Testing electrical circuits

There are a number of reasons why you should test electrical circuits, these include:

Checking the consumer unit or fuse box

TURN OFF THE POWER AT THE MAINSWITCH BEFORE CHECKING

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Check for:

  • Damaged casing
  • Exposed wires
  • Damaged wires
  • Burned fuses - remove one at a time and look for damage or burn marks. Make sure you replace each fuse in the correct holder as they will be rated differently based on the load on the circuit
  • If you have re-wirable fuses make sure that the screws holding them in are tight and that the wire is the correctly rated wire and that no one has used a paper clip or other metal - This is very dangerous.
 

If you need to replace or want to change your consumer board you might need the following:

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Check for:

  • Cracks to plugs and sockets
  • Check for burn marks on plugs and sockets

With the power turned off at the consumer unit unscrew the socket and check for:

  • Loose wires
  • Check that an earth is connected to both the back plate, the socket earth and the earth wire coming in
  • Damaged or perished insulation
  • Damage to the back of the socket

For plugs remove the plug top and check:

  • That the correctly rated fuse is used
  • that wires are not loose
  • the plug has no scorch marks and is in good condition
 

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