Dodgy house wiring - any sparky's about?
 

We moved into our house 14 months back now, and since being here the electrics/wiring have been a bit unpredictable.

Upstairs seems OK, but downstairs seemed to be the main problem, manifesting itself in bulbs and plug fuses blowing every week - its worst in winter than summer, but on the most unacceptable with bulbs/fuses needing replacement every week. :mad:

We've put up with it til now, but this week our brand new £160 Ebac dehumidifier killed itself (replaced lucikly by Ebac), and last night the lights under the kitchen unit started flicking.

This morning, the microwave wont work and just stops and starts during cooking, and the plug socket nearby is fizzing (nothing plugged into it) so i'm getting nervous now.

Anything I should check urgently before calling a sparky in?

What do fizzing plug sockets indicate, dodgy earth or damp wiring?

The kitchen/bathroom was only done in 2003 with all new wiring, new consumer unit for cooker/shower etc

I'm no expert, but it sounds like damps got in somewhere, had a similar problem, when a house i lived in, had been flooded.

Get a sparky in, i would n ot feck around with electrics and i would want to know what is wrong.:)

The socket will be on a ring main, and the fizzing could easily be loose live wires breaking and making contact.
If it were me I'd investigate.
If you don't know what you're doing, get someone in.

Alcazar

Just investigated and it was indeed loose lives - the fizzing socket is on the ring main and feeds the lights and other sockets that were dodgy - on removing the casing the lives wre loose and hanging half way out the socket.

A quick re-tighten and all is well again :)

Mmmm, ring main shouldn't feed the lights unless it's fused down somewhere..... should be completely seperate really....... care to explain what you mean more.....

As above..

Ring mains should be on a 30A fuse or 32A MCB or an RCBO

Lighting should be on its own 5A fuse or 6A MCB or an RCBO

Might be worth having an inspection done, or getting someone to look over it properly.

David

Well i'm crap at house wiring, so only guessing its a ring main. :D

It's a double plug socket in the wall which is linked to all the kitchen sockets as I had to turn them off to do the work on a single fuse in the fuse box thing - the wires into the socket were 2 black (Neutral I assume - it was actually these that were loose), then 2 red (Live I assume), and 2 bare wire (Earth?)

The lights are just cupboard lights - 2 halogen bulbs in the top units, then 2 small flourescant tubes under the top units and they are operated by a fused switch on the splashback. Next to this is another double plug socket.

This top socket and lights/switch are the ones that were not working properly due to the original fizzing socket with loose wires, so I assumed they took their feed from that socket?

If you see what I mena? ;)

Think I will get it seen to though as i'm not entirely happy with how the wiring is at present.

The main supply/fuse box is under the stairs but the previous owners had a kitchen extension, conservatory and garage added. The wiring for the conservatory runs out from under the stairs, through the original outside window (which now goes into the garage and is boarded up except the corner where the wiring is).

This then runs round the garage in square conduit to the back, but then goes outside the garage working its way down the side and then into the conservatory which means there is square conduit running outside at the bottom of the garage wall.

Sounds like a DIY job to me - a sparky (or competent DIYer) wouldn't leave the Earths bare, wouldn't leave a connection that could become loose and would probably be looking to use something a bit more weatherproof for the outside runs.

I would get it checked.... before the big bang :D

IT does at least sound as though the lights are fused down which is good..... and if it's an older installation then it's not uncommon to see bare earth wires..... just cos thats not the way things are done now, does not mean that it's dangerous.... however, it does sound as though it'd be worth having it checked out properly..... but, be prepared cos they may say it all needs re-doing./.......

wire running outside (if normal grey flat and square ..IE T&E) is just plain unacceptable.. will work fine for years, just is unacceptable as per regs.. prepare to tear the house to bits!

If you have a digi cam, take a pic or two of the socket, fuse box etc and email em accross and Ill give you 'my' opinion :)

David