Wife worried about MCB not triggered by faulty socket

[jeffporter]

The wife has discovered that one of her ring main sockets is intermittent in its supply to her TV and is worried that this fault should have triggered the MCB but did not do so. Is she right to worry? She thinks the socket probably has a loose wire in one of the terminals. Is this likely? The ring main is fifteen years old. When she plugs in her vacuum cleaner into the same socket she gets the same problem. The vacuum cleaner starts up, then dies. Any ideas about what could be causing this?

It's the MCB not being triggered that worries her most.

 

[Strima]

Sounds like a loose connection. Get a man in... :lol:

 

[telectrix]

as above. if you feel confident, isolate at the CU ( turn off main switch ). then take the front off and check the connections. if you're not comfortabe/competent with this, get a sparks in.

 

[Rappid]

Post up your location, there are plenty of good sparks on here who will be willing to have a look.

 

[jeffporter]

Thanks telectrix, but I am away from home at present so can't take up your suggestion. The wife is worried that her mains wiring may be generally unreliable if one faulty socket has failed to trigger the relevant MCB. Is she right to be be worried about this? I don't know enough about MCBs to know how to respond to her concern. That's the problem I have.

 

[telectrix]

a poor connection either on the terminals or internally in the socket will not generally trip a MCB. as rappid said, if you post your approx. location, one of us may well be close enough to fix it for you. won't be a huge cost.

 

[BillyTheSparks]

Hi, it might not be a loose connection in the back of the socket, but at the outlet where the pins go in. If your saying that the circuit is at least 15 years old, and that she uses that socket for hoovering and then plugging in the TV, it is probably exessivly worn pin terminals from this action over the years.

Let us know your location (not your full address!!) and someone will be able to help I'm sure.

 

[telectrix]

sherlock holmes.... the case of the vanishing poster.

 

[alarm man]

she needs a spark to look at it,tho she will have to pay as its her house after all..:cool3:

 

[jeffporter]

Thanks telectrix and BillyThe Sparks. If 'a poor connection either on the terminals or internally in the socket will not generally trip a MCB' as telectrix says, then this is reassuring. I can tell the wife to stop worrying about this aspect of the problem. And the suggestion that 'it is probably exessivly worn pin terminals' rather than a loose connection (from BillyThe Sparks) is an interesting piece of lateral thinking. As it happens the wife doesn't pull the plug out of where the TV is usually connected. She normally leaves it in there for years at a stretch. It is only now that the TV has been removed to go to the repair shop that this socket has been used for the vacuum cleaner. And without getting myself into any trouble I can tell you that plugging in the vacuum cleaner is something she only does three or four times a year. So the 'excessively worn pin terminals' theory is less convincing than it might have been otherwise. I am grateful, nonetheless, for any ideas you may be willing to throw at this problem.

 

[jeremy]

Wee problem though is if it is a case of loose terminal/ conductor out of the back of the socket, if it was a ring circuit, it probably isn't any more. Get it checked as soon as you can

 

[telectrix]

as above. a loose connection could cause arcing which will make the situation worse-- burnt insulation & conductors. without being alarmist, the worst scenario could be a fire, so get it checked pronto.

 

[Taylortwocities]

And we still don't know where Mrs Porter lives. But then Jeff is away from home at the moment.....hmmm:angel_smile:

 

[jeffporter]

Thanks jeremy and telectrix: useful additional advice from you both. Will get the socket checked without further ado.