10.1 Non-sheathed cables for fixed wiring shall be enclosed in conduit, ducting or trunking. This requirement does not apply to a protective conductor complying with Section 543.
Non-sheathed cables are permitted if the cable trunking system provides at least the degree of protection IPXXD or IP4X, and if the cover can only be removed by means of a tool or a deliberate action.

Non-compliance, but not necessarily a C2. Say we had non-sheathed cables on a SELV circuit (e.g. traditional bell wire on a door bell circuit) - is that really even a codable situation?

   - Andy.

AJJewsbury: 
Non-compliance, but not necessarily a C2. Say we had non-sheathed cables on a SELV circuit (e.g. traditional bell wire on a door bell circuit) - is that really even a codable situation?

   - Andy.

But this is LV ?

To me accessible has everything to do with it, as it relates to risk of some one shock the person has to actually be there and be in contact. Hence skeleton live bus bars in a locked substation are a lot less icky than the same thing would be if it was left in the open. Perhaps the room or the building void is the enclosure…

Further,  to get a shock off LV  at 50 and 60Hz you need to be in contact with both sides, so L and E or L and N. Notwithstanding Tom and Jerry electrocutions in films, it does not leap out and get you with one point of contact only, unless we are talking RF, when body capacitance will complete the path.

I'm a lot less worried about the letter of the regs than some  on here, in my view they are sometimes neither necessary nor sufficient (sometimes even both at once) to guarantee proper electrical safety, and can be also far too intolerant of properly engineered alternatives, while having gaping bind spots in other areas.

Consider the humble batten lamp holder, as seen around mirrors in theatre dressing rooms since the year dot, or on kids bedside tables.  Clearly not as safe as the same holder on a drop cord from  a ceiling rose, but regs wise, ignored, while an insulated but not sheathed wire 8 feet up is always a disaster waiting to happen ..

Mike.