Hi, gave up on my builder so finishing off his mess and completing some of ‘leftovers’. New extension, whole house rewired. All downstairs lighting circuits show earth on the spot lights to have power. The main coming into the first light seems to have the most. Am using the neon screwdriver. Is this normal? I’ll be buying a voltage meter. What range is safe for the earth to have power. Any tests you can advice would be very helpful too.
Lighting circuit Earth has power
- Thread starter BazzaC
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TBH if you want a completion certificate off BC you need a competent spark to test ... and provide a certificate
unless you are competent with proper test kit of course
unless you are competent with proper test kit of course
a neon screwdriver and multimeter are not suitable. youll be needing something like this (other manufacturers / models are available)
https://megger.com/multifunction-installation-tester-megger-mft1800
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Yes will be getting a completion certificate etc. Am just doing the installations and checking as am going along and this just don’t seem right. Hence trying to do some tests myself to find any obvious issues before calling in a spark. Any advice how to test and what to test? Some other bloggs suggest testing neutral and earth to see if there is a reading. But what reading?
please be aware that some BCs will only allow approved sparks to test other people’s work
you need to confirm in writing with your BC what they will accept before you do anything else
all required tests are in BS7671
fact your asking basic stuff suggests you are way out of your depth, possibly dangerously out of your depth. dont forget electric can kill easily
I'm sorry to say that it's obvious by your posts that you are massively out of your depth... IMHO you should stop right now before you hurt yourself, someone else or just make matters worse... this isn't a go at you BTW,,,, there are loads of things that I can't do, and the same could be said for all of us....
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You have done the obvious test... (seeing if you can do it yourself..)
and found yourself lacking basic knowledge of circuit design, installation, testing...
Fundamental rule No1..
You NEVER energise a circuit that has been amended, extended, newly wired, without FIRST doing ALL of the dead tests itemised in BS7671..
If this had been done it would be impossible to have the scenario you have described..
So as electricity will happily kill a healthy adult in less than a second..
you need to decide...
A bit of random dabbling, that if you get wrong could cause serious / fatal injury to you or your loved ones..
or best option..
employ a competent electrician as the cheapest, quickest and safest solution...
Of course you can also just keep googling till you find an answer that you prefer..
but there are no assurances that a nice google solution won't kill you at a later time..
Any ***** can join wires up to make things work..
(this is why a lot of builders think they can "do electrics")..
But if you buy a copy of BS7671 wiring regulations, (around £80 from most good bookstores)..
You will find the the key aspect is to protect people, property & livestock..
by disconnecting the power fast enough to prevent danger in the event of a fault..
This sort of knowledge, experience, understanding cannot be picked up from a few social media posts & you-tube videos..
Guinness
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