Geoff wrote:
I would be grateful for some advise regarding a fitted dish washer. I
was in the process of removing it from its kitchen cabinet when I had
an electric shock on touching both the washer's metal interior and the
stainless steel sink. I checked which was live and using one of those
cicuit testing screw drivers it was the dishwasher. Neither the
circuit breaker or the main RCD tripped. I have had a good look at the
wiring in the dishwasher and can find no obvious fault. I have also
tested the diswasher regularly and it has not been live again. I
assume the shock was caused by me shorting the circuit between the
then "live" dishwasher and the sink which I again assume is
connected to earth via the cold water pipe. Can anybody offer any
advice as to what could have caused the fault as I would have thought
that if the dish washer was faulty it would be "live" on a regular
basis.

Is the sink earthed ? Some sinks and tap combinations are insulated from each
other by rubber washers sandwiched between the tap body and the sink itself.

Is the socket that the dishwasher is connected to earthed properly ? TURN THE
POWER OFF at the mains. Open the socket and check that all the wiring is in the
correct places and fully tightened.

Was there any other appliance plugged in or running while you got the shock ?
It could be that another appliance has a fault or low resistance and it caused
the earth to rise slightly and give you a tingle from the potential difference.

Do you have any low voltage lighting or other type of light fitting that are
connected to the ring circuit ? Where they switched on at the time ?


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