Unsure of trip switches on fuse box?

[Damp]

Hey folks

I'm in a bit of a pickle right now, the new house we moved into has this:

what is this switch with the FG on it? when I flip it up it just comes back down again, won't stay up.. all the plug sockets in the walls are dead at the moment so I'm guessing this is the key to getting them back up and running.. is there a fuse in behind this blown or?

no electrical experience but just trying to get my head around this.

thanks so much!

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[Darkwood]

Welcome to the forum

- It is a RCD and looks for earth leakage (electricity leaking to earth), go around all your sockets and unplug everything and see if it resets then also switch off anything you suspect is not working if it is not on a plug like a fused spur for a boiler etc... don't forget fridge, washer and other large kitchen appliances, if it does reset after then plug things in one at a time until you identify what trips it, if you cannot reset it after unplugging everything then you may need an electrician to come in and test the circuits it is covering.
Note your mcb's are off so don't forget to reset them too if the rcd resets.

 

[Damp]

Thank you so much darkwood, that helps a bunch! I have a damp wall so I think that is what is causing it.

 

[Darkwood]

Damp is a possible cause if it has got into the back of a socket for example, if that is the case again an electrician may be needed to confirm and possible bypass the damp wall and get the circuits back on, do not try to rectify yourself as you will not have the required test equipment to ensure you are safe to energise the circuit if you attempted to cure it yourself... without that RCD it is quite likely you would be getting shocks of the wall etc if that is indeed the issue.
I'll reiterate that it is a possible cause and may not be the problem although it is something that need addressing either way, damp causes many problems as I'm sure you are aware already.

 

[Darkwood]

I do hope this was all raised before you bought the house, or are you renting?.. if you have bought it then the previous owner has a legal obligation to disclose an ongoing damp issue, if renting then contact your landlord and/or your local council if they have knowingly rented out a property with damp issues.

 

[Damp]

Hey Darkwood,

any idea what they switch beside it is? would that be the heater switch? it's also on the damp wall and that will flick up but the timer won't switch on.. on that wall.

 

[Darkwood]

RCD's monitor both the Live and Neutral wires and will detect a N/E fault even if the mcb is switched off, this is why turning mcb's off does not always cure the problem, again this is where an Electrician would be needed. I cannot second guess what each circuit does, all installs are different to some extent, if it is not marked up then your guess is as good as mine on that note.

 

[Damp]

That's 100%, was just curious .. but i will indeed get a spark into do the work on it.

 

[Damp]

Something else just came to mind, how do these work compared to fuses? like you put a 30amp fuse etc into stuff, are these set somehow else? are they marked on the back or ?

 

[Darkwood]

The big double width unit with the test button is the RCD it just watches for earth leakage and will cover usually all the circuits on its immediate left or right (depending on the fuseboard brand), the slimmer units are mcb's and monitor for overload and short circuits, they are the same as a fuse but can be reset, if you are interested in how they work then it would be simpler to google it then me go into a lengthy explanation.