Disley Electrical

WARNING ELECTRICITY CAN SERIOUSLY INJURE OR KILL.
IF YOU AREN'T SURE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, CALL AN ELECTRICIAN

If part or all of your electrical installation is protected by an RCD, you may find that when you come to reset it after a fault, that it won't reset. There are two common issues here that we deal with quite often, but both can be dealt with quickly, easily and safely by anyone.

1. If your RCD trips, or switches off because of a fault it will need to be reset by simply switching it back to the on position (after the fault has been cleared). On some devices though, on tripping, the mechanical activation doesn't force the switch on the front all the way down. This is difficult to see in the inaccessable and dark places that you often find your consumer unit. When you try to reset by turning it to the on position it will not reset.
   Try this: Simply press the switch all the way to the off position and then back to the on position. Depending on type of RCD you have, this could solve your problem. You wouldn't believe how many times this happens.
2. Usually when the RCD won't reset there is something connected to one of the circuits that is faulty. There is a 4-step procedure to try to identify what appliance or fitting is faulty.
   
   
   1. If there are more than one circuits protected by the RCD you should isolate all the circuits by removing the fuses or switching the circuit breakers off.
   2. Switch the RCD on
   3. If it stays on, switch on the circuit breakers one by one, if it doesn't, call an electrician. While you are turning on the breakers, if it trips out, note which circuit breaker caused it to switch off and identify which circuit is protected by this breaker. This would typically be labled as "downstairs plugs" or some other identifying description.
   4. If it is a 13A plug circuit, go round the house and unplug everything that is plugged into those plugs. Try to reset the breaker; if it sucessfully resets, plug each appliance back in until the breaker trips out again. You've now identified the faulty appliance which should remain unplugged. If this fails, or it isn't a 13A socket circuit causing the problem, call an electrician.