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Hi,

Our house has just had an electrical safety check by a qualified electrician. He said he had found an earth fault but was called away on another job and can't return for three weeks. Meantime, I am left wondering about his comments and would like to get a better understanding.

He said we had an earth fault. He was in a rush and I didn't catch exactly what he said. The gist of it was that he had a reading that was (I think 0.35 up), which he said was quite a bit, something about being worth a whole mains ring. I asked him which circuit it was on and he seemed to dismiss the question; I got the feeling my question was somehow irrelevant, meaning the fault is some kind of 'general' fault.

My knowledge of mains consumer electricity is basic but - assuming the house has an efficient ground spike and the incoming connection to the consumer box is sound - how can an earth fault not be related to a specific circuit?

He asked me one strange question: he asked if we had any sockets that he didn't know about. I couldn't think at the time but there are two. Could these be at fault? If so, how? Are we talking about some kind of 'leak' between earth and a neutral or live wire. And if this were the case, surely he would know which circuit the fault was on? And could I do a temporary fix by disconnecting these two sockets (and making safe the wires)?

Sorry for the general nature of this question. I'm just trying to gain a bit more understanding.

Kind wishes - Patrick
 
It's possible given the OP mentioned 0.35.....and the electrician was asking about additional sockets that he got a low IR and suspects a surge adaptor plugged in somewhere. 0.35 would be an expected reading.
But thats just a guess without further information.
 
The electrician may be referring to earth reading taken at the incoming supply. 0.35 Ohms is the maximum permitted ze reading for a TNC-S system , Just A guess though I afraid . Just going by the mentioned of Mains ,but not sure what the sockets have to do with this
 

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