Electric Socket Went Bang - help on fixing please

DIYhelp76

Below are photos showing the ADS existing wiring in the wall 

DIYhelp76

PS.  Just another quick question as well, from the photo, you may just be able to make out that the earth cable which is "earthed" (wired into) the metal mounting box, looks as if it comes only from the cable coming in bottom left into the box, this looks like it has been folded/doubled back on itself and then had an earth sleeve put on it and wired/earthed ot the mounting box (lower right side).  Does this seem to be correct please? Thanks in advance.

chris_n

Does the ADS still work if you remove the fuse from the oven FCU? What type of hob do you have?
Bit of a weird way of doing it but the earth for the backbox is fine.

Ectophile

There's nothing really wrong with an oven being on a socket circuit, provided it's rated at no more than 3kW.  My oven came with a fitted 13A plug, and is plugged into a socket added by the electrician when the kitchen was redone.

Most houses have a separate cooker circuit, whick is necessary for anything over 3kW.

FreeBear

DIYhelp76 said: There may be worse...  When re-wiring the ADS, I noticed three "incoming" cables (visible in the photo).  Two come from the top down.  One comes the bottom left in, looking like it's coming through the wall.  Looking behind this ADS to see where this cable might come from, there is wall which is shared with an external wall where there used to be an outside toilet (no longer in use - used as garden storage).  In that outside loo is a removed brick in the wall with a cable running out of what looks suspiciously like the same location as the ADS, which powers an outside power socket on the wall in the garden (used for garden mower).  I am now not sure whether this is "okay"/safe, if it is being run from that same socket.

Outside sockets should be RCD protected for your own safety. Ideally, on a separate circuit so that when it trips, it doesn't take the rest of the house down with it.

DIYhelp76

Hi chris_n

Many thanks.  Re removing the fuse from the FSU, I don't know.  I need to get that socket tester first (hopefully today) to check the ADS is wired in okay. Then I'll test it with and without the fuse in the FSU and report back.  I'm a bit phobic of touching that ADS until I know it's safe.  I can vividly remember the "bang" from before....need to psych myself up :-)

It's a gas hob which has an electric ignition.  This must run on the same circuit because the ignition also went down after the "Big Bang", but is working again now there is a new fuse in the FSU (seems like that FSU operates the oven, the hob ignition and the overhead cooking extractor).

DIYhelp76

Hoping to get the socket tester today. There's quite a few different specs e.g. CAT II and CAT III.  Will any old basic cheap one do - does it matter if it's CAT II or CAT III, so long as it's a "13 Amp Socket Tester"?

Risteard

FreeBear said:

DIYhelp76 said: There may be worse...  When re-wiring the ADS, I noticed three "incoming" cables (visible in the photo).  Two come from the top down.  One comes the bottom left in, looking like it's coming through the wall.  Looking behind this ADS to see where this cable might come from, there is wall which is shared with an external wall where there used to be an outside toilet (no longer in use - used as garden storage).  In that outside loo is a removed brick in the wall with a cable running out of what looks suspiciously like the same location as the ADS, which powers an outside power socket on the wall in the garden (used for garden mower).  I am now not sure whether this is "okay"/safe, if it is being run from that same socket.

Outside sockets should be RCD protected for your own safety. Ideally, on a separate circuit so that when it trips, it doesn't take the rest of the house down with it.

All socket-outlets - not just external ones - should be RCD protected (with a rated residual operating current not exceeding 30mA).

DIYhelp76

Update - socket tester used - got the right number of green lights!  Thx everyone for the advice given on here.  Needless to say I'll be regularly examining any extension leads I plug in in the future!

Re the external socket, it's one of those proper ones for outdoors which as a built in RCD, I think, so hopefully this will be okay - or better than nothing!