Electrical Fault-Finding Guide For Homeowners

Electrical Fault Finding

The divergence of currents and voltages from nominal states is referred to as an electrical fault. Power system infrastructure or electrical wires carry standard voltages and currents under regular operation, making the system safer to use. However, abnormally large currents flow when a fault occurs, causing your electrical equipment and gadgets to be damaged.

To detect or stop electrical faults from becoming dangerous, good switchgear systems, electromechanical relays, breakers, or other protection devices like smoke alarms have been made available. They are compulsory during electrical installation in homes or commercial buildings.

Electrical equipment in a power grid operates at standard voltage and current ratings under standard or safe working conditions. Current and voltage values deviate from the nominal range after a fault occurs in a circuit or device. Overcurrent, under-voltage, phase unbalance, reversed power, or high voltage surges are all caused by problems in the power system. As a result, the network's regular operation is disrupted, equipment fails, electrical fires occur, etc.

Power system networks are typically protected using switchgear protection equipment such as breakers and relays to prevent the loss of service due to electrical failures. In this article, you will uncover the basics of identifying electrical faults in your home or business. But remember, after identifying an electrical fault, you should reach out to a professional electrician to address the issue right away. Let's dive into more details.

Visual Indicators Of An Electrical Fault

To locate the root of an electrical problem, you do not have to be a certified electrician to do so. A short circuit isn't something that just happens; it results from something. Sometimes an accidental nail or screw has broken a cable, or a rat has been hard at work gnawing at your cable's insulation.

Still, more often than not, an electrical appliance is to blame –literally– and isolating sections of your circuit from each other until you uncover the culprit is all that's required. Here are some visual signs that can help you locate an electrical fault in your home:

Discoloured electrical switch and outlet casing

Burning, which occurs inside your power outlet, causing scorch marks or discolouration, is a good sign of an electrical fault. Black spots can develop throughout the wall of the component's area in more severe occurrences.

Furthermore, if the shell is made of plastic, it can melt if exposed to too much heat. This issue is usually seen when your components are hot to the touch or when a buzzing sound is heard each time it is turned on. To avoid mishaps, don't use the faulty switch or outlet again.

Damaged electrical wires

An electrical wire that is exposed to the elements is susceptible to physical destruction. Rats, for example, will occasionally nibble on the insulation until the live wires are exposed. The problem could also result from constant scratching or tension on the rubber.

When left unattended for an extended period, major electrical faults and fire concerns might arise. Minor defects are sometimes undetectable to the human eye and are only discovered when you unknowingly touch the live wire and get an electrical shock. If you find damaged electrical cables, have your electrical connections inspected by a qualified electrician in your area.

Flickering or dimming lights

Most of us have seen how annoying flickering lights can be. Loose light bulbs might be the root of the problem. It usually solves the problem by twisting your bulb to secure its link to the socket. Lack of a stable current in your electrical circuit due to a fault, on the other hand, is another explanation. To work correctly, high-wattage bulbs require a lot of power. Insufficient load is caused by an inability to meet the electrical requirements.

Blown fuse and tripped circuit breakers

Circuit breakers protect electrical circuits against ground faults and short circuits automatically. Being the primary safety component, a faulty circuit breaker is a serious issue and is frequently the first place to look for electrical problems.

The electrical fuse is also another component to examine for a fault. A blown fuse indicates a fault in the circuit. When a circuit breaker trips, it suggests that the circuit is experiencing an abnormal power flow. If this electrical device consistently trips, your circuits have a fault. Once tripping occurs, the task of fault-finding should begin. Finding the fault starts with the circuit breaker and goes through these three steps:

• Problems with electrical wiring
• Overloading
• Appliance failure

Fault detection is an essential part of determining what repairs and replacements are needed and what equipment to utilise and what actions to take. Before performing an operational test, do what must be done, then replace the fuse.

Malfunctioning electrical appliances

Due to the low load inside the system, your household electrical appliances might not operate, just like your flickering light bulbs. It's critical to identify the problem as soon as possible to avoid further harm to the equipment. It's likely you plugged a particular device into the incorrect power outlet.

You can offset the importance of matching the voltage need by utilising voltage regulators. There might be an impending operational failure when you plug into a power source and feel a tingling feeling or smell a burning odour. To avoid electrical failures, determine the fault and inspect the device before using it again.

Finding Electrical Faults: A Step-By-Step Guide

Step One: Disconnect all circuit breakers

If your entire home is without power and it isn't due to a fault with your electricity provider, then the main safety switches in its switchboard might have tripped and won't turn back on. A trip happens if it senses any type of electrical failure as a safety measure. Individual breakers will still be turned on, so you need to turn them off first.

Step Two: Switch on the main safety switch

Now that you have switched off all switches, you can turn on the primary safety switch. You currently have access to electricity in your home. However, electricity to your fixtures and appliances is not provided until the individual circuits are shut off.

Step Three: Turn every circuit breaker back on

You can now turn on every circuit breaker switch after turning on the main switch. The secret is to reactivate each switch one by one.

Step Four: Determine which circuit is currently faulty

You can simply locate the faulty circuit by turning every switch on individually. The defective circuit will be the one that goes off once you turn it back on! As such, this circuit's component is the source of your electrical problem.

Step Five: Turn off all the switches once more

You should now turn all your switches off once the defective circuit has been detected.

Step Six: Turn the power back on

You may now begin the process of restoring power to the circuits that aren't tripping. Turn on the main switch first, then each circuit one by one, except the problematic one. You should now have power in your home and no longer have to be concerned about that problematic circuit tripping.

Step Seven: Use the services of a fault detection electrician

It's time to contact a certified fault-finding electrician after you've found the broken circuit and turned off the power to it. This switch will stay off until your problems are fixed, and any devices hooked to the circuit will be without power.

Types Of Electrical Faults

Open circuit and short circuit faults are the most common types of electrical faults in standard three-phase power systems. These faults can either be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Let's take a closer look at these faults.

Open circuit faults

The failing of one or many conductors causes open circuit faults. Common malfunctions of cables, including overhead lines, failure of either one or more phases of a circuit breaker, and melting off your fuses or conductor in one or more phases are the most typical causes of these faults.

Series faults are the same as open circuit faults. Except for three-phase open faults, they are known as unsymmetrical faults. Consider a transmission line that is operating with a balanced load just before an open circuit fault occurs. If one of the phases melts, the alternator's actual loading is lowered, which causes the alternator's acceleration to rise, causing it to run slightly faster than synchronous speed.

Other transmission lines suffer from over voltages as a result of this excessive speed. As a result of single and two-phase open situations, the voltages and currents in the power system might become unbalanced, causing significant damage to the equipment.

Causes

Open circuit faults are caused by a broken conductor and a faulty circuit breaker in one or more phases.

Effects

• Anomaly in the system's operation
• Personnel and animals are both at risk.
• In some portions of the network, voltages are exceeded beyond typical values, resulting in insulation failures and the development of short circuit faults.
• You can ignore open-circuit electrical faults for longer periods than short circuit faults, but they must be repaired as soon as possible to avoid further damage.

Short circuit faults

A short circuit is an abnormally low-impedance connection between two locations of different potential, usually established purposefully or unintentionally. Short circuit faults, also called shunt faults, are common and dangerous and cause abnormally large currents to flow through equipment and transmission lines.

If these errors are allowed to exist even for a short time, you will severely damage your equipment. Insulation damage between phase conductors, between the earth and phase conductors, or both causes these defects.

Causes

Internal or external factors could cause short circuit faults:

• Internal factors include a transmission line or equipment failure, insulation age, generator, transformer, and other electrical equipment insulation deterioration, poor installations, and preliminary design.
• Overloading of equipment, insulation failure due to lighting surges, and public mechanical damage are all examples of external factors.

Effects

• Arcing faults in equipment such as transformers or circuit breakers can result in fire and explosion.
• Your equipment becomes overheated due to abnormal currents, which reduces the insulation's life duration.
• The operational voltages of your system can fall below or beyond their acceptability norms, resulting in a negative impact on the power system's service.
• As long as a short circuit fault exists, power flow is substantially restricted, if not completely prevented.

How Can Electrical Faults Be Avoided?

The first and most straightforward approach to avoiding electrical problems is to ensure that any electricians working on your property are fully licensed. Unregistered or unlicensed electricians are prohibited from performing any electrical work. Poor electrical work is a one-way ticket to an electrical problem later on.

You may help prevent electrical faults in your house by adopting the following steps:

• Inspect your wiring for damage regularly.
• Have an energy-intensive appliance on its dedicated circuit, such as an air conditioner or hot water system.
• Don't piggyback power boards onto power boards or overload your circuit with too many connections.
• Have your switchboard inspected for flaws regularly by a qualified electrician.

Ideal Way To Put Out An Electrical Fire

Knowing how to react fast could mean the difference between a minor fire and a major catastrophe. Therefore, use the tips below to put out an electrical fire in the case of an emergency and share them with your family and friends to keep your house safe.

• Switch off the power. If you can safely reach the cable and outlet, unplug the equipment that is triggering the electrical fire using a plank of dry wood.
• You should add sodium bicarbonate. If the fire is small, cover it with baking soda to put it out.
• Remove the source of oxygen. If the fire is tiny and it's safe to do so, you can also put it out by limiting the oxygen source using clothing or a thick blanket.
• To put out the fire, refrain from using any water. You can get electrocuted if you pour water on an electrical fire since water is a good conductor of electricity. Water also has the potential to spread fire by carrying electricity around the space and igniting combustible things.
• Ensure your fire extinguisher is in peak working order. Electrical fires are classified as Class C fires, which necessitates using a Class C fire extinguisher. Most home fire extinguishers are multipurpose and designated ABC, but it's important to double-check before using one on an electrical fire.

Need An Electrician To Fix Electrical Faults?

As you have read in this article, a faulty electrical system in your home puts your family and home at risk of serious electrical problems. Electric shocks or even electrical fires are among the dangers. You won't be able to determine the source of your electrical faults or make the necessary repairs unless you are a certified electrician.

Having a licensed electrician providing fault-finding electrical services is critical. If you're on the Gold Coast and suspect electrical faults in your house, please contact a reputable Gold Coast electrical company for assistance.