Possible Electrical mess-up - Eek - Urgent Help needed

FreeBear

ChilliBob said: The update is my Dad came back with a tester (screwdriver type) had me put the power back on and test both the brown cables. Both of them lit the screwdriver up, meaning both are live.

I don't know why there are two, or, how to rewier, that's the issue. Some sfuff was together, others not, and being a metal socket, there was some earthing too.

My best guess:
* both blue go go the N at the bottom
* Both live go to the live in
* earth - perhaps one to earth in, one to switch

Those screwdrivers are known as Death Sticks for a reason - If they go faulty internally, you can get a very nasty shock. That and they don't always reliably indicate a cable is live. The neutral wire is a current carrying conductor, and is quite capable of giving you a good shock. Always treat Live (Brown) & Neutral (Blue) as being "live".

Your "best guess" is OK up to a point, but both earth wires should go to the same earthing terminal. If you are thinking of reusing the FSU, both earth terminals are linked.

As to where the two grey cables come from - They are part of your ring main. A loop of cable that comes from your consumer unit and back again linking all your sockets together.

ChilliBob

Thanks. Yeah I guess I meant whether the power was being taken from a socket or the consumer unit. I suppose it doesn't really matter.

No, I think the backing plate idea is the route I'm going down. I can collect the two bits I need from b&q tonight. I just don't understand if there is any implications of:

A. One terminal block of three holes, live-live, earth-earth, neutral-neutral
B. Two terminal blocks each of three, a wire in each hole, just one side. (which surely duplicates the insulation tape setup)

I do need an electrician for other things so this will only be a temporary measure. 

ChilliBob

Oh and thanks for the comment on the testing sticks. Do you recommend anything else, from say b&q, which is safer, but novice proof?! 

ChilliBob

I have one of these, which I guess is just as bad:

https://www.diy.com/departments/b-q-voltage-tester/177924_BQ.prd

I can see this, but no reviews, and I wonder if its just a jumped up version of the same thing

https://www.diy.com/departments/lap-electrical-tester-kit/5059340190976_BQ.prd

TadleyBaggie

I recently have a plasterer and decorator in to repair a ceiling. He disconnected the existing ceiling fan (after switching off the MCB) but forgot to note which wire went where (the lighting circuit was 80's looped type). So he just wired it back with all reds together and all blacks together...MCB wasn't happy when it was attempted to be switched back on. 

Luckily I'm a (lapsed) electronic engineer and still had a multimeter, took me a few minutes to work out which black was actually the switched live!

Ganga

ChilliBob said:

Oh and thanks for the comment on the testing sticks. Do you recommend anything else, from say b&q, which is safer, but novice proof?! 

Yes , an electricians phone number  ,a multimeter is a good safe piece of equipment if you know how to use one and can be bought for about £20 or less .

ChilliBob

Yeah, I figured somebody would say that, my dad does actually have one, which I have used to check to see if AA batteries are empty or not!.. Not sure how I'd use on a live cable though.

Power is on for now, otherwise certain things downstairs dont work, with insulation tape. And a big box and kettle bell, and me, in front of it!

Will get b&q stuff tonight 

FreeBear

ChilliBob said: Oh and thanks for the comment on the testing sticks. Do you recommend anything else, from say b&q, which is safer, but novice proof?! 

https://www.toolstation.com/tis-258-digital-multimeter-with-temperature-probe/p87874 - Requires a little thought before use, but after reading the manual, you should be OK.

ChilliBob

Right, for next time (yeah right, just told the wife, no more bloody ideas involving electrics for a while!) I'll look into this. For now, I know it's live, and I know it's not when I switch of downstairs ring...

So, the wiring of this termination block seems to be my only obstacle to a safe temporary fix. Perhaps the answer is that it makes no difference, perhaps the answer is it's safer, as it's a 'completed' circuit so to speak... 

ChilliBob

This seems only marginally more expensive than Amazon and Toolstation, so possibly a good shout? https://www.diy.com/departments/lap-digital-600v-multimeter/5059340161990_BQ.prd for later