Really Weird Electricial Problem?

JOHNPT

What would be the cause of the following problem- all the lights sockets work in apt but when the immersion is turned on the lights flicker and all power goes off fo five mins but comes back on again. It only happens wen immersion is turned on. Now if it was a faulty immersion surely the trip switch would trip but nothing is down on the board. The power just comes back on again after around 5 to 10 mins. The apt is in a group of apts 20 years old.

10-10-20

I'm going to hazard a guess at a marginal connection at the main board.

Steve

10-10-20 wrote: »

I'm going to hazard a guess at a marginal connection at the main board.

I'd agree. Could be a busbar or cable heating up and moving off a loose connection.

JOHNPT, I'd get an sparks in to check the fuseboard, not really a DIY job unless you're experienced.
I don't want to scare you but if it *is* a bad connection then it could be a fire risk.

fishdog

Now if it was a faulty immersion surely the trip switch would trip

Not true! The MCB will only operate for certain faults, they will not test the integrity of your immersion. By not triping it tells you that:
1) There is no short circuit
2) Overload conditions have not been present for long enough (can be several hours) for the MCB to operate.
If the MCB is not faulty!

The MCB would not test the quality of your connections, which I would suspect your problem is.

The only thing that your lights, sockets and immersion have in common (within your house) is your distribution board (fuse board). As the last 2 posters pointed out: This is where your problem is, if this is not an ESB problem (which I doubt)

The first thing I would do as an electrician is check all of the connections in the board.

This problem needs attention, a bad connection with a large load passing through it (the entire house) is a fire hazzard. Call an electrician, it sounds simple enough to fix.

dolittle

sounds like a loose neutral problem
but i have seen a problem once where it was a loose live connection at the esb meter, it took 5 turns to tighten it

fishdog

sounds like a loose neutral problem but i have seen a problem once where it was a loose live connection

There is an equal chance that it could be either.

Andrea B.

Seen similar issue and in that particular case it was a loose DZ fuse. If removing, check for burn marks and sand down if there are.

dolittle

fishdog wrote: »

There is an equal chance that it could be either.

i was more trying to say that the problem could be on the esb meter side
but i suppose it did sound like it could rain or be dry today

Bruthal

Loose connection somewhere in mcb board or out on ESB supply. Most likely your own board. Check main fuse in your mcb board first, is it getting hot, might not have been screwed in tight

A few weeks ago i seen a friends house with same problem. Was actually the loop from next doors ESB main fuse into friends main ESB fuse. Cable leaving next doors ESB main fuse was loose,

enmac

robbie7730 wrote: »

Was actually the loop from next doors ESB main fuse into friends main ESB fuse. Cable leaving next doors ESB main fuse was loose,

Robbie,

are you saying that the main esb cable loops from house to house
i thought all esb connections were from a definite connection point such as a pillar etc

Bruthal

yes at the time they brought 1 25 x 16 concentric cable into one esb main fuse unit, and looped out of that into next doors main esb fuse unit which was just on the other side of that wall. They do have pillars in garden walls but a lot of the houses just had one cable feeding 2 if the 2 house meter positions were on a wall back to back. I would`t say its done now. These houses were built in 70`s, or early 80`s.