Puzzled

[The Medway Handyman]

In my attached garage - used as my workshop, I have two DOS's joined by surface mounted (in plastic trunking) cable which has been there since I bought the house.

This afternoon I decided to install another DSO between them. Not a service I offer to the punters BTW.

Cut the cable, joined live/live, neutral/nuetral & earth/earth & connected them to the relevant terminals in the new DSO.

Plugged in my socket tester which showed that live & neutral were reversed! Checked the 'feed' DSO which was fine and the existing DSO which was also fine.

Reversed the cables in the new DSO so that the lives went to the terminal marked neutral & the neutrals to the terminal marked live & the tester now says all is well - in all three sockets.

I've disconnected the new DSO.

I'm now confused!

[Bob Eager]

Similar looking (but different) DSO with terminals in different place? (yes, I know you probably checked the markings, but...)

[John Rumm]

Your not the only one.... first you mention 16 bit versions of a CPM like OS, followed by something about digital storage oscilloscopes. ;-)

I take it we are talking double sockets here?

Have you allowed for the possibility that either the new socket is incorrectly marked? (seems unlikely, but a test with a DMM will prove it), or, the existing wiring is transposed at both socket positions

*and* the supply. So the end result is correct, but the wiring is incorrect at both supply and destination.

[Lobster]

I thought maybe he'd been decorated for Services to Handymankind

David

[The Medway Handyman]

DSO - double socket outlet! Sorry, I was try to speak 'electrician'.

I suppose it could be, bought it from Wickes & the terminals are marked with letters and both old & new cable colours. I'll stick a meter on it.

The 'first' original socket is supplied by a cable coming through the wall from the house - live & neutral connected to correct terminals & my socket tester says its OK. The second original socket is also wired correctly & my tester says all is well.

Can these plug in testers be trusted?

[Owain]

So was I.

I thought electricians called them "plugs" :-)

Up to a point, although many won't test for N-E reversal.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

An electrician would call it twin gang.

[John Rumm]

That would leave a cross over in the wire itself as a culprit - worse you would need two of them! That sounds unlikely.

Can you do us some photos?

For this sort of thing, usually.

[Si]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

to be confused with t-g potentiometer et al ?

[soup]

Plug tops perchance, and that is the thing that fits into an outlet. :)

ASIDE:-

I've always thought of it as one gang per set of wires so two gang is two outlets or two switches etc whilst positions of the circuit controlled by the switches are ways . So a two gang two way switch is the Double switch type like you get in the hall covering the light at the top of a stair one set of switches downstairs and another upstairs each doing the opposite of what is already "set", a one gang one way is like a single light switch in a room . In our hall we have triple gang switch with two of the switches being two way and the third only being wired up for one way operation though it is capable of having the single way switch as two way, so a triple gang two way switch Pedants note this is a very loose definition and the wrong words (even phrases) may be used.

[soup]

$eity that is as clear as mud. At least I know what I mean.

[Frank Erskine]

It's not as confusing as our American friends calling a two-way switch "three way" because it has three terminals. :-)

[Chris J Dixon]

Frank Erskine wrote: mean.

Let's not get into diverter valves again :-(

Chris