Electric Shocks From Light Switch Screws, what to do?

Florence_J

Hi all,

I wasn't sure if this was the best board for this question.

My OH and I live in a privately rented house. For as long as we have lived here we noticed we were getting electric shocks off the light switch in one of the bedrooms. I once reported this to a workman who said dismissively that it was probably static electricity and that was that. We later realised the problem came from when we touched the screw in the light switch.

I have just now had an electric shock from a screw in the light switch by the back door in the kitchen (I touched it by accident) which means there are now at least three light switches in this house that have screws that give you an electric shock if you accidentally touch them.

I suspect all the light switches may be like this but don't really want to check as the electric shock is painful!

This happens if I am wearing shoes, or in socks, or barefoot. It happens in rooms where there are carpets and room where there are tiles. So there is not a clear link.

I suspect this is actually a worse problem then we may have realised and will need to contact our letting agency ASAP, but I don't want to be dismissed with a 'static electricity' claim, so was wondering if anyone had a problem like this in the past and knew what it was?

Any help is much appreciated.

buglawton

Pay an electrician £50 out of your own money to come and test. If there turns out to be a genuine issue you can ask the landlord to pay that back as well as asking him to get it fixed. A good landlord will thank you as it will save his property from a potential fire or injury claim.

jk0

This is occasionally caused by a fixing screw piercing the live wire when tightened. Unless this has happened on all three switches, it sounds like you have a poor earth. The problem might not even be inside the switch you get a shock from.

I suspect it will cost more than £50 to track down. If letting agent won't send electrician, get onto the council.

Florence_J

Thank you both, I think I will have to wait till Monday to do anything but will crack on with it.

Geoff1963

Mains is alternating voltage, so when you touch it, it charges you up and down ; so being insulated helps, but not completely. If you were well connected to ground, it would be more than painful.

As a quick fix : pull the fuse for the lighting circuit, check the lights don't work, and put squares of insulation tape over the screws. About 5 thicknesses should do it.

Can you measure the voltage at the screw, with a voltmeter ( a fiver ? ) ? If you aren't sure you can do this safely, DON'T. If you can, check all the switches, with the relevant light on, and off.

It sounds as if someone has wired a live, into the earth feed for the lighting circuit, so when the electrician ( correctly ) "earthed" the sunken metal box behind each switch, that makes it, and the screws live. Some houses have separate upstairs & downstairs fuses, but if you only have one, its only one mistake.
,

Farway

It is not static, any one who tells you this is just fobbing you off to avoid work

The causes are as some have said, pierced the live wire or just incorrectly wired. My money is on pierced wire, or the earth wire in the switch has not been "sleeved" and is touching a live connection, very likely if older wiring. It was not a requirement years ago to sleeve the bare Earth wire

A cheaper test would be but one of those test screwdrivers you see, with a light on the handle. Hold screwdriver on the screw, with power on. It should not light

The letting agent should get it sorted. If delaying, put it in writing and keep copy to provide a paper trail if needed later

zippychick

Were you able to get this sorted today?

I've moved this to the correct board for you. Hope you get it sorted soon, sounds dangerous!

Zip

Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Florence_J

zippychick wrote: »

Were you able to get this sorted today?

I've moved this to the correct board for you. Hope you get it sorted soon, sounds dangerous!

Zip

Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Not yet Zippy, but will do. Thanks for moving.

Risteard

There is clearly an issue with the earthing of the electrical installation or the lighting circuit(s) in addition to another fault. This is a dangerous situation and must be addressed immediately.

Contact your landlord immediately and demand that the services of a registered Electrician - preferably an NICEIC Approved Contractor - are employed without any delay.

Owain_Moneysaver

You need an electrician.

You shouldn't be able to get even a static electric shock off the mounting screws as (unless they're all plastic mounting boxes) the mounting screws should be earthed through the steel backbox.

baldelectrician

If you live in Scotland the landlord has a legal duty to have the electrics checked and provide you with a certificate.
If you don't the landlord has a duty of care but it may be hard to enforce (but not impossible)


Where are you (roughly)?