On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:31:38 -0700, chrisproud wrote:

I'm been slowly checking all the sockets in my new house (1930s). In one
socket I found the neutral wires were in the earth terminal and the
earth in the neutral!!! How could this work? I thought any current
feeding back through earth would trip the circuit beaker. Apart from
further dodgy wiring in the house, could this be an indication of a
bigger problem, ie circuit breaker not working?

I'm going to keep checking and fixing the rest of the sockets in the
house, not being an electrician I can only really check the wires and
the correct way round and secure. Is it worth getting a qualified
electrician in to run some continuity checks etc? What else could they
check for?

Cheers

Chris

As others have said this will not cause a circuit breaker to trip.
Given that this particula fault is rather rare (it is plausible to
misplace Line and Neutral bit much less the Earth with a Conductor).
It brings a serious question mark over the whole installation.



--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
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