I have now replaced the socket, which proved a bit of a challenge. There are three live cables and three neutral cables, I assume because this is a ring main with a spur. However, there are four earth cables with the extra cable connected to the back box. Is this necessary? I thought the metal box was earthed via the two screws holding the box.
Replacing a socket (follow up)
Aug 07, 2024
Last reply: 1 year ago
3 Replies
If the box has one (or more) fixed lug(s), then it is not actually required.
It is, however it is usually considered good practice to run a wire to the box.
Thank you. This is ultimately what I did as I wanted it to be as 'like for like' as possible. It was a squeeze but I eventually managed to arrange the cables into a suitable configuration.
As an aside is it also good practice to add a brown sleeve to a red cable etc or is there no real need? In this particular application, it could have made the difficulty worse.
No, either version of the colour code is valid. You should have a sticker like this at the consumer unit:
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You only need to overmark the cable if the colour is incorrect for the use of the wire - for example blue switch returns need marking in brown (and black ones in red), because they're not a neutral. If you have a 3-core brown/black/grey armoured cable but you're using it for single phase, you need to overmark the black and grey as they're not phase wires. You have a red cable which is a live, which is the correct colour under the code for that cable.
Mike
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