THE FAULT ISSUE
THE ROLE OF THE ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR IS OFTEN PART ELECTRICIAN , PART SUPER-SLEUTH . AND WHILE SOME PROBLEMS ARE ELEMENTARY , MY DEAR WATSON , OTHERS TAKE LONGER TO SOLVE .
ELECTRIC DETECTIVE
E lectrical systems are complicated , and as such there are plenty of things that can go wrong . Whether it ’ s rusting causing an open-circuit fault , a blown fuse resulting in a short-circuit fault , or a damaged connection leading to an earth fault , there ’ s no shortage of places to look for blame . Of course , the end user doesn ’ t generally understand the reason for what ’ s amiss – all they notice are the symptoms . And , just like an overworked GP on a teleconsult , it ’ s up to the jobbing sparky to diagnose the problem and cure it ASAP .
Fault finding essentially means testing the operation of electrical equipment to determine if it is safe and working correctly , as defined in AS / NZS 3000:2018 Electrical installations – AKA the Wiring Rules . But no matter how detailed the regulations and how meticulous the standards , sometimes stuff just goes wrong .
In a domestic situation , the same problems tend to come up again and again . The top five electrical faults you ’ re likely to encounter on the job here in Australia are down to overcrowded junction boxes , exposed or old wiring , power surges , overloaded circuits and excessive loading on wiring .
And while a business might use power differently from a home , the faults encountered are usually pretty similar .
Then there are additional problems you ’ ll come across in the commercial sector – for example redundant wiring ( depending on who and what was previously in the building ) that hasn ’ t been properly terminated , or outages when the current circuits simply can ’ t cope with the energy
8 GEMCELL . COM . AU APR – MAY 2021