Electric Shock From Lamp And/or Mains Wall Sockets

[semblance]

My wife got a large electric shock in our flat yesterday - thankfully she is OK, but I wanted some advice about what to do, and who we should find to get everything checked out.
 
We live in a new build flat. We have not made any modifications to anything, or done any DIY. In the bedroom there's a wall fixture with two mains sockets and switches, made of what looks like metal. Plugged into one of the sockets is a turkish lamp with metal casing bought from Camden market, and in the other socket is a phone charger, but no phone connected. Both mains sockets were switched on.
 
My wife can't remember exactly what happened - but basically, she reached down with her right hand behind the turkish lamp to the wall sockets, probably with the intention of switching off and unplugging the phone charger. She experienced what she described as a massive electric shock, which practically threw her on to the bed behind.
 
The lights and power immediately cut out in most of the rooms in our flat, and afterwards, she said the ring finger in her right hand was sore. We later discovered that a trip switch in the hall had moved to the "off" position, and when we switched it back on, all the power and lights in the flat were restored.
 
A few other points:

• I asked my wife if it was possible that she might have been touching the metal casing of the turkish lamp with her left hand, while she reached down to operate the mains switch with her right hand. She said maybe, but wasn't sure.
  
• She was wearing shoes at the time this happened.
  
• It's possible that her hands were slightly (and I mean slightly) damp at the time, as she was handling wet clothes immediately beforehand.
  
• We've both operated these mains switches (and others in the flat) dozens of times before without getting electrocuted.
  

Any suggestions or pointers appreciated - especially around who we need to ask to get this checked out, and what to do in the meantime.
 
Obviously we're not going to touch either the turkish lamp or the mains wall sockets until we understand what's going on.
 
(I took some photos to clarify the set-up - but I was unable to post them since I have not made at least 10 posts to this forum!)

 

[Andy™]

Call an electrician. She / you may not be as lucky next time.

 

[Evans Electric]

Hi  Sembalance.

First DON'T touch it again !!!!

The Turkish lamp sounds suspicious BUT you need to get a Sparky in to check out the metal socket/ plate thingy & the lamp .    Sounds like the RCD in the board did it's job by tripping out , which is promising . 

Do not take any chances with this ,  two good things from this , (if you can call them good)   is    (1)    The shock threw your wife off the connection and (2)  the RCD operated.

I can only guess but I'm thinking the Turkish Lamp is faulty and your wife touched it  AND the metal plate with the sockets on it.

Edit :-    I suggest you (1)   switch OFF the power at the fuseboard and (2)   unplug the lamp and the charger until you get them checked out . 

The voltage in UK houses is VERY VERY powerful , its danger is underestimated .

Also cheapo market stall phone chargers should be avoided , stick with the branded ones , Nokia etc . 

 

[semblance]

Thanks a lot for the advice.

Any particular type of electrician or credentials we need to look for? Or is there a directory of qualified electricians we can use? 

I'm just looking for something slightly better than typing "electrician" into google.

 

[Andy™]

someone competent. ask around, someone you know may be able to recommend someone

or post where in london you are, we have a few members in london who may be local

 

[Marvo]

When the user of an electrical installation receives a shock there's a very good chance it's the result of more than one fault occurring simultaneously so it would be best to get an electrician to test the circuit and the lamp etc that was plugged in.

Maybe if you give a more accurate location one of the forum members might be sufficiently local to help you out.

 

[semblance]

OK great thanks; we are in Hackney, London, near Haggerston station.

If there are any members nearby who can help out then please do get in contact.

 

[Evans Electric]

As above  .

If you don't know one , look at the Electrical Safety Register for a local one , then check out their website to gauge their experience etc.

Look for NICEIC ......ELECSA...ECA   members    ...ignore all the guff  about  "Checkatrade.com"   or "Fair Trading "  stuff

Not many are logging in at the moment Semblance  but they'll be bored stiff by tomorrow and should be putting an appearance ...as said   there are a few London members .

Just out of interest ..............when you've unplugged the lamp  AFTER  switching off at the board.....open the 3 pin plug and check the wiring in it .

 

[kerching]

Has the turkish lamp got a 2 or 3 core flex to it?

At a wild guess it is a two core flex, live side come in contact with metal of lamp. Wife has become part of circuit

Lamp...........wife...........metal socket

So RCD did its job and tripped. As advised, get it looked at pronto

 

[semblance]

I safely disconnected the turkish lamp, and opened up its plug.

It has a 2-core flex and the plug has a 13-amp fuse.

Blue is connected to N, Brown is connected to L, nothing is connected to E.

Yes - I will get it checked, and let you know the outcome!  Thanks again to all.

 

[kerching]

Well, unless it is a 3000watt lamp the fuse is way too big!

Unless it is double insulated ( turkish fitting ) then it should be three core flex!

Most "second user" stuff i have seen has had the plug and/or flex cut off so it is up to the purchaser to resurrect it!

Just saying...she was lucky!

 

[ProDave]

Hi semblance and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like your wife had a lucky escape. Like others I strongly suspect the lamp is the issue. Almost certainly the metal part of the lamp had become live and touching that and the metal earthed front plate of the socket.

Once you reach 10 posts, you will be able to upload images, so go and make a few more useful contributions to the forum and when you reach 10 post a picture of the lamp, in particular the detail of the lamp holder and where the flex enters the lamp.

It does without saying, don't plug that lamp in again, at least until it has been properly checked and any faults corrected first.

 

[OnOff]

Also post please a picture of the 3-pin plug on the lamp. It may be that it's an "old" style plug where the live and neutral pins are brass all the way up rather than having a section of the pin insulated. With the old style plugs you could pull the plug partly out so it was still "live" but there was enough room to get small fingers in.

 

[semblance]

OK - will reach 10 posts, and then post some pictures.

 

[apprentice87]

Shall we help you make ten posts?? Do you know anything about welding, machining, or motorbikes??

john...

 

[semblance]

Unfortunately not, I know about IT Security and guitars though...

 

[semblance]

Awesome - here we go.

The original configuration where the electric shock happened:

The mains wall sockets:

The plug on the lamp opened:

The underside of the lamp:

 

[OnOff]

Where the cable enters the lamp base is it chafed? Can you see the brown / blue core under the black covering? Doesn't seem to be a protective grommet there. That insulating tape looks a bit suspect for a start.

 

[kerching]

Rough as!

I wonder if there is any come back via Camden Trading standards?

Probably Caveat Emptor and all that, sorry to say

 

[semblance]

I can't see any obvious chaffing or exposed wires on the outside - but who knows what's going on on the inside....

Also I should add that the lamp was NOT bought second hand from a market stall.

It was bought NEW from a shop premises in Camden market that sells turkish lamps and has literally 100's of them on display.

And I hadn't looked at it in detail before - but I must say now I've looked underneath it does look dodgy with all the insulation tape etc.