Help my electric box is faulty!!
This box is often referred to as many different names. A fuse box, a fuse board, a consumer unit, an electric box, a trip switch box and other names. Whatever name you wish to call it these boxes can occasionally go wrong and cause some problems for us in our homes. If you suspect that you have a Faulty Electric Box then you should NOT attempt any kind of repairs yourself. There are times when only a professional will do in order to sort out problems in your home. Electricity is very dangerous and only a professional qualified electrician should work on your homes electrical system.
Back to top1) My electric box is tripping, what's wrong with it?
First of all, just because something in your electric box / consumer unit is tripping does not mean that the box is faulty. It is likely that there is an issue with your homes wiring and NOT NECESSARILY with the electric box itself. A professional electrician experienced with testing and fault finding can help with a diagnosis. There are many issues that can cause an electric box or its switches inside to trip and only a professional electrician can investigate this for you. We use sophisticated test equipment in order to diagnose and trace faults on circuits and within the electrical system. There can be occasions of course when you could just have a Faulty Electric Box or bad components inside. The picture of the older consumer unit in this blog shows a unit that was used many decades ago. One of the components had failed and was causing real problems with the installation. We traced the issue quickly and without fuss. We found and diagnosed the issue within the first hour and provided a quote for repairs to the homeowner. In this instance the homeowner preferred to go with a completely new consumer unit in order to have some peace of mind. Once components become several decades old they have long exceeded any warranty and can fail at any time. We replaced the unit with a modern on pictured in the other photograph on this blog half way through the swap.
Back to top2) The switch won’t stay on and keeps tripping off
There is a help sheet on our website which details what to do when an electric box trips and how to do some basic fault finding yourself to save you time and money. There are many issues that can cause an electric box to trip:
- faulty cables
- damaged cables
- excessive heat
- short circuits
- water ingress into electrical systems
- poor or damaged appliances & so on...
If you have tried our help sheet and your electric is still tripping then you will definitely need to call us so we can come and investigate. Fault finding is charged by the hour and most issues are diagnosed within the hour. Sometimes a fix can be relatively simple, quick and inexpensive, however occasionally there are further works needed to complete a repair and in these cases we will provide a written quote for you.
Back to top3) We have never had a problem before, why now?
Electrical problems can develop at any time and can be a gradual decline in the quality of the electrical system or a sudden and immediate issue that’s causing the tripping. Just because you have never witnessed a problem in the past does not necessarily mean that you have never had problems. Problems can be there and can be hidden. Only a professional can find hidden problems and alert you to potential issues before they cause issues that you will detect yourself.
The best way of detecting these issues before they start to cause nuisance tripping is to have an electrical safety check (EICR) carried out.
4) What is an electrical safety check? How much will one cost?
An electrical check is a safety check that will examine the condition of the electrical installation and its suitability for continued use. An electrical inspector will come and perform multiple tests taking several hours to then produce a report. This report will detail the findings and highlight any dangerous situations, non-compliances with current wiring regulations and any recommendations for improvements.
The electrical safety check is worth paying for. It will give you peace of mind and let you know if there are any issues and what to do to correct them.
5) What about my Faulty Electric Box? Can you fix it?
If you genuinely have a faulty electric box and need it repaired we can give you a quote to do this. In truth, by the time components fail inside electric boxes / consumer units then they are often obsolete and no longer available unless perhaps second hand and therefore no reliable history. We are not always keen to install second hand components into a consumer unit as we do not always know that condition they are in outside of what we can see visually.
We do carry some second hand spares on the van for many different consumer units and can often get things back up and running in an emergency but we offer no guarantee on second hand parts / repairs involving second hand parts for obvious reasons. We will always recommend a replacement consumer unit in the event that NEW parts cannot be sourced
Sometimes issues can be caused by faulty components, loose wiring, old parts and so on. We are happy to investigate for you and get to the source of the problem. If there are issue we will tell you what they are in plain English and tell you what is needed to put it right.
Don’t worry about your home and its electrical system. Have it checked by a professional and let us set your mind at ease. If you think you have a Faulty Electric Box then give us a call and let us help.
