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Emergency!

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So, what do you do if, suddenly, all of the power goes ‘OFF’?


  Call an electrician?

  Call a neighbour?

  Sit in the dark?


The procedure to follow is straightforward enough, but relies on a little forward planning.


First things first:

  1. 1.Print this page off and keep it near to the fuse board.

  2. 2.Familiarize yourself with the layout of the fuse board (takes about 2 minutes).

  3. 3.Keep a small torch near the fuse board, for when the lights go out.

  4. 4.Keep the torch batteries fresh.

  5. 5.Keep the telephone details of a couple of electricians by the fuse board.


Now, you’re in the dark. Follow these instructions:


ALL YOU’RE TRYING TO DO IS FIND THE FUSE THAT’S CAUSING THE PROBLEM BY TURNING EVERYTHING OFF AND THEN BACK ON AGAIN, IN A CAREFUL SEQUENCE.


  
   
  
          

  MCB fuse      Re-wireable fuse                    Main switch      Main switch on right


IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

  1. 1.Look at the fuse board.

  2. 2.Check the MAIN SWITCH (normally red or white colour, on the far left or the far right). If it’s OFF, leave it OFF for now. If it’s ON, turn it OFF now. Very important!

  3. 3.Check to see if there are any RCD devices. They have a small T or Test button on them. Is one of them in the OFF position? Are both of them in the OFF position? If so, again leave them OFF for now. If they are ON, leave them like that. If you don’t see any, don’t worry!

  4. 4.Look at all the fuses. These could be MCB fuses, or re-wireables that hold fuse wire. If the wire in one of the latter has blown it will be obvious. Set it to one side.

  5. 5.If the fuses are MCBs, is one of them in the OFF position? If so, note which one it is and leave it alone for now.

  6. 6.Turn every switch to the OFF position, if it’s switches we’re dealing with. If it’s re-wireables, just leave the faulty one to one side.


SOLVING THE PROBLEM

  1. 7.Turn the MAIN SWITCH to the ON position, if it wasn’t before.

  2. 8.Turn one or both of the RCD switches to the ON position, if they were OFF before.

  3. 9.One at a time, flick the MCB fuses to the ON position. If one of them causes the MAIN SWITCH or the RCD to operate again, go back to instruction number (6) and try again, leaving the problem fuse in the OFF position this time (it will probably be the fuse that you found in the OFF position in instruction (5))

  4. 10. Note that all of the power has come on in the property, except for the circuit served by the fuse you found. It is this circuit that has the problem and you can now call the electrician to discuss things further. You could try me:


      ARTHUR HUNT  07812 000 658