Uh oh...shorted MICC. How scr*wed am I?

[johnnyuk]

I've just been fettling some 50 year old 2L2.5 pyro (MICC) to relocate a plug socket. I probably bent the cable a little more than I should have (although I didn't feel it was particularly tight when I did it) when I was doing the fettling, but now I've pulled the cable straightish again, I seem to have a short across the live, neutral and earth on the cable in question.

This is my first time working on pryo - assuming I've managed to cause a short within the cable somehow by bending it, is this something that happens a lot and is there anything I can do to fix the short in the cable? Or is it a case of stripping the MICC back until I find the short? Plan B will be to replace the damaged leg if I can.

Or am I being incredibly dim somehow?

 

[johnnyuk]

This circuit isn't disconnected?

yes. I was just clarifying what Dave meant by "isolate"

 

[davesparks]

thanks dave - when you say isolate, do you mean "turn the circuit off" or do you mean "find the other end of the cable and disconnect it"?

I mean open an isolator if available or otherwise disconnect the cable, switching the circuit off does not isolate the cable.
By isolate I mean disconnect all live conductors.

re. sniping the pot off, i'm trying to lower the socket in question so i needed to shorten the cable (fed from below).

I still think it is unwise to cut it until you are ready to reterminate it.

 

[johnnyuk]

ok that's what I thought - thanks Dave.
Thanks to everyone for the help. I'll update when I have more news.

 

[7029 dave]

You need to use an IR tester at 500v