British General plug socket problem

[madMARTINmarsh]

Hello all.
I recently replaced two double switched plug sockets, the original socket had jammed switches (they were as old as my 50-60s built house I reckon) so I got these new ones, installed them but now the switches don't always work.
When I press them to turn the socket off sometimes the switch doesn't click and the electrical items still get power, sometimes the switch will work as it is supposed to. I've had a look inside and there are no loose wires, the wires are a bit tight in the back box but it isnt dangerously crammed in as far as I can see, I didn't have to force or bend anything in.

When I installed the new socket I replaced the wires exactly as they were in the old socket front.
Is it possible that the socket is faulty?
Is there anything else I may have missed?

Any help and advice is warmly welcomed.

Martin.

 

[Richard Burns]

Welcome.
Pressure on the back of the switches from wiring behind them can cause them to malfunction; using a heavy load (10A+) and switching the load with the socket switches, particularly on the BG sockets can cause the switches to overheat and fail.

 

[westward10]

With the power off try and flatten the wires across the back of the socket so there is no undue stress when you fit the front plate. Recheck the terminal tightness after doing this, the aim is to try and fit the front plate so you are not compressing the wires too much when you tighten the cover screws. As Richard above says this undue stress maybe causing the switch failure.

 

[MDJ]

GASP!!!!

 

[westward10]

GASP!!!!

??

 

[Squid]

MDJ orgasmed..........


Anyways to the OP does the faceplate work fine when kept loose from the backbox?

 

[Dave OCD]

We may be overthinking this and I reckon it's just dodgy BG sockets, there are a good few of them about I'll wager.

 

[madMARTINmarsh]

Thanks for all the replies people.
I took the faceplates off. I found that the switches weren't working on either faceplate, I happened to drop one and found that the switches worked after so I knocked the front of the second faceplate with my screw driver and that fixed the switches on that one too so I'm guessing they must be faulty. I have replaced both as it didn't seem a good idea to re-use something with such an odd fault.

Thanks for the suggestions, they helped me decide what course of action to take so they were invaluable.

 

[telectrix]

take the faulty ones back for credit. . BG have a good warranty. however. i've seen a lot of faulty switches on sockets where plaster dust has been allowed into them.

 

[madMARTINmarsh]

That's an interesting observation, thank you telectrix. I don't think plaster dust got in to the switch but it is certainly possible.
I got the faceplates from Amazon, I could take them back but the postage is half of what the faceplates cost me, it'll cost £5.80 to send them both back when I paid £5.12 per faceplate. Coupled with the time it would take me to do the returns and the printer ink (black gold) and buying packaging it seems pointless me returning them which is unfortunate.
I have left a one star rating on Amazon though, maybe BG will get back to me and offer a more sensible solution.

I still found the new faceplates a bit tight so I'm going to install some spacers in the next week just to give a bit of breathing room.

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[Squid]

They are faulty you should have to pay return postage, contact Amazon and see what they say as its better to have the money in your own pocket.

 

[telectrix]

They are faulty you should have to pay return postage, contact Amazon and see what they say as its better to have the money in your own pocket.

contact amazon. you might get postage paid for. next time buy from screwfix.

 

[madMARTINmarsh]

I'm back with the same problem.
Brand new face plates and the same switch is getting stuck on all of them.
I am using a spacer, there is lots of space and the wires aren't bending the faceplate out.
I have now used 4 different brand new faceplates, 2 different brands (British General and MK) and all 4 result in the same problem.
When I take another faceplate off of a different socket that works fine It then gets the same problem.
If I bang on the front of the socket it foxes the problem for a while but it always comes back.

I am really stumped here so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[MDJ]

The box isn't square in the wall by the sounds of it.

 

[DPG]

In that case the back box is out of square.

 

[Octopus]

Employ a spark ?

 

[telectrix]

Employ a spark ?

agree, something is not right here. as previous post, could be over tightening on an uneven back box. when both BG and MK sockets are showing same problems.

 

[Richard Burns]

What load are you switching with this socket?
Barring an alignment problem the most likely source of switches failing to operate is switching a very heavy load that welds the witch contacts together as the switch opens and creates an arc, this would be consistent with the tapping the socket clearing the fault briefly.
If possible avoid switching the equipment off under load.

 

[NDG Elecs]

BG - whether that's British Gas or General, in my humble opinion, should stay well clear of electricity in general. British Gas seem to have a policy of charging way over the odds and British General parts usually have a failure rate which makes using their gear unsustainable being self employed.

 

[telectrix]

i use BG gear as preference. had virtually no failures, both with their CUs and accessories.