Electrical Fault Finding

1) My trip switch trips and I don’t know why, is it faulty?

If you have a switch that is tripping then there is a likelihood that the switch is faulty. More commonly, there is a fault on the circuit and this can result in the switch tripping instead. The switches are there to protect the circuit, the switches detect issues on the circuit and can then turn the power off if there is a problem.

When we carry out electrical fault finding we look for the causes of a switch tripping. We use sophisticated test equipment to find whatever issue(s) might be causing the switch to trip. We check for hidden problems that may present danger to the installation or homeowners as well.

2) The switch trips sometimes but not all the time, can you help?

The short answer is, sometimes we can yes! There are a number of reasons why different switches will trip. We have produced a help sheet called “help my house is tripping” this will assist you if you are having issues at home with the electrical switches tripping circuits off.

If the fault is intermittent and you cannot re create the fault for us whilst we are there then we may or may not be able to find the issue for you. It depends on the readings we get when we carry out our testing.

Sometimes an intermittent fault will show up as poor readings on our equipment when we check the circuit and sometimes there will be no apparent issue. Generally speaking the worse the problem the easier it is to find.

3) The switch has tripped and now it won’t reset, can you help?

Definitely yes. We will be able to come out and should be able to diagnose the problem circuit very quickly. Our help sheet on the website should be of some use to you. We may need extra time to diagnose the exact location of the fault or we may need to return to carry out further fault finding.

Regardless, we will always try to attend to any tripped switch as quickly as possible.

4) How long does electrical fault finding take and can you give me a fixed price?

Electrical fault finding can take under an hour to several hours. It depends on several factors:

• The type of fault
• The type of circuit
• How accessible all your electrical points are such as sockets, switches and lights
• How much furniture or personal belongings are hindering access
• Whether there are any hidden wiring junctions.

When electrical issues occur, we try and find them as quickly as possible. We solve most issues within the first hour of attendance. When issues are more complicated or involve hidden wiring points then it can take longer. We may have to re-attend once furniture has been moved etc. There are occasions when we have to remove carpets, laminate flooring and floorboards to gain access to wiring junctions.

5) Does my house need a rewire?

During our electrical fault finding it is common to come across many issues that are not yet causing problems but are very likely to in the future. There are rare occasions when we will begin investigations only to find that, in fact, the wiring is so poor that we recommend a rewire. On these occasions we will always have a discussion with you so you understand the reasons behind our conclusions. It is not always possible to tell if a property needs rewiring from looking at one circuit or one area, it is often necessary to carry out a thorough inspection and test to ascertain the condition of the wiring.

6) I have had rodents in the property and now there are wiring problems, help!

Rodents play havoc with the wiring in properties. They love to chew on the pvc on the electrical cables. This can cause irreparable damage to wiring systems and mean a rewire is needed on the property. Rodents can penetrate almost anywhere including, floor cavities, ceilings, lofts, behind kitchen cupboards and almost anywhere else that we run cables in to. As such, it is common to find electrical cables that have been damaged in multiple places requiring substantial repairs or replacements.

7) Can you carry out electrical fault finding and repair the cables?

Yes we can. There are occasions though that if the damage is severe enough that it may be economically more sensible to rewire the property rather than repairing several damaged circuits and cables. We will always talk through your options with you and give you unbiased and honest advice.

8) How much is it?

Please contact us for an estimate or a quote. Electrical fault finding is carried out on an hourly or half hourly basis and as such it purely depends on how long we are on the property getting to the bottom of your issue.

9) I don’t understand Electrical Fault finding, what is it?

It is a sequence of tests that an electrician carries out to find out why a circuit, socket, switch, consumer unit or other electrical accessory is not functioning as intended or at all. The sequence of tests will give us a variety of information. Then using that information and experience, we will be able to being searching for the location of the issue.

Our aim is always to restore your home exactly back how it was found and in lots of cases we do exactly that. In some cases we have to modify a circuit and cut out a bad piece when we find it. Even then, we can usually restore power to all sockets and lights without an issue. There are occasions that we have to undertake a partial rewire in order to sort it out but we will always discuss this with you first.

10) How do I contact you?

If the situation is an emergency then please phone. Our numbers are on the main page of the website. If it can wait or you don’t need us immediately then you can use the contact page of the website and we will receive your enquiry by email. We always respond withing a few hours at most so you will normally get a response the same day.