Hugh Manatee
Veteran
A strange thing just happened. Our shower has broken. The pull switch doesn't pull. I isolated the shower circuit via the fuse box and had a look inside the thing. A small plastic component had failed so I went out just now and got a similar switch rated at 50A.
I am not a spark but figured if I drew the wiring and took photos I should be able to cope. It all looks fairly logical with a L and N In and Out and an Earth clamp taking a wire from each. Checking no fool had flipped the switch back on in an attempt to claim on my life policy (no they hadn't) I undid the five screws holding the cables into the switch. I then removed the old switch and was just putting the cables through the base plate of the new switch when, out went the lights!
Not mine thankfully, it just went a bit darker. The main breaker had flipped to OFF. I should add nothing happened at my end. No bang or flash or smoke or anything at all.
What do you think might have happened? Was the power outage a coincidence? What else might have caused it?
I have decided to down tools anyway and get a spark in to have a look. I really hate electrickery and don't want to take any chances with it. To repeat, the shower was isolated. The main L and N wires look fine to me with no sign of heating. The earth wires look to me a bit weird and felt as I undid them as if they were much shorter lengths?
I am curious and just want to know what happened.
Thanks in advance.
I am not a spark but figured if I drew the wiring and took photos I should be able to cope. It all looks fairly logical with a L and N In and Out and an Earth clamp taking a wire from each. Checking no fool had flipped the switch back on in an attempt to claim on my life policy (no they hadn't) I undid the five screws holding the cables into the switch. I then removed the old switch and was just putting the cables through the base plate of the new switch when, out went the lights!
Not mine thankfully, it just went a bit darker. The main breaker had flipped to OFF. I should add nothing happened at my end. No bang or flash or smoke or anything at all.
What do you think might have happened? Was the power outage a coincidence? What else might have caused it?
I have decided to down tools anyway and get a spark in to have a look. I really hate electrickery and don't want to take any chances with it. To repeat, the shower was isolated. The main L and N wires look fine to me with no sign of heating. The earth wires look to me a bit weird and felt as I undid them as if they were much shorter lengths?
I am curious and just want to know what happened.
Thanks in advance.