Blackened socket

Ally Dick · 12-06-2016 8:21am #1

Sorry if this sounds a bit thick. I am no expert. We lost power to all sockets last night. I went to the fuse box and one of the switches was down, so I pushed it back up...and everything came back. I was none the wiser...until I went to bed...and noticed I had plugged in a phone charger earlier in the bedroom. The charger was no longer working and there was a black stain around the socket. Is the socket dangerous now? Or is it the charger that is beyond repair? Would my pushing the switch in the fusebox have caused the blackened socket? Should I be concerned?

12-06-2016 8:35am

I would recommend that you get a competent person (an electrician would be best) to replace the socket. Most likely the phone charger failed, shorted internally, causing the device in your board to trip.
I would expect that the phone charger is beyond repair.

Was it a cheap aftermarket phone charger?

crasy dash · 12-06-2016 8:40am

Best thing you can do is post a few pictures if you can without a picture its hard to give advice.

Could be a couple of possibilities

1.Charger might developed a fault and been damaged (just damaging itself and only it needs to be replaced)

2.Charger malfunctioned and melted the socket.(socket needs to be replaced by rec)

If you can post a picture it would help

2011 posted as I did so ignore mine sound advice by him.

Ally Dick · 12-06-2016 12:34pm

Thanks. I was successfully able to use the socket to plug in another charger, and it worked fine. The original charger is beyond repair. It worked fine for several years. Having said that, may not have been a top brand !

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brightspark · 12-06-2016 1:18pm

Unless I'm mistaken, That arc looks as though it travelled from the neutral to the earth pin?

If it has it's likely that the socket has the wrong polarity.

You should get an electrician to check it out anyway, personally I'd replace any socket showing any damage, they aren't expensive.

Mr Magnolia · 12-06-2016 1:20pm

Looks like an phase neutral to earth fault. It's possibly been caused by the charger. I'd leave that circuit isolated, turned off at the switch board until you get an electrician to look at it. I'd also throw that charger out, it's odd to have an earth in a phone charger in my experience...

Risteard81 · 12-06-2016 1:20pm

Even though the socket outlet appears to be working normally it must now be considered to be beyond serviceable life and replaced by an Electrician.

brightspark · 12-06-2016 1:34pm

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Looks like an phase to earth fault. It's possibly been caused by the charger. I'd leave that circuit isolated, turned off at the switch board until you get an electrician to look at it. I'd also throw that charger out, it's odd to have an earth in a phone charger in my experience...

I agree but isn't that arc going to what should be the neutral?

Mr Magnolia · 12-06-2016 1:36pm

brightspark wrote: »

I agree but isn't that arc going to what should be the neutral?

It is actually yes.

brightspark · 12-06-2016 1:43pm

I expect the phase and neutral wires have been mixed up in the socket. There wouldn't normally be enough potential difference to cause that arc between the neutral and earth unless there are other issues of course.

Ally Dick · 12-06-2016 3:38pm

That socket is in a rarely used box room and is only ever used to plug in an iron normally !

Mr Magnolia · 12-06-2016 3:50pm

Ally Dick wrote: »

That socket is in a rarely used box room and is only ever used to plug in an iron normally !

Doesn't matter. Its a fire hazard. Get it checked out. Better safe than sorry.

Ally Dick · 12-06-2016 3:52pm

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Doesn't matter. Its a fire hazard. Get it checked out. Better safe than sorry.

Definitely will do that. Thanks

Ally Dick · 12-06-2016 3:54pm

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

I'd leave that circuit isolated, turned off at the switch board until you get an electrician to look at it

Thanks again. Quick question - should every socket have a flick switch that can be turned on and off ?

Mr Magnolia · 12-06-2016 4:22pm

Every socket should be on a circuit with a breaker if that's what you're asking, yes. There maybe a number or sockets on one breaker though.

Ally Dick · 12-06-2016 4:30pm

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Every socket should be on a circuit with a breaker if that's what you're asking, yes. There maybe a number or sockets on one breaker though.

The switch that went down when the fuse went, controls all the sockets in the house as far as I know

Risteard81 · 12-06-2016 9:13pm

I presume it was an RCCB (a type of RCD) which operated.

13-06-2016 7:20am

Risteard81 wrote: »

I presume it was an RCCB (a type of RCD) which operated.

Why?

AndyBoBandy · 13-06-2016 7:26am

brightspark wrote: »

I agree but isn't that arc going to what should be the neutral?

It's actually going from the LIVE to the Earth,

Remember a socket is the mirror of a plug.

I.e. When wiring a plug, the live is on the right (when looking at the open side of the plug) with the fuse, so in the receiving socket, the live is on the left when looking in at the socket.

Edit: Ignore all this, I had a brain freeze moment

exaisle · 13-06-2016 7:32am

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

It's actually going from the LIVE to the Earth,

Remember a socket is the mirror of a plug.

I.e. When wiring a plug, the live is on the right (when looking at the open side of the plug) with the fuse, so in the receiving socket, the live is on the left when looking in at the socket.

No...it's not. When you wire a plug, it's facing away from you..the same orientation as when its in the socket...the arc is from neutral to earth.

AndyBoBandy · 13-06-2016 8:21am

your right, apologies,

Monday morning brain freeze!!

Risteard81 · 13-06-2016 9:03am

2011 wrote: »

Why?

Because we have already been told that it deenergises ALL sockets in the property.

Pete67 · 13-06-2016 12:09pm

I don't believe that the mark on the socket is due to an arc from neutral to earth, unless the socket is wired incorrectly the neutral and earth pins would be at the same potential. If you look at the picture of the dead phone charger you can see a crack in the body that has exactly the same shape as the black mark on the socket. It looks to me as if the charger failed catastrophically and the resultant internal arcing burst the case and expelled smoke and soot through the crack, leaving a mark on the front of the socket.

Anyway in the interests of safety personally I would replace the socket rather than take a chance, it is possible that carbon from the failure of the charger could have got inside the socket and could cause arcing at some future time.

13-06-2016 12:45pm

Risteard81 wrote: »

Because we have already been told that it deenergises ALL sockets in the property.

So it could be a standard RCD as is most commonly used.
Generally speaking tripping the RCD will disconnect all sockets in a domestic installation.

Risteard81 · 13-06-2016 12:57pm

2011 wrote: »

So it could be a standard RCD as is most commonly used.

But that's exactly what I stated!

A standard RCD is an RCCB.

RCD is simply a generic term for the devices, which include RCCBs, RCBOs, SRCDs, PRCDs and others.

What you are referring to as a "standard RCD" is, in fact, an RCCB (residual current circuit breaker).

I stated RCCB to differentiate from, for example, an RCBO (which is also an RCD).

13-06-2016 2:01pm

Risteard81 wrote: »

But that's exactly what I stated!

A standard RCD is an RCCB.

RCD is simply a generic term for the devices, which include RCCBs, RCBOs, SRCDs, PRCDs and others.

What you are referring to as a "standard RCD" is, in fact, an RCCB (residual current circuit breaker).

I stated RCCB to differentiate from, for example, an RCBO (which is also an RCD).

You're right, my bad.
I read "RCCB" as "RCBO".

Blackened socket

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