# RCD switch in fusebox keeps tripping



## rebeller (27 May 2007)

Hi,  Just recently moved into new house ("new" as in newly built). Over the past week the RDC switch in fusebox for sockets has tripped about 5 times. On each occasion there have only been one or two applicances plugged in and drawing power so it doesn't seem likely as if overloading could be an issue.   I have tried plugging in and turning everything on to see if it is a particular appliance causing the problem but as is expected I haven't been able to reproduce the tripping. (it only happens when I'm least expecting it!).  On at least 2 occasions the RDC has tripped when I have plugged in a laptop but with no other appliance (apart from fridge freezer) turned on. I have never had any issues with the laptop at my previous address.  Is this most likely to be an appliance caused problem or would I be better off getting an electrician to check wiring in house?  Any advice appreciated.  Thanks Rebeller


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## mattym (27 May 2007)

*Re: RDC switch in fusebox keeps tripping*

The RCD may be too sensitive, for domestic use it should have a rating of 30mA. What make of RCD is it?


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## rebeller (27 May 2007)

*Re: RDC switch in fusebox keeps tripping*

Thanks for the reply.  "Garo" is the make of RDC (same as all other switches in fusebox) with a 30ma rating.


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## mattym (27 May 2007)

*Re: RDC switch in fusebox keeps tripping*

I had my suspicions that it was GARO. There has been a problem with their RCD being too sensitive. If its a new house i'd advise you to say it to the builder to get the RCD changed. Its not a big job at all, 5 minutes. If not any electrican would do it. They cost about €40 max.


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## trucker26 (27 May 2007)

*Re: RDC switch in fusebox keeps tripping*



mattym said:


> I had my suspicions that it was GARO. There has been a problem with their RCD being too sensitive. If its a new house i'd advise you to say it to the builder to get the RCD changed. Its not a big job at all, 5 minutes. If not any electrican would do it. They cost about €40 max.


i dont believe that too sensitive story....have installed 100's of garo boards and never any problems


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## DonKing (27 May 2007)

*Re: RDC switch in fusebox keeps tripping*

I'd try to get the builder back in to sort the problem. If you have ruled out any appliance causing the short then I would say that the RCD could be faulty. 

It doesn't matter what brand of RCD you have...it could still be faulty.


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## ang1170 (28 May 2007)

*Re: RDC switch in fusebox keeps tripping*

I'd advise you to get it checked out. The problem could be in any one of the RCD itself, the wiring, or an appliance.

As with any safety related item, you need to get it checked out by someone who knows what they're doing to isolate the problem and fix accordingly.


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## rebeller (28 May 2007)

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to get on to the builder (I've just moved in) and ask him to get an electrician to have a look.  Thanks again.


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## mattym (28 May 2007)

In reply to trucker's message, i know for a fact there was a problem with the garo RCD about 12 to 18 months ago as i was involved in trying to  rectify the problem. The problem is very very unlikely to be an appliance and definatley not wiring.


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## ang1170 (28 May 2007)

mattym said:


> The problem is very very unlikely to be an appliance and definatley not wiring.


 
I was using the term "wiring" in the loosest sense of anything and everything between the RCD and appliances. Are you saying you can guarantee 100% there's no current leakage anywhere in any of the circuits under any circumstanecs?

I think the OP is doing the right thing in getting it checked.


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## mattym (28 May 2007)

Well without seeing it you can hardly give a 100% guarantee! If there was an earth leakage on a circuit it would show up constantly and not just occasionaly like this problem.


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## ang1170 (28 May 2007)

mattym said:


> Well without seeing it you can hardly give a 100% guarantee! If there was an earth leakage on a circuit it would show up constantly and not just occasionaly like this problem.


 
You're making absolute statements again. Ever see a situation where something got damp/dried out causing an intermittant electrical problem (for example)? 

Sorry to bang on about this, but I've a bit of a problem about people handing out what seems to be definitive advice on anything safety related when they can't possibly know the exact cause.

You may well be correct, but you can't know for sure.


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## trucker26 (28 May 2007)

let us know how you get on.


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## mattym (28 May 2007)

In my last message i said that i could NOT say 100% what it was. I would not consider that an absolute statement. All i was stating was the probable cause.


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## rebeller (28 May 2007)

Thanks for all the replies. At least it gives me some idea of what I might be facing. I don't want to be responsible for an argument though I'd prefer to err on the side of caution when dealing with electrical issues. Electrician coming tomorrow evening to check wiring in fusebox to see if any sign of current leakage.  Fingers crossed it's something obvious and easily fixed.  Will let ye know what he says.


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## rebeller (30 May 2007)

*Re: RCD switch in fusebox keeps tripping(UPDATE)*

Electricia checked wiring in all sockets and switches in fusebox but couldn't find any obvious problems. He seemed very thorough.  He thinks it might just be an overly sensitive switch which is tripping when any high load item with a transformer type plug (laptop, computer etc) is being plugged in.  He ruled out any safety issue anyway which gives me some peace of mind.  Thanks to all those who took time to reply and offer advice.  Rebeller


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## Towger (30 May 2007)

Are you saying he just had a poke around at the wiring and decided everything was fine?
He should have had the equipment to test the installation and RCD (tripping current) properly, if not, he should have at the very least replaced the RCD.

Towger


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## rebeller (30 May 2007)

Towger said:


> Are you saying he just had a poke around at the wiring and decided everything was fine?
> He should have had the equipment to test the installation and RCD (tripping current) properly, if not, he should have at the very least replaced the RCD.



He plugged some device into all sockets which he said would show if they had been wired correctly or not. (all were correctly wired apparently). He said the RCD switch itself seemed to be working properly. Ultimately, he couldn't find any obvious issue that might explain the tripping of the switch.

He thinks it is appliance related more than wiring.

I know very little about these things but it seems that every qualified electrician has a slightly different way of approaching such problems. Budget is tight but if needs be I could contact another electrician to get a 2nd opinion. There haven't been any problems in past few days though. (unless you count a flooded kitchen caused by blocked waste drainage pipe - but that's a story for another day!!)


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## Leo (30 May 2007)

*Re: RCD switch in fusebox keeps tripping(UPDATE)*



rebeller said:


> He thinks it might just be an overly sensitive switch which is tripping when any high load item with a transformer type plug (laptop, computer etc) is being plugged in.


 
Just so you know, a laptop isn't a high load item.


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## Brooklyn (7 Jan 2008)

Hi, I'm having the same problem, it's a 30ma switch by Legrand. 

It happens maybe once a week and always at night, immediately after I've turned *off *the switches on the sockets that my computer is plugged into. I use two surge-protected extension leads, one with three items plugged into it and the other with two items. Any ideas what's going on here, I don't understand why it happens when I turn the switches off


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## ClubMan (7 Jan 2008)

Brooklyn said:


> It happens maybe once a week and always at night, immediately after I've turned *off *the switches on the sockets that my computer is plugged into.


You mean it does not happen during the day when you do this? When it happens is it always when you are doing this?


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## Brooklyn (7 Jan 2008)

I think so Clubman. Every time it's happened it's been at night right as I'm about to go to sleep. I'm not sure it's 100% always been just after I've switched off the sockets, but that's usually one of the last things I do at night (it certainly isn't happening _before_ I switch them off - I'd notice that!). But even then, it doesn't happen every night, just about once a week for the past four or five weeks.


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## ClubMan (7 Jan 2008)

Are you on _Nightsaver _such that storage heaters and/or immersion might be running when this happens?


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## Brooklyn (7 Jan 2008)

I am on Nightsaver, but it happened last night at 10pm. Storage heaters and immersion were not running at the time.


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## Brooklyn (10 Jan 2008)

So nobody has any ideas? It happened again last night, within about two minutes after I'd switched off the sockets for my computer.


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## ClubMan (10 Jan 2008)

Get an electrician to look at it?


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## Brooklyn (10 Jan 2008)

I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to that, but I'm starting to think it might.


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## mbro (10 Jan 2008)

Have a similar issue with a rcd switch made by contactum tripping when i use the landing light switch. It doesnt happen every time but enough to stop me from using it completely. I took switch from the wall and had a look inside to see if i could see any bare wire but it looked ok. Any ideas what i should look for?


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## Hoagy (10 Jan 2008)

Brooklyn said:


> I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to that, but I'm starting to think it might.


 
Maybe before you get someone in, try unplugging the computer leads at night rather than just switching off at the socket.
It would appear that there isn't a whole lot wrong, possibly some sort of leakage back through the internet cable onto the computer power supply, for instance.
We find in large offices that about two or three PC's is the max per circuit to avoid nuisance tripping, there are small currents flowing in the network cables which can reach a sufficient level to trip the RCD.


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## aido79 (10 Jan 2008)

mbro said:


> Have a similar issue with a rcd switch made by contactum tripping when i use the landing light switch. It doesnt happen every time but enough to stop me from using it completely. I took switch from the wall and had a look inside to see if i could see any bare wire but it looked ok. Any ideas what i should look for?


 
are you sure its the rcd thats tripping and not an mcb? lights don't normally go on an rcd.


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## mbro (10 Jan 2008)

aido79 said:


> are you sure its the rcd thats tripping and not an mcb? lights don't normally go on an rcd.



It says residual current device on it, and when it does trip the sockets in the house go off. It is a two-way switch as it is the landing light but the problem doesnt occur when turning the light on and off downstairs, only upstairs. The bathroom light is on the same switch but doesnt have the problem either.


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## Berlin (11 Jan 2008)

We had a very similar problem a couple of months ago. Our spark changed the RCD switch and all is fine since. He said sometimes they are just too sensitive.


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## Brooklyn (11 Jan 2008)

Hoagy said:


> Maybe before you get someone in, try unplugging the computer leads at night rather than just switching off at the socket.



Thanks Hoagy. Tried that last night and it didn't trip, but then it doesn't do it all the time anyway. Will keep trying this.


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## Brooklyn (12 Jan 2008)

Problem not solved 

This morning I turned off the computer, unplugged the leads and left the house. When I got home just now the switch was tripped. I couldn't say for sure if it happened right after I turned off the computer, I just didn't notice.

The only things that were running during this time were the refrigerator/freezer, a digital clock and the storage heaters (the switch that's supposed to remain on 24/7, not the front panel).


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## Brooklyn (12 Jan 2008)

Correction to last post: the timer on an electric heater was also on. It stopped pretty much right at the time I left the house, so clearly the switch did trip just after I pulled the leads out of the sockets.


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## Hoagy (12 Jan 2008)

Sounds like it's time for the electrician.  This sort of fault can be very difficult to trace.


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## mmcd (12 Jan 2008)

In my opinion your problem may be is the same as the previous problem  of which I experienced.Some fridge freezers as liable to trip intermittently, because 30 milliamp on the residual circuit breaker (rcd) is a very low sensitivity on the socket circuits, but that is the regulation for domestic installations and has been for some time,the reason is if there is a faulty appliance, the socket circuits will trip out before you can get a shock.
                 It does not imply that your fridge freezer is faulty.I wired a designated socket circuit without the (rcd) purely for my fridge freezer and everything worked perfectly and you may have to do likewise. I am an elecrician, hoping this advice will be beneficial.


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## Brooklyn (13 Jan 2008)

Thanks mmcd but I'm still a little unclear as to why switching off the electricity to the computer would cause the trip?


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## tnmf (24 Apr 2008)

I am having a similar problem with my RCD.

Sometimes when I turn off the socket switches for my laptop, tv etc the RCD gets tripped.  This used to happen before but the builders are still on site so I got their electrician to check it.  He just replaced the RCD switch and all was fine until the last couple of weeks.

Here is what I am usually turning off when it happens:

2 Double Sockets beside each other
One has a cable modem and a surge protection extension plugged into it

The other has a wireless router and a surge protection extension plugged into it

Across the two surge protection extensions are the following:

Plasma TV
XBox 360
Nintendo Wii
DVD Player
Surround Sound Amp
Subwoofer
NTL Box
1 Double Socket on the opposite wall with just a laptop plugged into it.

Any advice would be helpful because if I get the site electrician out again I don't think he'll be able to do much because his English wasn't great so he didn't really understand me!

Thanks


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## THENORTHSIDE (24 Apr 2008)

with the likes of computors,laptops etc you can get leakage currents within the appliance,its not a problen per say with the piece of equipment but it does cause problems with control gear ie RCDs.I would reccommend talking to manufacters ie Dell and someone in their service dept. might have come across it before.If you have just moved into a new house then you might have new appliances where if they have been sitting in a warehouse heating elements might have some ingress of moisture causing the RCD to trip.Drying them out would elimate this.

I wouldn't rule out sensitive RCDs either and it might be less expensive to get the RCD changed initially rather than an electrician spend hours looking at you wiring and then changing the RCD.

At least be safe in the knowledge that the device is tripping sometimes they won't trip even when you press the tset button.If you think of it test the RCDs on a regular basis.


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## THENORTHSIDE (24 Apr 2008)

Brooklyn said:


> Thanks mmcd but I'm still a little unclear as to why switching off the electricity to the computer would cause the trip?


 

The electronics within the computor do funny things and please don't ask me to explain!!


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