Tell us about your faults!

[kung]

Hi ALL
Just thought id put this one up for all those faults we find.
heres one to kick it off !
Domestic RCD tripped and wouldnt reset cause was a blown low energy light bulb.
There you go now for yours !

 

[glynnis]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

I did wonder...! I wasn't sure if I was seeing it correctly, but it did look a little dark at the bottom there.

I was also concerned that the main switch was on and the CU was open - Safe Isolation anyone? Maybe some one had pulled the main fuse, isolated it before this CU.
My attention was also pulled to the barrier-looking-like section at the bottom and wondering if it was a barrier or if it was a wiring diagram. If it's a barrier it's a little erm, jammed into the bottom of the CU isn't it?

Look at the incoming side of the main switch, RED into N, black in into L side then onto busbars on outgoing side, if you look closer, i think???

 

[doy1es1]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Hello,
It's my first post so apologies if this has been covered before.
I have a Hotpoint vented tumble dryer that keep tripping all my electrical supply. I was originally getting a grinding noise but have replaced the bearings and it now spins ok and it heats ok but cuts out after a few minutes.
Could this be an issue with the thermostat?
Thanks in advance.

 

[High Tower]

Hello,
It's my first post so apologies if this has been covered before.
I have a Hotpoint vented tumble dryer that keep tripping all my electrical supply. I was originally getting a grinding noise but have replaced the bearings and it now spins ok and it heats ok but cuts out after a few minutes.
Could this be an issue with the thermostat?
Thanks in advance.

Start a new thread and you may get a few more reply posts

 

[Benny_Boy]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Just had a call to a house where the lights had magically just stopped working properly and purely coincidentally there were 3 nice new shiny switches in place in the hall and landing.
Unfortunately for the bloke who tackled it there were 2 sets of 2 way switches over 3 points all done in red singles with the 2 ways both wired differently.

I love it when they've had a go! (not)

 

[sythai]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Not an electrical fault as such... but thought I'd share it as it was my fault and I've stopped panicing now

Just finishing off a kitchen this morning, got a nice big piece of cardboard sat across the '£1300 SMEG ceramic hob/range' test gear sat on top of that.

Dead tests and 32a isolator done, go to turn breaker back on... walk back in the kitchen and smoked right out.

I'd left the 32a isolator in the 'on' postion and somehow the hob was also turned on!!!

Serious panic, me and kitch fitter spent the next half hour airing out the kitchen and scrubing the the burnt cardboard off the hob... all this whilst customer was upstairs, really dont how I got away with it. Tester was ok as well slightly warm though.

Wonder if my public liability would pay out for something like that if any damage had occured...?

Time for afternoon beer me thinks

 

[Wiredspark]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Had a guy (whos a handyman apparently) fitting his new outside light, phoning me up saying "My light doesn't work, I've got power on the red at the light but there is nothing at my switch and I have a spare red in the light. I've put both neutrals together and I'm still getting nothing"
You don't even have to look at this to know he has put his black (neutral) which is actually a switched live in the wrong terminal. and hasn't linked out the feed and supply to the switch. heeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaw what a donkey.

 

[ahop]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Hope you like this 1.
Called to a fault today, apparantely shower was tripping the fuse in a hairdressers.
Got there and see the fault straight away there was 2 x showers triton 8.5kw the first had a pice of 1.5mm coming out going into 2nd shower which had another 1.5mm running from shower into a towel in the corner, unwrapped towel to find an extension lead with the showers plugged in. Apparantely plumber had wired it in.

Put a quote in so hopefully back there tommorow will get some photos.

 

[gutterball]

I think that's a fail.

 

[RogertheBodger]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

I Went to a semi-secure shelter for alcoholics in Manchester some years ago, the Main Rcd was always tripping, shut the whole place down, (can’t remember why they had an Rcd on the main, something to do with the unpredictability of the tenants, but it had to stay) it would be off all night then reset instantly as soon as I got there ( how frustrating is that?)

Couldn’t fix it, couldn’t find a fault, looked at everything, tested everything, changed the unit, nothing.
It got to the point where, in the office in the morning my boss would just jerk his thumb in the General direction of Manchester and off I would go, we were all feeling pretty stupid about this, I thought much more of this and I’ll be getting a room here myself.

The breakthrough finally came when I got to talking to staff members about anything unusual happening? Any new damp patches anywhere, anything at all unusual to explain this, one nurse said “well there’s the damp patch on the floor in Mr……s room, so we had a look and sure enough there is a damp patch on the floor in a corner, the smell was overpowering and I said that smells like urine.

She said it is, we have a problem with this guy, when he’s drunk, which is most of the time, he thinks he’s back where he was before he was banged up here, and this corner is where the toilet used to be, so every night………………….

And then I saw the socket on the wall above the damp patch

 

[LukeD]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

View attachment 3386 !!! Spot problem(Chinese gang full refurb. on Belgravia)

I might have worked with them some years ago. I was shocked just how many Chinese gangs are working on £12 million + houses. AND NO BUILDING CONTROL WHAT SO EVER . ALL ILLEGAL. I walked off. Most are paid £40 a day.

But to be honest..... i liked them and admired how they just want to feed their kids etc yet get treated like poo all the time .

 

[Mark_Burgess]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

Just build a stud wall where ever you like!

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

heres an odd one
not really electrical but worth relating
I had to replace an external lamp for a client, and she asked me to refit a pair of bathroom cupboard doors
the plumber had left them off
well i removed the doors and had a look at the door gear, but imagine my surpise to see an immersion tank resting on a thin wooden shelf designed to hold clothes, now this tank holds 120 litres of near boiling water and that weighs 120 Kilogrammes
so if it falls it will either scald you or break your back
but the muppet plumber had fitted a nylon ratchet strap between the top outlet and some other pipework, the bloody thing was rocking, and underneath is the consumer unit!
how can a tradesman be so stupid as to think you can suspend a tank like that on 6 thin 20mm by 12mm battens?
needless to say I got some decent timber and built a frame rather like a table and wedged it under neath and secured it with screws, the tank is now vertical and secure
but it goes to show every one goes one about the dangers of electricity but 120 litres of scalding water are probably fatal
and the oddest thing was a so called electrician had attended some time ago to wire the supply to it???
I am so glad I did a proper apprenticship

 

[sythai]

Re: Tell us about your faults !


Just finished CU upgrade today and then found this, spot the 3 issues !
..... kitchen recently fitted by a 'builder' Unbelievably everything else checked out ok

 

[Jurassic Sparks]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

thats worrying
sheathing not in clamp
R2 and Rn reversed
and no sheathing
seems there are more stupid people out there
I have a weeks work repairing a bathroom after some mental case decided to move a wall and a door and a few other things!!! lucky I can plaster as well

 

[WDMDL]

Re: Tell us about your faults !

imagine my surpise to see an immersion tank resting on a thin wooden shelf designed to hold clothes, now this tank holds 120 litres of near boiling water and that weighs 120 Kilogrammes
so if it falls it will either scald you or break your back
but the muppet plumber had fitted a nylon ratchet strap between the top outlet and some other pipework, the bloody thing was rocking, and underneath is the consumer unit!
how can a tradesman be so stupid as to think you can suspend a tank like that on 6 thin 20mm by 12mm battens?
needless to say I got some decent timber and built a frame rather like a table and wedged it under neath and secured it with screws, the tank is now vertical and secure
but it goes to show every one goes one about the dangers of electricity but 120 litres of scalding water are probably fatal
and the oddest thing was a so called electrician had attended some time ago to wire the supply to it???
I am so glad I did a proper apprenticship

But let's face it, it's not apprenticeship material we're talking here, it's primary school science!

Simon.