Failed socket!

[Dave64]

Hi, in the UK, was vacuuming, did upstairs, went down to the hall, and the vacuum stopped.. checked the fuse, fine.. hit it, plugged it in again, hit it again, plugged it in again. still not working (why do we do this lol)
Plugged it into another socket and it worked... never know a socket to fail.. what's going on there?
Jokey post, but seriously, how does a socket fail?
Thank you guys in advance!

 

[westward10]

Possibly a lose connection at the socket or the socket has failed.

 

[ipf]

Possibly a lose connection at the socket or the socket has failed.

Maybe because he keeps hitting it....?

 

[DefyG]

Assuming these are switched sockets, the switch is a simple mechanical part that can easily fail.
The parts the pins locate into are a simple friction mechanical contact that over time can wear of lose their effectiveness.
All mechanical parts fail eventually!

 

[littlespark]

might be a simple case of tightening the terminal screws.... but for goodness sake, turn off the power first.

 

[pc1966]

Also worth checking if the sockets are fed from different breakers and one has tripped and you did not spot it.

However, any dodgy socket (visible signs of damage, not being reliable, or having iffy-feeling switches) should be replaced, as a poor contact can overheat leading to further damage or in extreme cases a fire.

 

[Dave64]

Hi, in the UK, was vacuuming, did upstairs, went down to the hall, and the vacuum stopped.. checked the fuse, fine.. hit it, plugged it in again, hit it again, plugged it in again. still not working (why do we do this lol)
Plugged it into another socket and it worked... never know a socket to fail.. what's going on there?
Jokey post, but seriously, how does a socket fail?
Thank you guys in advance!

my hoover broke, checked the fuse, fine.. plugged a lamp in, fine.. plugged the hoover into another socket fine!.. That socket does not like my hoover! How is that possible?

 

[James]

Socket is faulty.

 

[Cbelectrics]

Assuming these are switched sockets, the switch is a simple mechanical part that can easily fail.
The parts the pins locate into are a simple friction mechanical contact that over time can wear of lose their effectiveness.
All mechanical parts fail eventually!

Same thing happened to me on my dyson but was actually a 20 pence Chinese made switch in the hoovers power button that failed.

 

[DefyG]

That socket does not like my hoover! How is that possible?

Cant imagine that the hoover is reliant on polarity but worth checking on that socket as a lamp wouldn't be polarity dependent!

 

[R-fur]

Could be a broken flex, with something like a hover the flex is constantly bending and can fail, giving intermittent operation. Usually the failure is within 100mm of the plug top, Unplug it, cut off 100mm of the flex, refit a plug top.

 

[brianmoooore]

Cant imagine that the hoover is reliant on polarity but worth checking on that socket as a lamp wouldn't be polarity dependent!

Polarity of an AC supply?? I presume you mean which live is strapped to earth somewhere to make a neutral. Whereas it would be possible to design this into an appliance where it might matter, the chance of a vacuum cleaner incorporating such a device is vanishingly small. They're made for international markets, where plugs might be reversible, and for countries like France, where live on the right and neutral on the left is a bit random.

 

[Mikegh]

Polarity of an AC supply??

I remember reading or having this discussion at one time

Polarity doesn't affect appliance operation 'in general' obviously

I think I recall it could affect operation of something SP .I can't remember what it was ?

 

[brianmoooore]

It's most likely to be a combination of a faulty socket and a slightly out of spec. plug, especially if the plug has been trod on at some time and slightly bent. Can't say I've come across it with a fixed socket, But I've had trailing multi way extension leads where certain plugs won't work in a particular socket, but other plugs will.

 

[pc1966]

I think I recall it could affect operation of something SP .I can't remember what it was ?

I remember someone mentioning gas boilers and the flame detectors not liking it if the supply want IT when on generator.

 

[pc1966]

If the plug works in most sockets but not one, then the socket has a problem. If the plug is out of spec as nasty fake one, or been bent by abuse, that could be a factor.

Change the socket for a decent make. If the plug looks at all dodgy, change it as well.