TIP: Nuisance tripping RCD's, RCBO's, GFCIs. Fault finding which Appliance.

Here is a useful bit of kit to have in your arsenal of test gear. Make yourself a simple line splitter using a 3 Pin Mains plug some cable and 3 Pin Socket (cables are now single insulated so ensure no damage to insulation before using), you will need a current clamp meter that measures down in the mA range.

Now you can plug this in series with your suspect appliance, turn the Appliance on, clamp over the Live and Neutral on the line splitter, if no current leakage then this should read close to zero mA as the Live and Neutral cancel each other out if the appliance is leaking to earth there will be a potential difference (unbalance) and this will show on the clamp as mA current leakage. (note some Appliances may have protection circuitry that deliberately shows as leakage to earth and may not be a fault but should be under 10mA) If the Residual current protection device is tripping while trying to test then you may have to undertake the appliance test while plugged into a different house circuit.

Note: it could be a combination of more than one appliance each leaking to earth causing the circuit breaker to trip. (e.g. the sum leakage current of the multiple appliances = >30mA leakage to earth causing the breaker to trip)

I recommend carrying out these tests on a dry day and on a wet or damp day and with the appliance in the environment, it's used in, as a wet or damp atmosphere has a huge influence on leakage to earth. if it is due to the damp atmosphere then perform insulation tests on the appliance and associated leads and the sockets where they are plugged in.

TIP TWO

If you don't have a clamp that measures down in the mA range you can create a coil in the leads to act as a 10 x transformer and will then register in the Amp range.

The same test principle can be used on the main house wiring without using the line splitter and clamping over live and neutral in the main property wiring (that should be carried out by a competent electrician) #electrical #faultfinding #electricalfault