My Ring Mains RCB keeps tripping out.

ronbeal

If anyone has experienced a similar situation some advice would be appreciated. Two evenings ago my household electricity 13 amp power supply tripped out although our electric lights section wasn't effected just the 13 amps section for the ground floor and upstairs. I disconnected every socket in the house but still could not get the power back on. only after approx 20 minutes of continual trying to flip the breaker switches I was able to get the power back on. only to have it switch off again half hour later. I then discovered after plugging back in the sockets one by one that having some sockets unplugged we were able to get the power back on. It appears that with quite a few sockets in use I could get the power back on upstairs but not able to get it back on the ground floor or (and this is strange ) the downstairs section but not the upstairs, it seems I can have which ever section I want on but not both together, I find by disconnecting some sockets I can turn on both sections. the sockets I choose to disconnect can alternate as well. Yesterday I called in an emergency electrician who saw the problem for himself and was completely baffled. he spent just over an hour checking my Hager RCD breaker box but said he couldn't find anything wrong with it, but when he put the front back on the box everything then was working fine, He packed up and left saying if he has to come back again then the next step would be for him to strip down every socket in the house. last evening it went again and is still the same now. The house was rewired just six years ago and I'm worried sick what it's all going to cost me. My own uneducated guess would be that the Hager RCD breaker box is faulty but the electrician thinks it probably isn't, but of course he doesn't exactly rule it out.can anyone throw any ideas my way. Thanks for taking the time to read this thread..


I've had the RCD breaker box replaced and now all resolved.
cheers. Ron.

joed

You sound like you are in the UK? Most people here are from North America. Our wiring is very different. I believe an RCD is what we call a GFCI here. Trips on tiny current leaks and installed near water sources(sinks, tubs etc.) to prevent electrocution.
Are any of the receptacles on the ring outside. Could be water, moisture, bugs in one of them tripping the RCD.

ronbeal

Hi joed, thank you for your response, yes I am in the UK. you are spot- on to suggest I could have equipment connected outside near a water source. I do keep a fish pond water scene in my garden, which today to my dismay I discovered the junction box located by the pond was full of rain water, which of course normally would suggest this would likely be the cause of the problem. I have now replaced the connection and made certain it is watertight and find it is not blowing the trip when I turn it on. Whereby I find other sockets when being turned on are still setting off the trip, for instance if I turn on the switch to my computer with say my Tumble dryer switch in the on position it will trip the breaker even with the pond socket pulled out. or if I disconnect the socket to the Tumble dryer I can then turn on the computer. this is really weird. could it be a possibility that maybe the junction box to the pond being full of water had perhaps damaged the RCD box. what do you think?
cheers
Ron

joed

Now you have gone beyond my knowledge of UK wiring. It does sound like some interconnection between those two circuits may have gone wrong. Do they both go through a common junction box somewhere? Perhaps a cross connection was made in that box by mistake?

ronbeal

I have posted this thread as a conclusion in case anyone might be interested in discovering what the problem was. Today I had to call in an Electrical Engineer as the supply completely packed up,and discovered that my guess had been correct all along. The RCD was infact faulty. It has been replaced now and all is fine.
cheers.