It's the Plasterers Fault This Time!

[Paul.M]

Over the past 2 weeks I've had a plumber drilling into a 4mm rmf, Tuesday a home owner putting a picture nail into a 2.5mm rmf and this evening a plasterer putting a 4 inch fixing screw into a sw feed/sw live!

Whoops . He tried to cover it up but was found out when the elderly couple noticed that the kitchen light would not turn off. Pity I didn't take a photo of his nice new ceiling after I finished with it trying to find the fault and replacing the switch wire. Home owner is giving him a call in the morning to tell him to come back and patch up what I've done (saves me doing it) and also show him my bill which is more than what he charged to do the job in the first place! Oh well, I wonder what other tradesmen will give me more work next week? Seem to be getting this type of call out quite often recently.

 

[JamesBrownLive]

In this case it was a length of t+e switch cable about 3 meter run. Disconnected both ends, L-L and N-N has continuity but higher than expected readings. Cpc-cpc no cont, must be broken. At the switch test L-N (should not have cont) but I did? Must be a short circuit. Same results at the rose end.

With the customer saying that the light stays on makes me think its a short circuit in-between permanent live to the switch and the switch live from the switch. The screw making the bridge and therefore the light always on regardless of the switch because its been bypassed. The mcb did trip when the plasterer put his screw in the cable but the mcb reset because there were no current going from line to cpc due to the cpc being cut and burnt through from the short circuit that the screw did in the first place. Hope that helps you on your fault finding lads.

Your fault finding logic makes perfect sense, and is useful to those of us still learning, but can I just ask...

How did you figure out where to punch holes in the ceiling to find the problem? was it just a case of knocking holes between where the light fitting was situated and the switch, or did you use some other experienced based reasoning?

Cheers

 

[Paul.M]

Your fault finding logic makes perfect sense, and is useful to those of us still learning, but can I just ask...

How did you figure out where to punch holes in the ceiling to find the problem? was it just a case of knocking holes between where the light fitting was situated and the switch, or did you use some other experienced based reasoning?

Cheers

Shortest path from the ceiling rose to the switch, only a short run anyway. Rose off the ceiling and see which way the problem cable goes.


I think little tips like this are useful, I've learn a lot about testing from the forum and learn something new every day. I'm no expert fault finder but I've never come across a fault I couldn't locate.

 

[telectrix]

OK paul, be honest now. how many holes????:29:

 

[telectrix]

1 hole-- expert fault finder.

2 holes-- pretty useful ff.

3 holes-- getting good.

4 holes-- need more practice.

5 holes-- more training required.

6 holes-- better with a hammer than a tester.

7 holes-- plasterers nightmare come true

 

[Paul.M]

I didn't have to patch it back up as the home owner said she'll get him back in to fix the damage I do replacing the cable. Noticed how I said in the op "I got my hammer out" and not the plaster saw? .

I could have jointed the cable in the ceiling and left it at that but I decided to run a channel down the wall to the switch so I could break in my new scutch blade . That will teach him not to put ruddy big screws into our cables .

 

[Paul.M]

Double post.

 

[Des 56]

1 hole-- expert fault finder.

Come on now Tel, No 1 is definitely under the heading "Lucky Bus turd"

 

[telectrix]

1 hole-- expert fault finder.

Come on now Tel, No 1 is definitely under the heading "Lucky Bus turd"

agreed, unless he's got one of them camera thingies shoved up the ceiling rose hole, in which case a rich bus turd

 

[GLENNSPARK]

We first fixer some lighting a while ago and after the plasterer had been and gone we couldn`t find half the cables ....all because he had been too idle to pull em through the ceiling. Ended up trying to stick my mobile up through the holes we cut for the spots and take video to try and find em...so i dont feel sorry for plasterers at all.....so there!

 

[Paul.M]

agreed, unless he's got one of them camera thingies shoved up the ceiling rose hole, in which case a rich bus turd

I don't have one of those but we know a man that dose . I've borrowed it once, nice bit of kit but expensive.

 

[telectrix]

We first fixer some lighting a while ago and after the plasterer had been and gone we couldn`t find half the cables ....all because he had been too idle to pull em through the ceiling. Ended up trying to stick my mobile up through the holes we cut for the spots and take video to try and find em...so i dont feel sorry for plasterers at all.....so there!

i find a mirror and a torch comes in useful here. i always clip cable to nearest joist and draw a plan of the exact position of the lights so that the cables can't be more than 8-9 inches away.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

If your installing loads of spots all the time though wouldn`t the cost be justified considering the time saved?

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Yeah tel but i think he had been a bit spiteful n all and positioned em as far away as he could just for the hell of it, my boss thought so n all so now he dont recommend the man to anyone else. Some people are just narrow like that though...........

 

[Paul.M]

Tel how did you slot in post 34? It wasn't there ten mins ago, have you got some special forum powers now?

 

[GLENNSPARK]

mysterious....