Garage consumer unit rcd trips out

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

thanks for the replies so far. yes lol am in redcar . near race course lol

have replaced the switch at front of garage . i check loose connections on the two light fittings.
any good sparkeys in this area ??

got to be a fault on the two light flourecents ?? evidence seems to be going that way and all saying on here and elsewhere flourcents suck.
have checked connections already on garage consumer unit and all are good.

if i switch one or both of the suspect lights off on average it will trip the rcd 3 out of 10 times , so its a annoying fault. its on this cicuit as it doesnt do it now since temp fitting two light pendants with 60 watt bulbs in. which goes back to original comments made by people on here and elsewhere its the ballast on the flourecents discharging on switch off?? thanks all for your help so far , very much appreciated and listened too.

 

[telectrix]

Try what SparkyChick suggests first.I think you might find that's the problem especially with you saying that you could hear crackling.Also check the busbar under the breakers.(After isolating the unit!). I use my mobile phone camera to look along the breakers and make sure each one is clamped onto the busbar.It's amazing how many times the breaker connection has missed the busbar and is just touching it instead.

you posh git. i use a candle and a mirror.

 

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

thanks for the replies so far. yes lol am in redcar . near race course lol

have replaced the switch at front of garage . i check loose connections on the two light fittings.
any good sparkeys in this area ??

got to be a fault on the two light flourecents ?? evidence seems to be going that way and all saying on here and elsewhere flourcents suck.
have checked connections already on garage consumer unit and all are good.

if i switch one or both of the suspect lights off on average it will trip the rcd 3 out of 10 times , so its a annoying fault. its on this cicuit as it doesnt do it now since temp fitting two light pendants with 60 watt bulbs in. which goes back to original comments made by people on here and elsewhere its the ballast on the flourecents discharging on switch off?? thanks all for your help so far , very much appreciated and listened too.

thanks for the replies so far. yes lol am in redcar . near race course lol

have replaced the switch at front of garage . i check loose connections on the two light fittings.
any good sparkeys in this area ??

got to be a fault on the two light flourecents ?? evidence seems to be going that way and all saying on here and elsewhere flourcents suck.
have checked connections already on garage consumer unit and all are good.

if i switch one or both of the suspect lights off on average it will trip the rcd 3 out of 10 times , so its a annoying fault. its on this cicuit as it doesnt do it now since temp fitting two light pendants with 60 watt bulbs in. which goes back to original comments made by people on here and elsewhere its the ballast on the flourecents discharging on switch off?? thanks all for your help so far , very much appreciated and listened too.

 

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

whats the best make on the market at the minute for 6 feet led battens for quality and reliability ? I post thus question on a new thread as well. As worse case scenario here for me is i up date these flourecents to led specification and the fault is still there .but i be saving and improving the lights in the long run regardless of whether i get a electrician out to have a look or not if fitting led battens doesn't fix the issue.

Are knightbridge a good make??

 

[PEG]

Hi,have you watched the episode of "Father Ted",where Ted is explaining to Dougal,that "these" are models,and "those" are far away...?

If you are continually adding and altering an already faulty set-up,you will be complicating any testing which will be required,to find your fault(s).

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

whats the best make on the market at the minute for 6 feet led battens for quality and reliability ? I post thus question on a new thread as well. As worse case scenario here for me is i up date these flourecents to led specification and the fault is still there .but i be saving and improving the lights in the long run regardless of whether i get a electrician out to have a look or not if fitting led battens doesn't fix the issue.

Are knightbridge a good make??

That is a bit of a hard question as even the so called premium brands are buying the leds inside off the open market and a lot of the lights regardless of brand and packaging are made by a handful of companies with pretty much identical parts. I have fitted numerous LAP led battens from screwfix and had no issue. quick and easy to install with screwless connections inside.. its about the only good thing in the LAP range mind!

 

[Taylortwocities]

whats the best make on the market at the minute for 6 feet led battens for quality and reliability

Why must it be six foot? Shouldn't you be looking at light output?

 

[telectrix]

Why must it be six foot? Shouldn't you be looking at light output?

agree. a twin 5 ft would probably give higher lumens than a single 6ft.

 

[PEG]

agree. a twin 5 ft would probably give higher lumens than a single 6ft.

...Only if it stays on...

 

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

before i replace what i believe to be the failing flourecents causing the rcd to trip i am going to swap around two of the four lights that are working to the circuit with the suspect flourecents on . if they work on this circuit i will know they are faulty and will replace with led versions instead . as it wont be any think that has failed if this test works. as the circuit works with normal pendant light with 60 watt bulbs in no issues. so i dont think it wiring fault .
if this test fails i am going to get a electrician in to test the circuit and measure resistance etc as done all i can as a home owner to find this fault without causing any harm.

 

[Midwest]

Just make sure you follow a safe isolation procedure. Can't recall, did you check for loose connections & replace both two way switches?

 

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

have checked for loose connections in light fittings and inside garage consumer unit .
have replaced the switch at the front of the garage as i could hear it arching when i use it to switch the lights off.
not changed the switch at the back of the garage as one side on each switch is wired to a different light . and is working ok with light pendants .
yes i will switch off the main breaker switch as well as the mcb to isolate rather than light circuit mcb on its own to be on the safe side .

if this test still causes the rcd to trip then it wont be the flourecents i think , but i get a electrician in then as can do no more . the only conclusion could be made if its does trip when i swap over the light fittings is the circuit could be wrong but i aint going any further and i will get some one in ......

 

[Midwest]

If those luminaires causing the issue are on a two way switching, it would be a good idea to replace both switches, to eliminate that possibility.

 

[Pete999]

If those luminaires causing the issue are on a two way switching, it would be a good idea to replace both switches, to eliminate that possibility.

You need to involve an Electrician to test the faulty circuit, replacing accessories willy nilly is not the way forward.

 

[Midwest]

You need to involve an Electrician to test the faulty circuit, replacing accessories willy nilly is not the way forward.

I disagree. Checking for loose connections, checking switches would seem a simple check, before replacing luminaires as others have suggested. As long as the OP feels confident to do so.