UPDATED May 2024
Sometimes electrical faults can be hidden behind walls, in lofts, floor cavities, junction boxes and so on. We regularly undertake fault finding for our clients, insurers and home emergency companies.
The photograph here shows a clients home that we were called to. The fault was narrowed down to a faulty socket behind a kitchen cupboard. In order to get to this we had to cut a large hole in the back of the cupboard. But we found the issue and fixed it. 😊
Back to top1) What Kinds of Electrical Faults can happen?
- Shorting out
- Plug socket failure
- Wall Switch won’t turn off
- Tripping Electrical Box
- Bad Fuse Box Problem
- Sparking wall sockets
- Fishy Burning Smell
There are many different kinds of electrical faults that can occur and we are here to try and help with these so read on and find out what can happen and why.
Back to top2) Shorting Out
Inside most electrical cables there are several wires that sit very closely together. The Line (hot or live) wire sits alongside the Neutral and between them is often the Earth (ground). These wires all sit with each other inside a cable and there are mostly no issues. When something happens that causes these wires to touch or become damaged they can ‘short out’. This is a situation where two wires that would not normally be connected together are suddenly connected. Line and Neutral is the typical ‘shorting out’ problem. When Line and Neutral touch there is a massive fault current created caused by the low resistance of these wires without electrical equipment in between them.
This ‘shorting out’ will often cause a loud bang, cable damage and a trip switch in the consumer unit or fuse in the fuse box to blow. This situation is dangerous and should not be left without some investigation by an electrician.
Shorting out can sometimes be caused by a nail or screw being accidentally inserted into the cable, a common occurrence during DIY activities. Faulty appliances or wiring accessories can also occasionally short out. Your local fault finding electrician should be able to ascertain the cause of this without too many issues.
Back to top3) Plug Socket Failure
When a plug socket fails there are various problems that can occur. The symptoms of a plug socket failing can include:
- Plugs on equipment not fitting in the wall socket correctly
- Plug socket not accepting a plug anymore
- Blackening around the plug socket
- Discolouration or cracking across the face of the plug socket
- Crackling or Popping noises from the plug socket
- Being warm or hot to the touch indicating overheating problems
Pins becoming stuck in the socket
The plug socket shown here has failed due to poor wiring in the plug top itself. The plug top supplied a dishwasher and used a great deal of power, a situation that would normally be absolutely fine. The previous owners of the dishwasher had wired a new plug on to the cord so they could install the dishwasher more easily and that is where things began to go wrong. If you need help wiring a plug on to a cable then we have a great article here.
Back to top4) Wall Switch Won’t Turn Off!
When you have a wall switch, light switch or fused switch that will not turn off, it can be a scary situation. The reason for a wall switch not turning off can be that the internals of the switch have broken down and become jammed. This will mean that the electrical contacts inside the switch cannot separate from each other to break the electrical circuit when you press the switch. This is a potentially dangerous situation and something that you should ask your electrician to come and fix for you.
The best way of repairing a wall switch is NOT TO. They are inexpensive and not generally repairable so replacement is nearly always the best way. Other switches are not generally repairable and in most cases with any wall switch that has failed, the best method for restoring power or operation to the electrical system is to have your electrician replace the affected item.
Back to top5) Tripping Electrical Box
When your electrical box begins to trip many people can feel frustration at the switch that will not stay up. One of the most common mistakes people make is continually resetting the switch that is affected.
This is a very BAD IDEA.
When a switch trips repeatedly it is telling you that there is an electrical fault somewhere in your system and that it should be investigated. The switches in your electrical box are there to protect the electrical installation and to protect you and your loved ones from fire, electric shock and other serious consequences of faulty electrics.
In fact, it is more often than not that the switch is just fine and the issue lies somewhere in the home instead. This could be a faulty appliance or a faulty cable in the floor, ceiling or wall. The trip switch will eventually fail if you continually reset it and this is not the situation that you want as many are now obsolete and parts can be hard to source.
If you have a tripping electrical box then check out our other article for help!
Back to top6) Bad Fuse Box Problem
Many of our homes electrical systems have not been updated for several decades. Fuse boxes are now a very old form of electrical protection in the home and have not been installed for around 40 years. If you still have the old fashioned style fuse box then it is definitely time this was upgraded for a modern consumer unit containing trip switches and electric shock protection devices.
When a fuse box goes bad, absolute mayhem can ensue.
These older style fuse boxes can overheat and burn out even resulting in a fire. Many of these older boxes were made of wood with a plastic type lid that fitted over the top. This was not an ideal material to construct these from as wood burns rather easily and plastic will also melt or burn under the right conditions.
There are a few issues with these older style boxes:
- An electrician is never called to check them for safety
- Connections can work loose over several decades risking fires
- Parts are obsolete, often expensive and hard to find.
- The technology is old and better is available
- When these boxes fail, complete replacement is the only way to restore power is many cases
The newer consumer unit boxes can also go bad at no notice. There are a few brands that we seem to regularly replace the Mains Switches for inside these consumer units. The internals of one particular brand just seem to fail even without the exacerbation of loose incoming cable connections.
Back to top7) Sparking Wall Sockets
When wall sockets spark it can be terrifying! Generally plug socket flashing is not a good thing and is something that your local electrical fault finding specialist should be called to investigate.
Flashing, sparking, popping and banging from wall sockets are bad noises, electrically speaking, and should not be occuring in a healthy system. These noises indicate that there is a breakdown in the equipment, the wiring or the connections between them both.
Safely Connecting Equipment to plug sockets?
There is an occasional spark if an appliance is plugged in to a wall socket without first turning the appliance into the ‘off’ position. Once the appliance is in the off position and the plug socket is in the off position, they are both in the ideal state to connect to the electrical system. Once physically inserted into the plug socket, the plug socket can be turned on and the appliance can then be turned on.
Back to top8) Fishy Burning Smell
Once you have experienced the smell of electrical burning you will never forget it. The smell is simliar to very strong fish, chemicals or plastic melting. It can be hard to pin down this issue in the first place but once found, the cause can be determined.
Electrical burning is caused by overheating. This overheating can be caused by a whole variety of things such as:
- Excessive power consumption on the circuit
- Loose connections leading to high resistance
- Failing equipment
- Undersized cabling for the equipment being powered
Abuse of the electrical system
The connections on this isolator switch had overheated and caused a fishy burning smell due to a small electrical fire. The resultant problem was fixed by replacing the whole enclosure and switch for a more modern one. This issue caused power loss to the whole home and took 2 hours to rectify. It appears that the switch had been installed poorly in the first instance as we can see bare copper leaving the top cable terminal which is not right.
Back to top9) Avoiding Electrical Faults?
The best way to avoid an Electrical Fault occurring and ruining your evening or weekend is to have an inspection carried out on your electrical system every 10 years. This will allow electricians and yourself to see certain issues before they become a problem that plunges your home into darkness. Electricians can let you know the condition of your home's electrical system before you carry out major home improvements like a new kitchen, new flooring, plastering and decorating and so on.
We find that a lot of emergency calls we attend have electrical installations that have NEVER been inspected since their installation and commission when the house was built. This can lead to years of neglect and problems going unnoticed whilst growing in severity! Not every electrical fault can be seen.
If you cannot find a sticker near your consumer unit or fuse box detailing when the last inspection was carried out, or if the sticker is years out of date then it’s best to give us a call. We will inspect your home in detail and provide you with a thorough report alerting you to any issues. Its always best to find an Electrical fault before it becomes a major problem.
Give us a Call today:
0151 351 4011
