Garage consumer unit rcd trips out

[Pete999]

APs

i just done a 5 day course on how to cut with a scalpel. now i'm a qualified brain surgeon, but can only work on domestic customers. an additional course to work on bankers, solicitors, and estate agents is available at no extra cost.

Blimey Tel I'm going on a course next week with Age UK on how to deal with OAPs and computor email scams, when I come back perhaps the Mods will ask me to sort out the Oriental invasion on this Forum.

 

[telectrix]

just be aware pete, the £3m inheritence you got from nigeria is a scam.

 

[Pete999]

just be aware pete, the £3m inheritence you got from nigeria is a scam.

Honestly? crikey I spent most of it.

 

[EalingBadger]

Lets have a sweep stake on what the fault will be. In no particular order;

1. Faulty RCD 1/1
2. Loose terminations 1/1
3. IR fault 1/1
4. Incorrect or faulty wiring 1/1
5. Faulty switches 1/2
6. Faulty fluorescents 1/1
7. Wiring routed inappropriately 1/1
8. Fault on an adjacent circuit 1/1
9. None of the above 1/1
10. OP is imagining things 1/1
11. 'R' in the month 1/1
12. J Corbyn's house, enough said 1/1

Rules;

• OP can't vote
• You can add your own suggested vote, which others can vote on
• Voting closes at midnight tonight
• Winner(s) receive 'Winners' thing

Placed my vote

• IF I'M RIGHT YOU ALL OWE ME £10

Cable insulation compromised by nail or screw, or compressed in some way and only now coming to light due to the high voltage spikes "jumping the gap" to earth when the fluorescents are turned off.

(Okay, it's an outsider, but it's definitely in with a chance.)

 

[Midwest]

Bit late, least you were prepared to put your money on the table

 

[Allan Hogg]

It is not clear how the switching is carried out. Six fluorescents, four each with one way switches and two each with two two way switches.
However that is not how I read the controls and it seems that there is a 'master' switch at the front door for what are the access lights. Check this switch and if it is double poled i.e. switching live and neutral it may just be the slightly different opening or closing times of each pole which is the problem (you get a parallel path during this period which may be sufficient to trip the RCD)

 

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

Well all the electrician has been.
Results are:

Each flourecent light on start up is giving 2amp leakage?
He has checked the sockets. Checked the switches and checked all connections etc.

FOUND ONE OF MY SMALL FLOURECENT LIGHTS THAT I HAVE ON THE WALL THAT IS OPERATED BY A SEPERATE ON OFF SWITCH TO HAVE THE LIVE AND THE NEUTRAL WIRES CONNECTED IN THE WRONG PLACE.

I asked him if that might be the fault and said its doubtfull but wouldnt help.

Has measured resistance on the neutral wires from inside the fuse box.
During the test he found some thing that was pulling 20 amps or could have been milli amps?? However then disconnected every thing and still was getting this reading .

Only things that where still connected where the outside pir coach lamps.

Said this might be drawing the reading .

Also said alarm power cables are less than 1 metre away from other cables in the loft space so that might be giving the fall reading and explain the 20 amp or milli amps draw.

Tested the whole set up with some kind of meter bonding clamp .

Too technical for me to explain as only going on what he said.

There is no broken wires found on the system.

His conclusion is that the fault is in one of the flourecent lights but can conclusively prove which one .

He has said according to his readings that each light is pulling on start up more than 2amps .
I said to him well i only switch the one on.
He said it doesnt matter as all the lights are on a live circuits .
He suspects its down to leakage from the light capacitor on switch but can no prove which one .
Also said that fitting a light pendant would not prove the flourecent are fine only that the lighting circuit is fine .
As the light pendants dont have a seperate earth inside them but flourcents lights do. It could be and its a only a guess that one of the six lights is failing very slowly .

However what i didnt get was a resistance test done on the light circuit for the two light fittings when you switch them off , only when you switch them off . And this reading is 2amps .

I might have as a result a ovet sensitive rcd that is doing its job and picking up this power surch from the light capacitors when i switch the lights off as he said this electricity needs to go sone where and so is going back to the fuse box .
Which suggests its a fault in one of the capicitors

 

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

Well the rcd has tripped again in the garage again when i switch one of the flourecents off. So that rules out the small wiring issue that i mentioned in my last post.

How can you test this system on lights switching off for leakage?

It has been tested for leakage when lights are switched on .

Electrician just thinks its a fault on a flourecent fitting that is causing a leakage when light switched off , but not shown me or proved any test readings to back this claim .

Only that on start up he was getting 2amps leakage per one light fitting

Any further advise appreciated.

For me now i guess its change all these lights as can not confirm which light fitting it is .

 

[Octopus]

2 amps leakage .... that’s not feasible

 

[Mr Karl E Taylor]

Hi , why is 2amps leakage not feasable ? Thats what i was told.

Confused now .

Paid for a electrician to test the set up thats what he done and told me .

Carnt see he has missed any thing? But i carnt see how one of the light fittings would cause this and the electrician was just going on what his testing equipment was telling him.

Paying for another electrician to come and give me most likely the same result as what else he could of done i dont know ?

He just said i was getting per light fitting when switched on 2 amps leakage and when all 6 flourecent lights on was close to 5.4 amps .
Recons a internal fault on one of the flourecents but didnt confirm which one .

He was saying that the flourecents are not realiable and led is the best option for me due to this back flow of current and discharge from these fittings as not earthing involved .

Thats the just of what i can remember he said . Was at the premises for 2.5 hours so it was as if he wasnt thorough .

But surely there must be a way of measuring current surge when switching off??

I have nothing more .....