Popping Noise From Socket in Warrington

1) What is that popping noise from my socket in Warrington?

Not good, that’s what that is! Clearly you also expect that the noise is not good! That is why you have looked it up on the internet and are now reading this information about it! If you have a popping noise from a socket in Warrington or surrounding areas then call us.

2) What should I do?

If you are hearing noises like that then go immediately to your fuse board / electrical box / consumer unit and turn off all the electricity. There are switches on the box, if they are marked “sockets” then turn them off. Sometimes they are not marked in which case just turn all the switches off. This will likely turn lights off as well as everything else in your house. If you have an old fuse board with no switches but just fuse wire then you need to turn the main switch off on that.

If you are having trouble turning the power off then call us! We will try and help you on the phone if we can. I feel I must emphasise. If there is a lot of smoke of flames at any point then take whatever action is necessary. It is no good phoning us if there is a fire spreading, this is a situation only the emergency services!!!!

3) What do I do after I have turned the power off?

The best thing to do is check to see if you have home emergency cover under your home insurance policy. This may not be ideal or may no cover you for the problem you are having but it is always worth a phone call.

If you don’t have home insurance or they will not cover you for your problem then you will definitely need an emergency electrician. That is where we come in. We are happy to carry out emergency fault finding and repair for you at almost any time of day.

4) What will you do when you get here?

We will have a conversation with you first to try and find out what has happened. Then we will get stuck in to the problem quickly and resolve your issue as fast as we can. Sometimes we will be able to restore most of your power and then quote for further repairs. There are times when a complete repair is not possible late into the evening for example. There may be times when we need specialist parts in order to complete a repair for you and in this case, we will take payment for any work carried out until that point then provide you with a written quote for further work.

5) Why would my socket make a popping noise?

A popping noise from a socket is often caused by very small explosions (tiny ones). The noise is caused by a large current passing from one part to another. When this happens metal can catch fire briefly, melt and a large noise can result. This happens when a live part touches an earthed part. You can see from the photograph that the live wire has been touching the earth bar at the back of the socket. The result of this is the socket has a hole blown into it by the very large electrical current passing and teeny tiny explosions that occur making that popping noise.

6) That looks really bad, will it cause a fire?

Under the right circumstances, yes. It is important that a noise such as this is taken seriously and investigated immediately. Do not leave it alone if the noise goes away. The chances are that if the noise has gone away, significant damage has been done and a wire has been blown to bits or burnt to bits in the back of a socket. This creates further dangerous issues that need to be fixed by a competent qualified electrician. When a wire is badly damaged sockets may still work depending upon the type of wiring that has been installed in your home, but there is still a problem that now is exacerbated by broken wiring.

7) What is the problem if there is no noise or smell?

Damage wiring does not always make a noise or a smell. Cables that have burnt through or been blown to bits with multiple little explosions can cause issues for the electrical circuit. Lots of socket circuits have two live wires that supply it, if one of these is burnt through then the other wire can be severely overloaded and you will never know it until there is a fire.

8) How much will it cost me for the problem to be put right?

It very much depends on the nature of the problem. Our emergency call out rates are on our website under the help sheet section labelled “How much is it” or you can phone or email us for confirmation. Most issues are fixed within the first hour, more serious issues may take 2 or 3 hours to put right and require parts. We will not work beyond the first hour without talking to you first. We always have information to give you after the initial hour and an estimate or quote from them on.

9) How quickly can you get here?

Once we have taken payment for the first hour, we will load our tools and get straight out to you. This normally happens within an hour or two at the most! If it will be any longer than this then we will tell you. If you are calling us at 9am and we have a full day planned then we will tell you. We can always visit within 24 hours if the issue is less urgent, for example just one circuit has failed. We are happy to investigate a popping noise from a socket anywhere anytime. We cover all areas from Leigh to Liverpool along the M62 and East Lancashire Road. We can get to Warrington very quickly to assist you and other areas within a few minutes. Noisy sockets? Call us today!