Electrics came back on without doing anything

[damunk]

All electrics in the garage went out.
It was caused by a heater fan I had one for a hour or so.
It is a very very old heater fan. I presume it's got a fault.

Anyhow there is a board in the garage and also a board in the house.

The house lights were fine and nothing tripped out.
The garage lights were out only and again nothing was tripped out on the board in the garage.

The electrics came back on by them selves 15 minutes later.
why?

i did flick the switches back n forth but i did that the first time and the lights still wouldn't come on.

Strange or normal?

 

[TJ Anderson]

Definitely not normal. Maybe a high resistance connection in circuit that got hot under load. The resistance would then decrease again when load removed. Would be worth getting checked out.

 

[static zap]

Consider where cable may be, esp if buried in garden !
(probably safer to leave switched off / If possible house end)
Until investigated.

 

[telectrix]

OP is in Yorkshire. strange things happen in Yorkshire. sheep wear wellies and chase the shepherds.

 

[dmxtothemax]

Not normal,
classic loose connection
Or faulty cable
Needs fixing
Or fire posssible

 

[Wilko]

If your heater was running for an hour before the fault, the MCB for that circuit may have warmed up before tripping (if it tripped at all). This may have made it unwilling to immediately reset. Anyway, it doesn't sound normal. Is it possible the heater is on the same circuit as the lights?

 

[littlespark]

If nothing tripped off, but power was cut, then there's a break in the circuit somewhere. Either on the live or neutral.

You'll have to methodically work your way from garage back to the house CU (with all power off!) removing covers and looking for a disconnected cable.
The lights in the garage, or in fact, all the power in the garage may be off a dedicated circuit breaker in the house CU, or just spurred from a socket in the house

If no loose cable, then damaged cable somewhere? As @static zap suggests, buried in the garden?

Let us know the outcome... but if you cannot find the fault yourself, I would suggest getting an electrician in to help find the cause.

 

[damunk]

went into garage today turned lights on. ten minutes later, dead.
not coming back at all now. , wonder if this cold winter has something to with it.been freezing last few days

it is completly dead now in garage. like i said its got it's own board. theres two trips for sockets and one trip for lights and the main 63amp pcb next to them with. there's a little indicator on there that tells you if its tripped or not but for somereason its completlet white and doesnt change colour when you trip it out like u can do with others.

 

[damunk]

electrician came just now. and at that moment everything started to work again . sockets, lights all by it self.

he then tested the main 63 amp fuse by pressing on the circle yellow button and that little white sqaure i was telling you about on previous post became yellow and he said that's how it works.


i told him that i was using a 500w halogen light today and yesterday when same thing happened i was using a 1800w heater fan.

i wonder if i just use the lights and see if nothing happens for a day or two then i know it's when drawing more wattage that is causing this problem.



it seems like there is a timer somewhere hidden that resets itself after a hour or so.

he checked the double sockets where i plugged in the halogen (today) and heater fan (yesterday).
all the wires looked clean and and secure. all wire secure in board aswell.

he thought it could have been damp in the socket but on opening it seemed okay.

i have a strong feeling this freezing temperature is causing something to happen.

as if when i draw over 500w of energy something is causing condensation? and wire fails?

then when it drys out , it starts to work again? -2 celcious in garage.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Sounds like you are guessing. A few simple continuity tests should trace the problem. Failing that safe testing for voltage from load to source when it drops out will find the break.

 

[damunk]

completely gone now sockets and lights , without coming back, been dead a few days
so it was something that was intermittent and now dead.

 

[DPG]

completely gone now sockets and lights , without coming back, been dead a few days
so it was something that was intermittent and now dead.

Some organised dead testing needed I think.

 

[damunk]

it came back on. electrician came and checked sockets and said everything there seemed alright.

was okay for a few weeks, weathers been alright,
been chucking it down last few days and went again today when using angle grinder for ten seconds.

how can electrician check for something wrong when it is working when he is here?

 

[DPG]

Do you know what tests he did and what results he got?

 

[damunk]

no i dont. i saw him take covers off the sockets, check wiring isnt frayed etc.

then put multimeter on it to check neutral or something.

i suppose if everything is working you wont find error.

 

[DPG]

no i dont. i saw him take covers off the sockets, check wiring isnt frayed etc.

then put multimeter on it to check neutral or something.

i suppose if everything is working you wont find error.

Not necessarily - a poor connection could show up still.

 

[damunk]

starting to wonder if the house is on two circuits. one for house and other for garage.

it's a under ground garage. some greenery n maybe some old roots dislodged main power coming in.

nothing gets tripped out. might have to call northern powergrid.

are you an electrician? im also s. yorks.

 

[Rpa07]

Make up a cot for him and get some extra nibbles in and get him to wait. Two things will happen, you’ll make a friend (a good friend as the Sparks are the top trade) and he’ll be able to test when it goes wrong again!
Of course, if you wanted to use a lady spark it may raise some questions but the results would be the same!
No falling in love now - In either scenario!

it came back on. electrician came and checked sockets and said everything there seemed alright.

was okay for a few weeks, weathers been alright,
been chucking it down last few days and went again today when using angle grinder for ten seconds.

how can electrician check for something wrong when it is working when he is here?

 

[Rpa07]

Make up a cot for him and get some extra nibbles in and get him to wait. Two things will happen, you’ll make a friend (a good friend as the Sparks are the top trade) and he’ll be able to test when it goes wrong again!
Of course, if you wanted to use a lady spark it may raise some questions but the results would be the same!
No falling in love now - In either scenario!

That was my 4000th post - will I ever post anything sensible or technical or even poignant! perhaps in the next thousand!

 

[damunk]

was rcd. connection loose