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Thread: Rant!

  1. #1
    LSemmens
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    Default Rant!

    I get home from my trip to find a few power points not working. Check the breaker box, and find that one breaker is off. Turn it on and RCD immediately trips. Go 'round and unplug everything and try again, no joy.
    I spent the day up in the roof tracing out the wiring and disconnecting one section at a time to isolate the fault. I thought I had found it - The AirCond system! Unplugged it and reset the breaker, so far, so good. Power off and re-connect all other items that had been "proven". Turn power on again and head back inside. Plug in usually connected gear power goes out again. Unplug everything again and reset breaker. RCD trips again immediately. I'm back to square one!

    I'll look at it again tomorrow, couldn't be buggered climbing back into the roof again today!
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...



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    faulty RCD??
    __________________________________________________ __
    Statistically, if you wait long enough, everything will happen!

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    Got an external power point anywhere? Could have got wet.
    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

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    LSemmens
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    Checked all of those. What first alerted me was lack of hot water. (Gas igniter on that cct). Water ingress was first suspicion. RCD works fine without that one cct turned on.
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    Since it is a single RCD for all circuits, the leakage on each circuit is cumulative.
    Test with all other circuits off.

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    I had a Bunnings special Deta branded RCD go faulty some months back , intermittent tripping which is the worst kind. At least i got 5 years out of it.

  • #7
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    Good point, Reschs. Will do.
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  • #8
    LSemmens
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    Aaaaargh! Here's the weird part. The cable from the meter box has one joiner and three power points on it (that I can find). One of those is connected to my range hood. IF the RCD and all other ccts are off I can turn on this breaker. which, incidentally, appears to be wired directly to the main (i.e. no RCD in cct). With just the main turned on, and ONLY that cct turned on, the range hood light (which I have turned on to check on operation) flashes at about 20Hz. I unplugged the range hood and all breakers stay set, UNTIL, I put ANY load on that cct and I am back to resetting the RCD and turning off that cct again. I thought I had isolated the fault to one part of the cct and replaced the twin & earth, in case there was an insulation breakdown in that part of the cct? I'm starting to pull my hair out here! Something is obviously feeding this cct but, so far, I'm f***ed if I know where from!!!!!

    update
    Weirder and weirder I ended up running a new cable from the breaker to the first socket and probelm persists with just one socket. thought, socket at fault, so removed socket from cct and connected up the next one, problem persists. I shifted the cable to another breaker as a test and, so far, everything is back to normal.
    Last edited by lsemmens; 19-01-21 at 03:13 PM.
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    You have a hot joint, high resistance, neutral.
    Also check the main earth.

  • #10
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    I wish! All is good at the moment.
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    Is there a plague or nest of black ants / mice behind a power point somewhere ? or a possum nest ?

  • #12
    LSemmens
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    I Wish! That would be easy to fix.
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