Tripped switch - Why's it tripping?

GreenHorn

I was away all day yesterday and came home to find none of my sockets working... I checked fusebox and the switch in the top left (think it says RCD or RDC on it) was tripped but won't reset... No sockets working upstairs or downstairs but the lights are grand...

Also, I have a mouse (or mice) in my kitchen. Noticed the signs y'day morning before I left so set some traps. I also plugged one of those anti-rodent thingys in in the kitchen (it had been in the hall), could this yolk have caused the switch to trip?

Or, as I fear, has one of those furry li'll bastards chewed up somwhere he shouldn't have... I fukn hate the things...

Any ideas? Should I just call the Sparks?!

eoghan.geraghty

The RCD is detecting a fault to earth.
Flick down all the MCBs, these are the ones which only take up one space.
Flick up the RCD.
It should now stay up.
One by one flick up the MCBs,whichever one trips the RCD is the circuit causing the problem.
Flick this MCB down again, reset the RCD and keep trying the remaining MCBs, just to ensure you have only one faulty circuit.
By checking all sockets with a radio you should be able to see which group of sockets contain the problem.
Unplug everything from this circuit.
Flick up this MCB again, if RCD stays up you know it was an appliance causing the problem, in which case plugging everything one at a time will identify the culprit.
If RCD trips again, double check that you have everything unplugged from this circuit and try again.
If everything is unplugged, the problem lies behind the sockets.
Possibly moisture ingress if in the kitchen, possibly loose/broken connection.
You could open sockets to investigate if you feel confident, remember power to them is off.
This problem is usually caused by an appliance in the kitchen, fridge,washing machine, toaster etc and your new anti rodent thingy would be in the list of suspects.
Let us know how you do.

GreenHorn

Will do - that's great, thanks alot!

GreenHorn

Sorry for going on, but something eoghan said in his reply just triggered with me:

It could be dampness?

Well, y'day mornign I also noticed that water is coming out of my overflow pipe outside from the tank in the attic (doesn't rain but it pours, eh) - some the houses in my estate were fitted with incorrect fittings on their tanks by the dumb, corner-cutting, d*ckhead builder which meant they wore away eventually and had to be replaced - is it possible this water is leaking in my attic or down the inside of my wall???

the piece in question is on the ball cock, a ring or something... I'm even more worried now

Lex Luthor

eoghan.geraghty wrote:

The RCD is detecting a fault to earth.
Flick down all the MCBs, these are the ones which only take up one space.
Flick up the RCD.
It should now stay up.
One by one flick up the MCBs,whichever one trips the RCD is the circuit causing the problem.
Flick this MCB down again, reset the RCD and keep trying the remaining MCBs, just to ensure you have only one faulty circuit.
By checking all sockets with a radio you should be able to see which group of sockets contain the problem.
Unplug everything from this circuit.
Flick up this MCB again, if RCD stays up you know it was an appliance causing the problem, in which case plugging everything one at a time will identify the culprit.
If RCD trips again, double check that you have everything unplugged from this circuit and try again.
If everything is unplugged, the problem lies behind the sockets.
Possibly moisture ingress if in the kitchen, possibly loose/broken connection.
You could open sockets to investigate if you feel confident, remember power to them is off.
This problem is usually caused by an appliance in the kitchen, fridge,washing machine, toaster etc and your new anti rodent thingy would be in the list of suspects.
Let us know how you do.

excellent info there....
one for the favourites

10-10-20

GreenHorn wrote:

- is it possible this water is leaking in my attic or down the inside of my wall???

Yes, it could be, but you would want to be very unlucky. The overflow pipe should allow the water to exit the tank before it overfills and damages your property.

But, it could also be the fried body of a mouse lying across the exposed live and earth wires though...

Stoner

if you just follow eoghans good advice, you should be able to narrow down the problem

GreenHorn

Have done that - and have narrowed it down to the kitchen... I've also caught two mice and have an exterminator coming out tomorrow...

Little furry b*stards, good god I hate them...

Thanks again fro the advice and anyone with any more please feel free to add it, this is an ongoing process!

djmc

Could be dishwasher or cooker switch off wall switch if you have one if every thing is switched off and it is still triping it must be behind wall fault
If you stand in the kitchen in the dark all lights off and have someone else filck up the switch thats tripping you might be lucky enough to see a small flash and a pop where the problem is