Electrical help, 1 socket not working

kevinm11

StumpyPumpy wrote: »

Just a thought - has your property had an extension? I had a friend who bought a house with one and whoever built it used an "unused" ring from the consumer board to wire it up. It was only much later that they realised that was why the plug sockets in the attic didn't work. It had been disconnected at the board and the wire just shoved behind it :eek:

Either way I agree with the above - get a professional to look at it. Not worth the risk of doing anything else.

SP

It has a conservatory and a garage conversion

Don’t know if these will be linked but also in the lounge there is a double light switch, this isn’t the main switch, 1 switch does upstairs lights and other should do downstairs light but only upstairs switch will work, again I have replaced the switch but same thing happens

kevinm11

Hasbeen wrote: »

Initial evidence points that way? Would have to test current both ways. A spur to a spur with initial connection broken but then that would be two sockets not working?

Alternatively what do you suggest?

I have checked the closest plug socket to the non working one and that works fine and all wires are in place correctly

Browntoa

Has the socket got 2 cables coming into it or one ?

If it's one then it's a poor connection in the socket before the one thats not working in the ring main or the socket it's spurred off from . Or a cable fault between the two (but thats most unlikely although someone could have put a nail or screw through it in a DIY mishap )

Mr.Generous

If your mains board is RCD trip protected there is a simple test an electrician can do to help narrow things down. Basically from what you are describing and my best guess about your level of knowledge / expertise … I'd say time to call in a professional.

Mr.Generous

kevinm11 wrote: »

I have checked the closest plug socket to the non working one and that works fine and all wires are in place correctly

In most properties with 1 socket circuit and solid floors (you can never say all) the wiring for sockets in downstairs rooms comes down from above, the nearest socket in wiring terms may be upstairs if you follow me. Try and imagine the wiring run in a bare bones skeleton of a house - all sockets on a circuit are ringed in together like a chain unbroken to and from the mains board.

There are undoubtedly wiring errors or faults in the property - the light switch you describe sounds like a classic fault during installation in a 2 way switch. very difficult to sort out if you don't understand 2 way switching. Pretty difficult sometimes correcting someone else's work when they have done things you just didn't think of to try (and fail) to get things working.

EachPenny

Hasbeen wrote: »

Initial evidence points that way? Would have to test current both ways. A spur to a spur with initial connection broken but then that would be two sockets not working?

Alternatively what do you suggest?

It could be a radial circuit with the circuit going on to feed a socket or something else which the OP has never used... or there might be a wire buried in the wall with nothing on the far end of it other than a bit of insulation tape.

As you say, there is a certain level of improbability that a ring circuit has failed on both sides (but anything is possible) but this and other more complicated scenarios need to be ruled out.

The OP needs an electrician, especially if lights are also not working as expected.

Cornucopia

As always with electrical issues, work must be undertaken by a competent person. The easiest way to ensure this is to get an Electrician.

These "in the wall" electrical faults are not easy to diagnose, especially if there are no test tools available.

pmartin86

As has been mentioned numerous times on this forum, all electrical work should be "carried out by a competent person" - asking advice on a public forum is at odds with that.


Why are so many people willing to risk their lives, their families lives, the houses and so on for the sake of a days rate of a professional that knows what their doing over "that sounds about right" mentality....

Jackmydad

EachPenny wrote: »

It could be a radial circuit with the circuit going on to feed a socket or something else which the OP has never used... or there might be a wire buried in the wall with nothing on the far end of it other than a bit of insulation tape.

As you say, there is a certain level of improbability that a ring circuit has failed on both sides (but anything is possible) but this and other more complicated scenarios need to be ruled out.

The OP needs an electrician, especially if lights are also not working as expected.

Or it could even be as I found once, that the socket was wired directly into the lighting circuit (which was on a rewireable fuse at the CU), and the bodge to do that had failed.

As you say. Time to get a sparks to the job.

onomatopoeia99

kevinm11 wrote: »

No never worked since we have moved into this house the previous owners put a extension lead through the wall plugged into socket in next room,

Could even be that the house has been rewired and that socket was part of the old wiring that was not replaced, so the cables disappear into the loft / under the floor and are connected to nothing.



I had one like that in my house, took me ages to trace all the cables and discover they just stopped in the loft.