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Ask The Trades › DIY Forum › Electrical Questions › Cant trace the problem

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Cant trace the problem (Read 5119 times)

ch56esh

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Cant trace the problem
Nov 22^nd, 2013, 12:23pm

I get an intermittent power outage. It effects plugs but not lights. The main trip (big central grey one) trips on the fuse box and can only be reset by flipping all trips to the right of it off, reset it, then bring them all back on.
We have tested, and cannot find any faulty products that are plugged in.
This happens 90% of the time at night, most frequently 3am.
We can go 3 months with no problem and then it will trip 3 times in a week.
Can anyone offer a solution?

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Lectrician Administrator Trade Member Author Offline Ask The Trades Posts: 8814 Total Thanks: 109 For This Post: 0 Braunton, North Devon United Kingdom Gender: Trade: Electrician	Re: Cant trace the problem Reply #1 - Nov 22^nd, 2013, 6:40pm The only way you will really locate the problem (assuming you have been unplugging items and switching things off) is to pay an electrician who has an insulation resistance tester (and the knowledge to correctly use it to fault find). Intermittent faults like this can be a struggle
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CWatters Super Member Offline "Daddy fick it" says James Posts: 5150 Total Thanks: 58 For This Post: 0 Gender:	Re: Cant trace the problem Reply #2 - Nov 22^nd, 2013, 10:21pm 3am is about the coldest time of night. Have you got any outside lights that are wired to the power rings? Perhaps try disconnecting them?
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The_Trician Trade Member Offline Posts: 7721 Total Thanks: 8 For This Post: 0 Gender: Trade: Electrician	Re: Cant trace the problem Reply #3 - Dec 6^th, 2013, 12:15pm Or does the fault coincide with weather conditions? IE - Is there an outside socket or light which is letting damp in somewhere? Is your boiler or water heater connected to your sockets cct? If so, is it timed to come on at 3:0o0am?
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londonman Trade Member Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 1697 Total Thanks: 13 For This Post: 0 Malvern United Kingdom Trade: Cabinet Maker	Re: Cant trace the problem Reply #4 - Dec 8^th, 2013, 9:12am Could it be mice/rats nibbling a cable. Devil of a job to find it if it is. We had the very same in our house a while back. However the sense it is occurring at the same time does suggest causes as mentioned by the others.
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Lectrician Administrator Trade Member Author Offline Ask The Trades Posts: 8814 Total Thanks: 109 For This Post: 0 Braunton, North Devon United Kingdom Gender: Trade: Electrician	Re: Cant trace the problem Reply #5 - Dec 8^th, 2013, 6:57pm Yea, you can tet a cable, get good results, but then you find s length of cable which is just bare copper! Each time the rodent bites or brushes past, it's trips.
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big_all Global Moderator Trade Member Author Offline heeelllooo Posts: 5596 Total Thanks: 10 For This Post: 0 Gender: Trade: Joiner	Re: Cant trace the problem Reply #6 - Dec 9^th, 2013, 9:52pm i have been thinking off something that would be on the same level as the post since you posted this but nowt came to mind except " new environmentally freindly cable thieves" "cable thieves train rodents a apprentices " "no toxic fumes when stripping the cable compared to burning"
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Wine-o GDPR opt-out Total Thanks: 10 For This Post: 0	Re: Cant trace the problem Reply #7 - Mar 27^th, 2014, 3:12pm Sorry to dig up an old thread..But those pics are shocking.. My first thought regards the OP's problem was that it was most likely a fridge freezer..
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