Faulty Sockets

1) The socket picture here is one that we came across when were called to investigate a fault. If you have a faulty socket, your local Liverpool Electrician can help.

The socket had stopped working and when we took it off to check the wiring in the back we discovered that all the cables were nice and tight and there were no problems.

We removed the socket completely from the wall and then saw this very discreet issue here. The socket had gotten hot and we can see that there is a small melted hole in the back of the socket. The plastic at the rear of the socket had melted away.

2) My sockets aren’t working is this what has happened?

No, not necessarily. There are many reasons why a socket or several sockets can fail and only a qualified electrician can investigate this properly for you.  There are many electrical tests that we perform on a circuit to ascertain the problems. Your sockets may in fact appear to work perfectly normally but can have hidden dangers to them. We are able to carry out testing for you to find out why you have FAULTY SOCKETS.

3) How much will it cost to fix my faulty sockets?

That very much depends on the type of problem that has occurred with your sockets. For instance, replacing one faulty socket for a customer is likely to fall under our minimum charge plus parts. Our current minimum charge can be found on our website.

If several sockets have failed and require replacing then it will cost more to have this work carried out. Don’t forget as well, we are not simply screwing a new socket on to the wall and leaving!! An electrician is required to carry out some safety testing to ensure that your sockets are safe to carry on using. We will normally produce a Minor Electrical Works Certificate for jobs such as this. This not only gives you peace of mind that the circuit we have worked on is safe but it also lets you know if there are any hidden problems.

4) How much does it cost to fix bad wiring?

Again, this very much depends how much wiring is affected and how accessible it is. If there are sections that require replacing under floorboards or buried in walls then this is quite time consuming to undertake. We will be able to tell what repairs are necessary when we being testing your electrical system and within an hour we are able to either fix the problem or quote to repair the problem. Wiring can be bad due to age or excessive wear and tear. Copper wiring does have a long life if properly maintained but it will eventually fail.

5) My wiring is black and red, is this bad?

No not at all. It does mean that your wiring is likely to be pre-2004 though. The colours of wiring insulation changed in 2004 to blue and brown where black and red were used previously. This does allow us to quickly date an electrical installation. There are other signs of your wirings age and we can estimate any electrical systems age by looking at the wiring. If your home was built in the 60s or early 70s and the wiring has never been replaced, it may need to be done soon. The only way to know the condition of your homes electrical wiring for sure is to have a periodic electrical inspection carried out and a report produced. This will also tell us if you have faulty sockets and what type of faults we may be dealing with.

6) My sockets have never given me a problem before why are they now?

This is a common misunderstanding amongst some of our clients. The perception that everything has been absolutely fine and has now spontaneously and magically gone wrong is not necessarily true. Electrical cables and electrical accessories like sockets can degrade over several years. Insulation around copper wires can become brittle and cracked causing electricity to leak through to earth. Electrical switches and sockets can become loose, worn and have contacts that start to fail. Nothing happens until it happens though. Your consumer unit / fuse board will allow this gradual degradation to happen over many years until the problem becomes severe enough to trip the consumer unit. It doesn’t mean you have never had a problem, it means that the problem has never been quite severe enough to cause a circuit breaker to trip!

7) Can cheap sockets cause problems?

Yes sometimes. Generally all sockets on sale at reputable electrical wholesalers and major retailers are made to a minimum British standard. There is the problem though, MINIMUM standard. Quality can vary wildly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Then there is the issue of fake, cheap, or dangerous imported goods that do not carry the relevant safety markings!! These imitation sockets and switches are often made in factories abroad to no real safety standard and imported to be sold through various channels. The danger with these items is that they can start their lives faulty and just get worse if they are not manufactured to the correct British standard.

As tempting as it may be to purchase that LED flashing all singing all dancing special disco socket with and in built USB charger I would be asking about the safety aspect of such an item!

8) What brands are best?

We are unable to recommend any particular brand but we always use a good quality well-known brand when installing new equipment. The socket shown in the photograph was a well-known brand amongst electricians in the UK. The fact that it has failed does not reflect on the manufacturer but rather the likely use of the socket.  We see sockets fail where people use over the recommended power for each outlet. This commonly occurs in kitchens where high powered appliances can demand big current draw from our electrical accessories. This socket is rated to 13 amps but I believe we found two high powered kitchen appliances being used at the same time in this socket.

There is an overload calculator on our website to do with extension leads. This may be useful to stop you overloading leads, sockets and circuits in your home. Don’t forget, if you are anywhere in Liverpool, or Warrington we cover a large area in the North West and we are happy to help. If you suspect that you have Faulty Sockets then give us a call and let us come and investigate for you before the problem grows.