Main Box in Street Keeps Tripping

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Adrian15

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Oct 6, 2012
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I'm at my wits end. The main's box in my street keeps tripping shutting off power to my house only. This has happened 4 times now this month and it only started happening this month. Every-time this happens I have to log a fault with Eskom who have to then come out flip the switch back on.

I have eliminated my house as the cause as I have installed a completely new DB box 5 months ago and I have had an electrician in to confirm that nothing in my house is causing this. I also don't understand how it could be my house causing any of these issues since the earth leakage inside of my house should trip first should it not?

I just wanted to know if there's anything that I could do or what the problem is that's causing this.
 
Adrian15 said:
I'm at my wits end. The main's box in my street keeps tripping shutting off power to my house only. This has happened 4 times now this month and it only started happening this month. Every-time this happens I have to log a fault with Eskom who have to then come out flip the switch back on.

I have eliminated my house as the cause as I have installed a completely new DB box 5 months ago and I have had an electrician in to confirm that nothing in my house is causing this. I also don't understand how it could be my house causing any of these issues since the earth leakage inside of my house should trip first should it not?

I just wanted to know if there's anything that I could do or what the problem is that's causing this.
Click to expand...
Maybe the fault is on the cable coming to your house? Have you had that tested?
 
Does it only happen when it rains?

If so then probably faulty cable between house and street and there is a short
 
House Wiring
Cable to your House
Breaker.

These are the 3 things involved. If its not your wiring, then its one of the other 2.

Faulty breaker, or faulty incoming cable. Probably the cable insulation I suspect.

Or the wiring at the breaker side is loose, and causing heat issues/breaker to trip.
 
Adrian15 said:
I'm at my wits end. The main's box in my street keeps tripping shutting off power to my house only. This has happened 4 times now this month and it only started happening this month. Every-time this happens I have to log a fault with Eskom who have to then come out flip the switch back on.

I have eliminated my house as the cause as I have installed a completely new DB box 5 months ago and I have had an electrician in to confirm that nothing in my house is causing this. I also don't understand how it could be my house causing any of these issues since the earth leakage inside of my house should trip first should it not?

I just wanted to know if there's anything that I could do or what the problem is that's causing this.
Click to expand...
earth leakage will only trip on an earth fault its not an overcurrent circuit breaker. if it only trips at the box its between the box and the consumer meter box circuit breaker .probably a cable fault they must disconnect it at the outside box and where it comes into your consumer board and megger it .it could also just be a kak circuit breaker outside
 
Adrian15 said:
I'm at my wits end. The main's box in my street keeps tripping shutting off power to my house only. This has happened 4 times now this month and it only started happening this month. Every-time this happens I have to log a fault with Eskom who have to then come out flip the switch back on.

I have eliminated my house as the cause as I have installed a completely new DB box 5 months ago and I have had an electrician in to confirm that nothing in my house is causing this. I also don't understand how it could be my house causing any of these issues since the earth leakage inside of my house should trip first should it not?

I just wanted to know if there's anything that I could do or what the problem is that's causing this.
Click to expand...
We had that. It was a fault with the underground cable. Muni had to come with a special machine that sends high voltage into the ground wire to trace where the short is so they know where to dig.
 
wingnut771 said:
We had that. It was a fault with the underground cable. Muni had to come with a special machine that sends high voltage into the ground wire to trace where the short is so they know where to dig.
Click to expand...
Thanks! It's nice knowing that there is a solution for this. I'm going to physically go to the Eskom headquarters tomorrow and lay a complaint
 
TheChamp said:
Maybe the fault is on the cable coming to your house? Have you had that tested?
Click to expand...


Eskom never tested anything. One of their electricians thinks it might be the cables but never recommended any further testing.
 
itareanlnotani said:
House Wiring
Cable to your House
Breaker.

These are the 3 things involved. If its not your wiring, then its one of the other 2.

Faulty breaker, or faulty incoming cable. Probably the cable insulation I suspect.

Or the wiring at the breaker side is loose, and causing heat issues/breaker to trip.
Click to expand...

How could house wiring cause this? Genuinely interested. If it is house wiring then I at least have a chance to fix it on my end.
 
wingnut771 said:
We had that. It was a fault with the underground cable. Muni had to come with a special machine that sends high voltage into the ground wire to trace where the short is so they know where to dig.
Click to expand...

Hopefully Eskom comes out to do this! This happened to a neighbours house last year and another neighbourn told me they saw a spark/flames coming from the box once.
 
Adrian15 said:
Thanks! It's nice knowing that there is a solution for this. I'm going to physically go to the Eskom headquarters tomorrow and lay a complaint
Click to expand...
No Worries :) Yeah our CB on the light pole used to trip randomly and affected our house and the house next door and progressively got worse. The muni would come and climb up the ladder and turn it back on. Eventually, it wouldn't stay on and they had to call another department who brought this generator thing into the property and connected it to where the cable was going into the meter. It would send pulses like the sound an electric fence makes sometimes just really really loud. You could hear the cable underground. The machine would then say where on the cable the fault is. It ended up being a few meters away from the street pole in the middle of the complex's driveway across the road. We weren't popular when the muni started to dig the hole after they had to call another division , then they patched the cable and filled it up. This took about 48 hours.
 
Adrian15 said:
How could house wiring cause this? Genuinely interested. If it is house wiring then I at least have a chance to fix it on my end.
Click to expand...
Squeeky things chewing cables, bad insulation, faulty GCI breakers, many many things can cause things to trip.

You said you had an electrician check your side, so I'm assuming they're not completely incompetent, and issue lies between meter and outside breaker.
 
itareanlnotani said:
Squeeky things chewing cables, bad insulation, faulty GCI breakers, many many things can cause things to trip.

You said you had an electrician check your side, so I'm assuming they're not completely incompetent, and issue lies between meter and outside breaker.
Click to expand...

Yes and they are competent. He explained to me that if it trips outside then the issue lies outside my house. I assume that if the issue lies inside my house then electricity would trip inside my house and not outside. It's even tripped outside when no appliances (besides fridge and freezer) were plugged in and all the lights were off (no heavy load)
 
TheChamp said:
They switched it back on and it stayed on, so technically they left it working.
Click to expand...
And what's frustrating is that they always send out new people so I have to explain everything all over again. They go outside, it switches on and then they leave only for it to trip again. Wash, rinse, repeat
 
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