Garage wiring

[Discodave1987]

Hi guys, I have had some electrical work done by a qualified electrician but there is a fault and the said electrician won't now respond. Basically I've had a new consumer unit in the house which all works fine. The issue starts where the supply to the garage is involved. The supply goes from a 32amp mcb in the consumer unit, to what I believe is a 4mm2 armoured cable to a metal Wylex garage consumer unit. In the garage unit there is a 6amp and a 32amp mcb which feed a ring main and lighting circuit respectively. These are covered by an rcd. Now I can turn the garage power on fine at the consumer unit in the house, then switch on the rcd and two mcbs in the garage no problem. I can then go round and test each socket and all of them have power running to them. When I then plug in an appliance (and I have tried numerous things and which work fine in the house) the power trips. Not at the garage rcd but the one at the consumer unit in the house. Does this sound like a major problem to get sorted?

Thanks Dave

 

[Paul.M]

Dave your pictures have not up loaded, try again and I'll clean up your post.

To the members, he is asking for advice and it is not a DIY question. Help him out in a nice way lads.

 

[Leesparkykent]

Hi guys, I have had some electrical work done by a qualified electrician but there is a fault and the said electrician won't now respond. Basically I've had a new consumer unit in the house which all works fine. The issue starts where the supply to the garage is involved. The supply goes from a 32amp mcb in the consumer unit, to what I believe is a 4mm2 armoured cable to a metal Wylex garage consumer unit. In the garage unit there is a 6amp and a 32amp mcb which feed a ring main and lighting circuit respectively. These are covered by an rcd. Now I can turn the garage power on fine at the consumer unit in the house, then switch on the rcd and two mcbs in the garage no problem. I can then go round and test each socket and all of them have power running to them. When I then plug in an appliance (and I have tried numerous things and which work fine in the house) the power trips. Not at the garage rcd but the one at the consumer unit in the house. Does this sound like a major problem to get sorted?

Thanks Dave

could do with a sparky to come have a look and carry out some tests. Has this happened since it was installed?

 

[telectrix]

where in staffs? north staffs is on my patch.

 

[davesparks]

Just to clarify, is it an RCD in the house which trips or an MCB?
An RCD in the house board will, if it also protects other circuits, almost always trip before the garage RCD under fault conditions. The reason for this is that the other circuits will have a small earth leakage in normal operation (perfectly normal) which will push the house RCD close to it's tripping current before a fault occurs and so biasing that RCD to trip in the event of a fault. This sounds like a poorly designed installation, but may have been done to satisfy a regulation (can't say without seeing it all)

The symptom you have described of tripping only when an electrical load is connected is commonly associated with a fault of some resistance between neutral and earth. If it was a dead short then tripping would occur without any load being applied wheras a fault with a few ohms resistance will only cause a trip once there is a load connected.

 

[Guest77]

There is probably an earth fault on the garage circuit somewhere, however there is no discrimination between the Garage RCD and the House RCD, the House RCD is more sensitive, did the spark who installed the Garage wiring leave you a test certificate?

 

[Pete999]

Does the CU in the main house have two RCDs? in other words is it a17th Edition type CU? Is the original Electrician a member of one of the CPS, NICEIC, ELECSA, NAPIT or one of the others.

It seems likely that you may have a Neutral to Earth fault somewhere. You say you aren't an Electrician, so messing with the wiring yourself isn't an option.

If the Electrician who did the work doesn't respond to you, puts me to thinking he may well know there is a problem and doesn't want to get involved, you could try contacting the CPS he may belong to.

In the interim I would get a qualified Electrician in to carry out a testing exercise, sorry I can't help further, be being remote it is difficult to advise a non Electrician, not your fault by the way, and no insult intended, others may help further, and maybe one of the Forum members who is local to you may offer to help out, good luck.

 

[Paul.M]

Pity the photos did not load up, please try again, it may "shed" some light on the matter :rofl: I'll get my coat.

As above this needs to be tested by an electrician, Tel has already offered his services.

 

[Des 56]

I've had a new consumer unit in the house which all works fine.
32amp mcb in the consumer unit, to what I believe is a 4mm2 armoured cable to a metal Wylex garage consumer unit.In the garage unit there is a 6amp and a 32amp mcb which feed a ring main and lighting circuit respectively. These are covered by an rcd.

Its nice to read detailed technical terms by a non electrician in the description of the installation :lipsrsealed2:
How long ago was it installed and were the symptoms apparent at the outset

 

[Guest77]

Pity the photos did not load up, please try again, it may "shed" some light on the matter :rofl: I'll get my coat.

As above this needs to be tested by an electrician, Tel has already offered his services.

Trouble is Tel will cost too much, he will have to pay someone to push his wheel chair about whilst looking at the job chuckle.

 

[telectrix]

keeky chunt. :49:

 

[Discodave1987]

Dave your pictures have not up loaded, try again and I'll clean up your post.

To the members, he is asking for advice and it is not a DIY question. Help him out in a nice way lads.

Hi all

thanks Paul, I didnt upload any photos so it must have been something I managed to muck up lol.

thanks everyone, I suppose Was trying to establish if it's worth pursuing the electrician who completed the works as it could be a significant cost to sort out the problem, or if it was something fairly simple that could be sorted out fairly quickly then is it worth just finding someone else as it wouldn't cost too much sort out.

like people have said tho I suppose without doing some tests it's hard to know.

thanks for your response telectrix, apologies I should have said, I'm based in staffordshire but the house is in Cornwall so a long way away.

thanks again everyone I think for now it's worth pursuing the electrician, but if it does come to it I'll need to find someone else.

des 56, all that it basically what I've taken of the quote the electrican provided but I could be Russian to be to be fair, electrical work is as complex as brain surgery to me lol

 

[Geordie Spark]

Pity the photos did not load up, please try again, it may "shed" some light on the matter :rofl: I'll get my coat.

As above this needs to be tested by an electrician, Tel has already offered his services.

Any more pathetic attempts at humour like that and you'll be getting a concrete coat and a bath in the nearest river. :66:

 

[Geordie Spark]

Hi all

thanks Paul, I didnt upload any photos so it must have been something I managed to muck up lol.

thanks everyone, I suppose Was trying to establish if it's worth pursuing the electrician who completed the works as it could be a significant cost to sort out the problem, or if it was something fairly simple that could be sorted out fairly quickly then is it worth just finding someone else as it wouldn't cost too much sort out.

like people have said tho I suppose without doing some tests it's hard to know.

thanks for your response telectrix, apologies I should have said, I'm based in staffordshire but the house is in Cornwall so a long way away.

thanks again everyone I think for now it's worth pursuing the electrician, but if it does come to it I'll need to find someone else.

des 56, all that it basically what I've taken of the quote the electrican provided but I could be Russian to be to be fair, electrical work is as complex as brain surgery to me lol

What's this nonsense you're speaking???
This simple Geordie sees this as a job that you paid someone else to do for you and for whatever reason it isn't doing what it says on the tin!

It is therefore unfit for purpose and If he's boloxed it up then it's his responsibility to correct it at no cost to you.

Write him a letter giving him 7 days to sort it or you'll be employing someone els to sort it and he'll be getting the bill. Send it Recorded Delivery or whatever it's called these days so he can't argue that he never received it.

 

[driverman]

Someone on here may be from Cornwall area.