Help! Tried to change the electric socket now fuse switch not switching to on

abbas5001

Hi all,
I am very much in the novice DIY category but normally change electric sockets no problem. Went to change one today and noticed the new socket was not the same as the old one as in neutral and live wires going in different sides so I realigned the wires and thought everything ok. Went back to the fuse box and turned it on.

Next thing there was a spark and small bang noise and the switch on the fuse box labelled ‘Ground floor sockets’ went back down again.  Tried many times to rectify this but the switch just moves back down when I push it up on the fuse box.  

I have also just taken the socket off now and made sure that no wires are
touching and hoped that would rectify it but still the switch slides back down again.

what have I done wrong? Is this something reasonable I can resolve myself or should I call an electrician? Thanks!

Cornucopia

Electrician.   

From what you describe you have been lucky so far not to cause damage or injure yourself.

tacpot12

Please call an electrician. The switch on the fusebox that will not stay up is either a MCB or an RCBO. Either way, trying to turn it on repeatedly was a very bad idea as you could have damaged the MCB/RCBO or the wiring to all the sockets. The idea is that if the MCB/RCBO trips, you find the problem (and recent work is most likely to be the cause), and you rectify the problem before you turn it on again. It is reasonable to try resetting it once, but it if trips immediately, leave it off. 

Any investigation into the work that cause the fault should include following a safe isolation procedure. You need to ensure that the circuit you are working on is fully isolated. The best way to do this in residential properties is normally to turn off the power to the property using the main switch on the fusebox.

The electrician may suggest testing the wiring to ensure it is not damaged and might suggest replacing the MCB/RCBO.

David713

abbas5001 said:

Hi all,
I am very much in the novice DIY category but normally change electric sockets no problem. Went to change one today and noticed the new socket was not the same as the old one as in neutral and live wires going in different sides so I realigned the wires and thought everything ok. Went back to the fuse box and turned it on.

That could well be the problem.
I've seen it before where whoever stripped the wires to go into the socket terminals had cut too deep when taking off the outer sheath of the wiring and had managed to partly cut through the insulation of the inner conductors.
This didn't cause a problem at first but once the wires were moved to route them to the correct terminals, the cuts in the insulation allowed the the conductors to short together.
Leave it to a professional to investigate and rectify.

abbas5001

Thanks all - took everyone’s prudent and common sense advice and I have organised an electrician! 

fenwick458

abbas5001 said:

I have also just taken the socket off now and made sure that no wires are
touching and hoped that would rectify it but still the switch slides back down again.

I would give it the tried and tested whack of a screwdriver and try resetting it again. if that doesn't work, you'll need a new MCB