ELECTRIC LEAK

[bigcat]

sockets

MULTIPLE

Yep, get someone in to fix it. That shows us you dont have anything like the necesasry knowledge to diy, and this isnt something you can leave for a month.

NT

[Alan Holmes]

[John Rumm]

All the sockets would in theory be connected to a common earth however irrespective of which circuit they get power from. So that ought to be a tell tail sign that there is a fault.

Yes it does (have a look at PME in the FAQ). Chances are that the earth connection is provided by your supplier, and will be a "good earth". Hence it should not be possible to get it to sit at the 10s of volts necessary to illuminate your neon.

This would suggest that the earth on the sockets in question is either not connected at all, or, there is a poor connection somewhere. This has potential to be of immediate danger - although it may be mitigated a little if you have a RCD coving the circuits in question.

If you want to investigate this yourself, a good first test would be to check continuity between your main earthing terminal (should be near the CU), and the earth pin of the socket in question. You can do this with an ordinary multimeter in the first instance (you may need a long wire to be able to extend on of your probe leads!).

*Turn the power off first*

You should see a resistance between main earth terminal and socket earth of something approaching zero ohms (certainly under 5 ohms). Assuming that you see a higher resistance (or even open circuit) then it is a case of checking the earth for the circuit is actually connected in the CU (visual inspection), and then if it is, testing each socket in turn on the circuit to see if you can identify where the break (or breaks) in the circuit are (a circuit wired as a "ring" ought to have *two* paths to earth from each socket)

[John Rumm]

That would probably be wise in this case...

I would hope getting then necessary knowledge to fix this particular problem however would not take a month! ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd think a better way - since extending the test leads makes a nonsense of any accurate resistance reading - would be to set it to 250 volts AC and measure the voltage. Even with a high impedance DVM, anything over a couple of volts indicates a fault.

[John Rumm]

It is unlikey to make that much difference given we are looking for a go/nogo indication here. (Longer lead lengths can be calibrated/subtracted out anyway).

Between what and what though?

(I was trying to avoid too many tests with power on!)

The best test would be with an earth loop impedance tester, but I guess the OP does not have one of those.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Between a true earth and the 'faulty' socket? A start would be between the main earth and the socket. Of course this doesn't prove the main earth. You'd need an earth loop impedance tester for that.

However, the far more likely fault is in the wiring, rather than earth.

[bigcat]

Youre optimistic :)

If both power sockets and light switches lack earth, I think theres probably something more going on than a 2.5mm wire out.

NT

[Andy Dingley]

Someone who posts "ELECTRIC LEAK" in uppercase on 1st April is either a C.InstEE having a laugh or a candidate for Darwin anyway.

[Andrew Mawson]

either

Or a Welshman with a new invention perhaps ?

AWEM