Electric plug socket problem

RaiderHammer

Done something really sill this morning. Decorating a room and undid the screws for an electric power socket to paint around the wall. When i did this I noticed the red (live) wires were loose on the socket back and tried to tighten these without turning the power off... Stupid I know.

There was a crack and I guess a spark and the tip of the screw driver is black along with the connection in the socket inside.

Question is will it be OK to now change the socket with the power off or should the wires really be checked now?

Thanks.

maninthestreet

You're lucky to be still alive - do all the other sockets in the house still work? Probably, at the worst the fuse (or trip switch) in the fusebox would have blown/ tripped to protect the wiring.

RaiderHammer

maninthestreet wrote: »

You're lucky to be still alive - do all the other sockets in the house still work? Probably, at the worst the fuse (or trip switch) in the fusebox would have blown/ tripped to protect the wiring.

Yes realise that... now.

Yes all other circuits I have tried are working.

espresso

Why do you need to replace this socket?

fred7777

RaiderHammer wrote: »

Question is will it be OK to now change the socket with the power off or should the wires really be checked now?

Yes it will be OK to change the socket (with the power off at the fuse box)

The wires will be OK as they are capable of handling the more than the maximum electricity that you would get in a house

RaiderHammer

espresso wrote: »

Why do you need to replace this socket?

I was trying to tighen the wire screw on the back of the wire facelate and it looks like the connection is broken hence why the wire was loose.

espresso

RaiderHammer wrote: »

I was trying to tighen the wire screw on the back of the wire facelate and it looks like the connection is broken hence why the wire was loose.

Unlikely but remove the socket and check it properly before buying a replacement if it is indeed required.

scottishblondie

I know the OP realises what they did was silly, but as a warning to everyone else reading this - turn off the power to the sockets even if you're only unscrewing the faceplate. I've taken off more than one faceplate only to discover that the wires aren't screwed in properly and just come away altogether, which you really don't want to happen when the power is on.

RaiderHammer

Tried to do the replacement today, but there is such a large lump of numnerous earth wires all wrapped together running into the face plate to the metal earth at the back of the socket that they won't even fit in the new faceplate I bought!

Thinking of getting a sparky to do it now, how much are they likely to charge?

Scottishblondie - Very good advice.