Electrician Jobs Cooker extractor fan fault, tripping consumer unit.

[BeeJay2]

Hi, The overhead cooker extractor fan suddenly kicked in whilst switched off at the control!! There was a click from it & it fired up, the unit started to run with the light also coming on. I could only stop it by switching of at it's isolater.
Later when cooking, we had it running, when there was the usual electrical bang from the fan & the power tripped out at the consumer unit. Switching the power at the hood off, then re-engaging the trip switch, it tripped out again. Immediately re-engaging the trip again it stayed connected & restored power to the kitchen, but obviously unable to use the extractor.
Our location is north of Huddersfield.

 

[diditrain]

Thank`s for sharing. Are you wondering if there is someone on here who is local to you, to come and fix it for you?

 

[BeeJay2]

Hi, hopefully. I've always done minor electrical repairs in the past, wiring external lights, sockets etc, installed the security system on my last house, but the manner of this fault occurring, ie in the text of my post, is bewildering.

 

[dmxtothemax]

Why did you use the fan the second time ?
When you knew that it was faulty ?

 

[diditrain]

There will probably be someone along who is local to you, if you can be patient. What was tripping, an RCD or an MCB? Did you have the extractor isolator switched off before you were trying to reset whatever was tripping?

 

[telectrix]

Hi, hopefully. I've always done minor electrical repairs in the past, wiring external lights, sockets etc, installed the security system on my last house, but the manner of this fault occurring, ie in the text of my post, is bewildering.

got a good mate who is a top spark, in Leeds. pm me your contact details and i'll pass it on. however, i think a new cooker hood might be required. can't say without examination on site.

 

[Wilko]

Perhaps the switch is faulty to have self started, then behave, then trip. Parts may or may not be available depending on age etc. And the cost of fixing may approach cost of an average new one, just saying

 

[telectrix]

i'd suspect a short circuit/burn up on the PCB.

 

[BeeJay2]

Why did you use the fan the second time ?
When you knew that it was faulty ?

If you are referring to "Later when cooking," in my post.
When one of the 2 lamps has simply blown in the past, the RCD has tripped, so it figured that that could be the reason it tripped this time. Resetting the trip a 2nd time restored the power to the other sockets in the kitchen. So it's obvious that at that point the fault could have been a surge or suchlike, so the unit was being used when making a meal. When it went again after app 10 mins, I re-engaged the trip leaving the unit isolated.
HTH

 

[BeeJay2]

Job now sorted. I removed the filter cover to see if anything was obvious. It was. The 6 core wiring had somehow come into contact with one of the lamps & over time had slowly melted through the insulation, hence "Bang" Stripped out the damaged wiring & re-connected. The lamp itself was caked in molten insulation which was now rock hard, my Avo showed it still functional, so cleaned it up, reinserted, & switched on, bingo job done.

 

[SparkyChick]

Given the proximity of the unit to a heat source, I would advise against using what appears to be a wood screw to secure the terminal block as the sharp edges may cut through the nylon and touch a terminal... resulting in either another bang or something becoming live that perhaps shouldn't be.

 

[ipf]

Hi, hopefully. I've always done minor electrical repairs in the past, wiring external lights, sockets etc, installed the security system on my last house, but the manner of this fault occurring, ie in the text of my post, is bewildering.

Not doubting your ability to do minor electrical repairs but I hope you know and understand the regulations involved and have the necessary test equipment for installation work.
.......and it's not bewildering now, is it?

 

[dmxtothemax]

Have you considered using LED lamps ?
A lot less heat, means no melting wires !