No earth in lighting circuit what next?

[Elliott96]

Im sure this has probably been asked before in this forum but ive just upgraded a fuseboard today and found no earth in the lighting (two core). Obviously the next thing to do would be to tell the customer either rewire or change everything on that circuit to class 2 fittings and accessories, but in this case the customer didnt want to go ahead with either.... what should i do? Cutting the circuit out would be abit extreme?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

It’s a dilemma.
Should you walk away from what is potentially a dangerous situation.
Or should you do the work which will make the situation safer?

 

[westward10]

It’s a dilemma.
Should you walk away from what is potentially a dangerous situation.
Or should you do the work which will make the situation safer?

There is absolutely no way he can leave it and walk away.

 

[Elliott96]

It’s a dilemma.
Should you walk away from what is potentially a dangerous situation.
Or should you do the work which will make the situation safer?

Obviously i want to make the circuit safe but without the customer being compliant there is nothing i can do, there is still more works to do in the property so ill just cut it out after ive taken payment.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

It’s a dilemma.
Should you walk away from what is potentially a dangerous situation.
Or should you do the work which will make the situation safer?

There is absolutely no way he can leave it and walk away.

He’s changed the CU and added RCD protection, which has made the situation safer.

With my customer, I just went with her to B&Q, helped her choose a plastic light switch then replaced her stainless steel switch for her.

 

[Starjack]

Should never have swapped the board without doing proper testing before, no stickers or excuse will get you out of it, you dropped a major one and need to put it right whether it cost you or not.
The amount of people that do something as stupid as this baffles me, all about the quick buck.

 

[peterhyper]

Should never have swapped the board without doing proper testing before, no stickers or excuse will get you out of it, you dropped a major one and need to put it right whether it cost you or not.
The amount of people that do something as stupid as this baffles me, all about the quick buck.

So you do a full detailed check of every circuit, every socket, every light switch, every light fitting etc before you replace a consumer unit?

 

[westward10]

Did you not notice when stripping out the old board an absence of cpcs before you passed the point of no return.

 

[Starjack]

So you do a full detailed check of every circuit, every socket, every light switch, every light fitting etc before you replace a consumer unit?

Yes why wouldn't I, I take it you just crack and hope for the best.
The good old bang test as no place in modern society.
Agree everything in advance with the customer , charge accordingly, do the job right and I will never have to stand there saying sorry I've dropped a ............... but I'm off to the pub see you later.

 

[Andy78]

So you do a full detailed check of every circuit, every socket, every light switch, every light fitting etc before you replace a consumer unit?

It's pretty easy to establish if a lighting circuit has no cpc in, and if that is the case it is usually evident in the majority of points on the circuits. Some electricians do insist on a full eicr before a CU as a matter of course.

 

[Baddegg]

Should never have swapped the board without doing proper testing before, no stickers or excuse will get you out of it, you dropped a major one and need to put it right whether it cost you or not.
The amount of people that do something as stupid as this baffles me, all about the quick buck.

Bit harsh but he is right.....

 

[Wilko]

My 20p worth - a circuit with no CPC at origin is a giant red flag. For sure I would not have turned off their lights, but I wouldn't do the CU upgrade until it was resolved.

 

[westward10]

He ain't going to do it again that is for sure.

 

[peterhyper]

So what do you guys do after you replace the consumer unit and then discover that there is no cpc continuity on one metal light switch, but the customer refuses to pay to have the issue resolved. Let's assume that you didn't check every single light switch and every single light fitting before replacing the consumer unit (as some of you definitely appear to do prior to a C/U change), do you then remove the consumer unit and reinstall the one you took out?

 

[Baddegg]

Only one switch?

 

[westward10]

Check first or repent later.