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[TD]

I have a fault with the kitchen/bedroom circuit...

Basically a short circuit between neutral and earth (as measured by my multimeter)

So I thought I would try to find out where the problem was....I was thinking it was going to be in the loft above the kitchen, where I get occasional furry visitors who like to chew cables.

After a bit of diagnostics....ie breaking the circuit...I identified which cable had the problem...

So up into the loft ...... and cut the cable I thought was the problem about 6 inches from where it enters the loft from the main house....stripped it back (the cable from the house) and opps me its still got a short  Obviously changed the cable as I had to now.

Ive broken the circuit upstairs and now all the kitchen sockets are good apart from the one I changed the cable.

So, to my thinking the fault must lie in one of the bedrooms....which is a buggar.....coz it means clearing rooms and floor boards up 

Unless any of you clever chaps can think of another reason for the short....I did think there maybe a problem with the circuit breaker...but as it only switches the 'live' I had my doubts.....

The only other thing I can add is when the fault developed I had left an iron turned on in one of the bedrooms.....ummm for about 24 hours....but seeing as the iron still works....I carnt see it causing the fault 

[Auto Addict]

You've got Leccie?

Lucky you

[STEMO]

Have you had a look at all the sockets in the bedroom to make sure it's not at the back of one of them?

[biggriffin]

Have you had a look at all the sockets in the bedroom to make sure it's not at the back of one of them?

As highlighted

[LFF64]

Just check everything is unplugged from the sockets then test again , if that doesn't help turn the power off and start disconnecting the sockets  one by one testing every time to see if the fault clears (leave them disconnected ) check the socket as well just in case that is the problem and move to the next one . Hopefully you will find something or at least narrow it down

[Bigron]

Just what problems/difficulties does this Eart-to-Neutral short cause you?

Ron.

[gbh]

If its a ring circuit go to the fuseboard and disconnect 1 leg and remove a socket/split wires,then power it up.If it works great then see how many sockets have electric and which don't,i would use a kettle or the iron because your testing the neutral /earth also.A process of elimination should narrow it down to 2 sockets and the offending cable.As mentioned earlier be sure there is nothing still plugged in as that could be the faulty item.Is the system covered by an rcd/main switch?

[jonathanh]

daft question but has everything been unplugged on the circuit - absolutely everything in the bedrooms as well?

I think you can discount the rcd as that does not have any connection to the earth.

best to pop each faceplate off in turn in the bedrooms and test.  At least you'll identify ifi t is one of those or which wiring leg.   Givne you have a multimeter, I'd dead test rather than live

[TD]

Have you had a look at all the sockets in the bedroom to make sure it's not at the back of one of them?

No, not yet

[TD]

Just check everything is unplugged from the sockets then test again , if that doesn't help turn the power off and start disconnecting the sockets  one by one testing every time to see if the fault clears (leave them disconnected ) check the socket as well just in case that is the problem and move to the next one . Hopefully you will find something or at least narrow it down

Everything is unplugged....and the power isn't on as it trips the main breaker if I try to turn that circuit breaker on

I will try your suggestion of disconnecting all the bedroom sockets, as I should find which socket or run of cable that is causing the problem 

[TD]

Just what problems/difficulties does this Eart-to-Neutral short cause you?

Ron.

It trips the main breaker....

[Ever Ready]

What type of main switch do you have on your fuse board?

A neutral to earth fault won't trip an ordinary circuit breaker but the same fault will trip an RCD or an RCBO (RCBO is an RCD with overload protection combined)

Does the breaker that trips have a test button on it ?

Any chance of a picture of the board?

[STEMO]

What type of main switch do you have on your fuse board?

A neutral to earth fault won't trip an ordinary circuit breaker but the same fault will trip an RCD or an RCBO (RCBO is an RCD with overload protection combined)

Does the breaker that trips have a test button on it ?

Any chance of a picture of the board?

To all intents and purposes, neutral is earth.

[TD]

What type of main switch do you have on your fuse board?

A neutral to earth fault won't trip an ordinary circuit breaker but the same fault will trip an RCD or an RCBO (RCBO is an RCD with overload protection combined)

Does the breaker that trips have a test button on it ?

Any chance of a picture of the board?

The main breaker for all power is a 60amp with earth leakage trip with a test button.
The breaker for the circuit that's not working is an ordinary 30amp  trip with no  earth leakage on it.

Its when I try to turn on the breaker for the circuit, this stays on but the main breaker trips.

Ive got a bit further with this now ..... I took all the socket of upstairs and disconnected their neutrals

Measuring them with a meter, I found a neutral/earth short on a wire in 2 of the sockets, so I assume that this wire links the 2 sockets together. So I reconnected the sockets leaving these two neutral wires disconnected.

However the main breaker still kept tripping when I turned on the breaker for the circuit.

So I decided that maybe the live had a problem between these two sockets as well, so I disconnected the live from these 2 sockets as well. So that just leaves one live/neutral/earth going to these two sockets.

The main circuit breaker now stays in when I turn on the breaker for the circuit.

Now this is where is confuses me, because none of the  sockets work anywhere on the circuit, id expected some if not all of them to work 

[tigers_gonads]

If you have a combined RCD / main switch, disconnect ALL neutrals from the bus bar at the back of the consumer unit.
Turn off ALL circuit breakers.
Re connect 1 neutral circuit / switch on that circuit breaker then start again.