RCD tripping and hidden underground joints...

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Earlier in the year..    (in the pre-lockdown days)...

doing some work for a customer which included investigating garden lights tripping RCD when turned on...

Tested SWA cable leaving fuse box, low IR between live & neutral...

Various garden lights with pre-attached flex disappear into ground...  no sign of any J/boxes...

Left circuit disconnected and suggested customer did some digging when weather was more suitable to see if they could find the illusive terminations...

Obviously during Lockdown and good weather, customer has had some time to get out in the garden...

Earlier this week they sent me these photos for three out of four garden lights they had found so far...

Anyone spot any potential concerns that could cause RCD tripping????

:slap

:coat

I believe they were fitted by a "landscape gardener" for the previous owner...

As they were already installed when my customer moved in!

:C

 

[kerching]

Nice find

at a guess they are only BW glands on the SWA as well

 

[ProDave]

They remind me of BT junction boxes.  When I had issues with the phone line I followed the open reach guy as he investigated.  Just op the road he opened a manhole. Half full of water inside.  He picked up a "waterproof" cable junction that was sumberged under the water and opened it and predicatbly it was full of water inside and all the cable junctions inside were wet and corroding.

 

[Geoff1946]

They remind me of BT junction boxes.  When I had issues with the phone line I followed the open reach guy as he investigated.  Just op the road he opened a manhole. Half full of water inside.  He picked up a "waterproof" cable junction that was sumberged under the water and opened it and predicatbly it was full of water inside and all the cable junctions inside were wet and corroding.

I had exactly the same experience a few years ago but the problem was intermittent, depending perhaps on recent rain. I had a hell of a job convincing them to come out because every time they tested it from the exchange it tested OK. I had to accept threats of a massive bill if it turned out to be my installation at fault.  One reason I'm happy with a Virgin line now; at least they don't argue if you tell them something is broken.

 

[Sidney]

Seen similar done by a builder for ground lights connected to an automatic gate, minus the glands on the Y box. The ground was a thin layer of soil on top of clay so the ground water was close to the surface even after the lightest of showers.