Live and Neutral incorrect wiring
 

I have just rewired two sockets in my kitchen to my fusebox as the current
wiring was surface mounted and I have now changed it to being flush with
the wall.

What I noticed is that the dual gang socket which we use for our fridge
freezer had the Neutral (Black) cable wired to the Live terminal in the
socket and the Live (Red) to the Neutral terminal. Before comencing the
work I checked the fusebox to see what cable was feeding the 15amp fuse and
could not see any incorrect wiring there. This dual gang socket also feeds
a spur single socket where this was correctly wired with Red going to Live
and Black going to Neutral.

What are the consequences of this incorrect wiring I have just found? Would
there have been a potential fire?

Luckily I found this and since then I have been cursing the tw*ts who wired
this up. Probably my local authorities contractors.

I know some people strongly advise that rewiring isn't something that
should be done on a diy basis and I agree to an extent however there are
certain things that can be done if you're sure of what your doing and have
looked into it beforehand.

Pedge wrote in :


What I noticed is that the dual gang socket which we use for our
fridge freezer had the Neutral (Black) cable wired to the Live
terminal in the socket and the Live (Red) to the Neutral terminal.
Before comencing the work I checked the fusebox to see what cable was
feeding the 15amp fuse and could not see any incorrect wiring there.
This dual gang socket also feeds a spur single socket where this was
correctly wired with Red going to Live and Black going to Neutral.

What are the consequences of this incorrect wiring I have just found?
Would there have been a potential fire?

You can't be sure that the socket was wrong unless you test it, which I
suggest you do ASAP or quicker.

If a cross had taken place upstream, the contractors may have found the
outlet tested wrong, and taken the quick way to correct it.

This was not acceptable, it's even less acceptable to swap it without
looking at what you're doing.

The reason I say that is that you should surely know what the hazards of
a live/neutral cross are; work it out for yourself - the live is not
fused, the neutral is.

Suggest you get one of those tester plugs and use it before using the
outlet again.

I've answered quickly, because although there are much more knowledgeable
sparks than me around here, you need to take quick action to keep safe

mike

On 6 Feb 2005 19:31:58 GMT, Pedge strung together
this:

What I noticed is that the dual gang socket which we use for our fridge
freezer had the Neutral (Black) cable wired to the Live terminal in the
socket and the Live (Red) to the Neutral terminal. Before comencing the
work I checked the fusebox to see what cable was feeding the 15amp fuse and
could not see any incorrect wiring there. This dual gang socket also feeds
a spur single socket where this was correctly wired with Red going to Live
and Black going to Neutral.

What are the consequences of this incorrect wiring I have just found? Would
there have been a potential fire?

Only if there was a fault with an appliance plugged into the
incorrectly wired socket, and only if the fault happened to be between
neutral and earth, and also happened to be of a lowish current so as
not to trip the CPD.
In effect, it's doubtful that it would ever cause a major problem and
certainly wouldbn't if nothing faulty was ever plugged into it.
The main thing would have been that the fuse, and possibly single pole
switch of the socket, would have been in the neutral conductor.
--

SJW
Please reply to group or use 'usenet' in email subject

Pedge wrote:
I have just rewired two sockets in my kitchen to my fusebox as the
current
wiring was surface mounted and I have now changed it to being flush
with
the wall.

What I noticed is that the dual gang socket which we use for our
fridge
freezer had the Neutral (Black) cable wired to the Live terminal in
the
socket and the Live (Red) to the Neutral terminal.

I also found this in a house I was once checking out with my tester
plug. It turned out that the original sockets were two types,
apparently identical except that some had their live terminals on the
left and others on the right. (Is there a reg on this?) Obviously, the
electricians had just wired them all the same without looking.

Whilst not desperately urgent, you may sleep better if you get a tester
plug (mine was only a quid at a boot sale) and do the whole house.

Chris

Pedge wrote:

I have just rewired two sockets in my kitchen to my fusebox as the
current
wiring was surface mounted and I have now changed it to being flush
with
the wall.

What I noticed is that the dual gang socket which we use for our
fridge
freezer had the Neutral (Black) cable wired to the Live terminal in
the
socket and the Live (Red) to the Neutral terminal. Before comencing
the
work I checked the fusebox to see what cable was feeding the 15amp
fuse and
could not see any incorrect wiring there. This dual gang socket also
feeds
a spur single socket where this was correctly wired with Red going to
Live
and Black going to Neutral.

What are the consequences of this incorrect wiring I have just found?
Would
there have been a potential fire?

Luckily I found this and since then I have been cursing the tw*ts who
wired
this up. Probably my local authorities contractors.

I know some people strongly advise that rewiring isn't something that

should be done on a diy basis and I agree to an extent however there
are
certain things that can be done if you're sure of what your doing and
have
looked into it beforehand.


Its a minor fault, unlikely to ever cause any problem. Its best to fix
it for optimum safety, and the way to do so seems obvious enough.

It might be wise to assess first whether youre able to do the job
safely or not. As electrical faults go it couldnt be much simpler, but
some mothers do 'ave em.


NT