Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

RCD Socket faulty

Does what it says on the tin
raybarrow
Lemon Slice
Posts: 437
Joined: November 6th, 2016, 8:14 am
Been thanked: 83 times

RCD Socket faulty

#520457

Postby raybarrow » August 7th, 2022, 10:00 am

Hi Folks,

I think I know the answer but...
In the garage there is a double RCD (push button) metal socket. It has stopped working. It is right up against the bottom of the consumer unit and so no wires going to it are visible (presume it's straight through the bottom of the consumer unit, through the top of the RCD socket. I am ok to replace a 'normal' socket face plate but I suspect one with a built in RCD is a job for someone who knows what they are doing.
Would I be right in adopting the 'move away from that socket' principle and get a qualified electrician?

Cheers,
Ray.

bungeejumper
Lemon Half
Posts: 8064
Joined: November 8th, 2016, 2:30 pm
Has thanked: 2846 times
Been thanked: 3939 times

Re: RCD Socket faulty

#520498

Postby bungeejumper » August 7th, 2022, 1:34 pm

Call me reckless, but it looks like a simple straight swap to me, with all the fancy RCD stuff being self-contained within the socket. The tricky part might be that the cable connection from there to the consumer unit is a little short - but heck, I'd be pretty sure that they fitted the socket after the consumer unit, so the cable ends must be long enough to make it possible?

You won't know for absolute sure until you've taken the old socket off the wall and had a proper look. But FWIW, it wouldn't be the first time that I'd seen a cable end that had simply worked loose and got a bit burned. As long as there's no heat damage, such as cracking to the plastic, it might not need a new socket at all. ;)

BJ

Itsallaguess
Lemon Half
Posts: 9129
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 1:16 pm
Has thanked: 4140 times
Been thanked: 10023 times

Re: RCD Socket faulty

#520520

Postby Itsallaguess » August 7th, 2022, 3:22 pm

raybarrow wrote:
I am ok to replace a 'normal' socket face plate but I suspect one with a built in RCD is a job for someone who knows what they are doing.


Other than a slightly bulkier rear connection area, to accommodate the additional internal RCD safety-circuits, it's highly unlikely that any replacement swap-out job would be any different to a normal double-socket faceplate swap-out.

Two examples showing this to be the case on these non-metallic RCD sockets, which both have a picture showing the rear connection points -

https://www.floorbox.co.uk/products/st0287fm-rcd-full-mounted-twin-switched-rcd-protected-sockets

https://www.rapidonline.com/europa-components-rcd13ass-13a-double-switch-socket-rcd-plastic-28-4569

Of course the usual caveats apply of ensuring that relevant electrical circuits are isolated prior to carrying out the job, and I'd probably do a little more testing with a voltage meter before buying a replacement, just to make sure, as BJ has suggested, that this isn't simply a mains-supply or wiring-fault issue rather than a socket issue...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

csearle
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 4764
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 2:24 pm
Has thanked: 4814 times
Been thanked: 2083 times

Re: RCD Socket faulty

#520793

Postby csearle » August 8th, 2022, 6:15 pm

raybarrow wrote:Hi Folks,

I think I know the answer but...
In the garage there is a double RCD (push button) metal socket. It has stopped working. It is right up against the bottom of the consumer unit and so no wires going to it are visible (presume it's straight through the bottom of the consumer unit, through the top of the RCD socket. I am ok to replace a 'normal' socket face plate but I suspect one with a built in RCD is a job for someone who knows what they are doing.
Would I be right in adopting the 'move away from that socket' principle and get a qualified electrician?
If in doubt Ray turn the MAIN SWITCH of the consumer unit off before investigating/replacing the faulty RCD socket outlet. After that, if necessary, it is a simple like-for-like replacement.

Classic DIY job. No need for an electrician unless you feel very unsure. If in doubt with anything just ask here. :)

Chris


Return to “Building and DIY”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests