earth leakage trips when it rains

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Why Does My Circuit Breaker Trip Whenever It Rains? – Explained

Written by  Edwin Jones  / Fact checked by  Andrew Wright

Why does my circuit breaker trip whenever it rains? If everything else is fine with your electrical system, the breaker tripping is most likely due to water-related issues.

For further information, I will go over some tips and advice on avoiding those water-related problems.

Table of Contents

Why Circuit Breaker Trips During Storm?

What to do after gfci circuit breaker trips when it rains, 1. repair any roof damage immediately, 2. make sure that your main line is properly installed, 3. put a cover in your gfci outlet outside, 4. call a professional electrician.

The most common reason the breaker keeps tripping after storm is a short circui t caused by water. Moisture from cold weather or heavy rains can corrode electrical wiring. Due to the corroded wiring, the current becomes too high. This will result in a short circuit and breaker tripping. Check out how to fix short circuits here.

If your outdoor GFCI outlet keeps tripping after rain, the moisture or water likely entered the outlet. This can happen even when there’s only humidity, especially if your place of residence is somewhere like Florida.

Another possible reason your circuit breaker tripped during storm is improper installation of your panel box.

If the main line is not correctly installed, rainwater can enter your circuit in various ways. Water may enter your home through the wiring up to the meter and electrical circuit. It’s also possible that the water will flow through the hose or conduit that you used to install your main line.

For this reason, if the breaker box is in the basement, the water may get through to it, causing your circuit to become wet. Having a wet circuit breaker is the worst thing that can happen to your home. Aside from the electrical issues a wet circuit can cause, it is also hazardous because you could be electrocuted.

This video by NoNonsenseKnowHow is an excellent example of how your circuit breaker becomes wet during rain. Also, pay attention to how he finds out the problem and comes up with a solution to stop the water from coming to his breaker panel . It will undoubtedly assist you in preventing this from occurring in your circuit line.

If the GFCI trips, your breaker box is likely wet. Make sure to disconnect the main electrical line and dry the panel with a hairdryer. Be careful not to set the heat too high and melt the wires.

Then, turn back the power in the panel and reset the GFCI outlet.

Prevent Tripping of Circuit Breakers During or After the Rain

No one wants to experience the sudden tripping of a circuit breaker , especially when electricity has become a necessity in our lives. Here are some tips that will help you prevent this kind of problem.

Aside from potentially high repair costs, roof leakage can also damage some of your electrical circuits. Water may penetrate your damaged roof during rainy weather, run through your electrical wiring, and damage your circuit. Any signs of damage, including roof leakage, should immediately be addressed before they worsen.

To prevent water from entering your circuit, ensure your mainline is properly installed outside. Examine the service line’s connected wire to see if it is enclosed. Check the conduit, hose, or enclosure you’re using to cover your main line as well. See that both ends are securely closed, and watch out for any damage to your materials.

A GFCI cover should be used for the outside outlet for additional longevity. This enclosure can also protect your circuit, as it can prevent moisture build-up inside it by blocking water that accidentally splashes into the outlet.

Remember that you should not attempt any electronic repairs if you are unfamiliar with electronics, particularly wet circuits. It’s advisable to call a professional when a circuit breaker trips unexpectedly due to water contact.

Also, if the water is still inside the breaker, don’t try to reset a wet breaker because it might not trip again. It is hazardous to have this problem in your circuit. It’s the equivalent of not using a circuit breaker to protect your appliances.

Reading this article will help you answer your question of why does my circuit breaker trip whenever it rains? It also provides valuable tips for preventing your circuit breaker from tripping during the rainy season. It can lower the cost of your repair while eliminating the risk of an electrical hazard.

Is there anything interesting about this topic that you’ve noticed so far? Do you have any thoughts on the advice I provided? If you have, I would be delighted to read them. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

I am Edwin Jones, in charge of designing content for Galvinpower. I aspire to use my experiences in marketing to create reliable and necessary information to help our readers. It has been fun to work with Andrew and apply his incredible knowledge to our content.

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Earth leakage explained

Earth leakage is electric current that finds its way to earth via an unintended path. There are two categories: unintentional earth leakage, which results from faulty insulation or equipment, and intentional earth leakage, which is a consequence of the way equipment is designed. It seems strange to “design in” earth leakage, but it’s sometimes unavoidable – IT equipment, for example, often produces some earth leakage, even when it’s working properly.

Whatever the source of earth leakage, it must be prevented from causing electric shocks. This is usually done by using either RCDs (residual current devices) or RCBOs (residual current circuit breakers with overcurrent protection). These measure the current in the line conductor and compare it with the current in the neutral conductor. If the difference exceeds the mA rating of the RCD or RCBO, it will trip.

Most of the time, earth leakage works as intended, but sometimes an RCD or RCBO keeps tripping for no apparent reason – this is “nuisance tripping”. The best way to tackle this is with an earth leakage clamp meter, such as the Megger DCM305E. This is clamped around the line and neutral conductors together (but NOT the protective conductor!) and it measures the earth leakage current.

To decide which circuit is causing nuisance tripping, turn off all the MCBs in the consumer unit and position the earth leakage clamp around the mains cables. Turn on each circuit in turn. If one causes the earth leakage to increase significantly, this is likely to be the problem circuit. Next decide whether the leakage is intentional. If it is, some form of load spreading or circuit splitting will be needed. If it’s unintentional leakage – the result of a fault  – the fault must be found and repaired.

Don’t forget the problem might be a faulty RCD or RCBO. To check, do an RCD ramp test. If it’s a 30 mA device – the most common rating – it should trip somewhere between 24 and 28 mA. If it trips at a lower current, it probably needs replacing.

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Power Tripped? Common Causes and What to do

by Peter Cardamone | Oct 2, 2020 | Domestic Electrical , Emergency Electrical | 0 comments

Having something trip the power in your home can be an extremely frustrating occurrence – especially if you’re in the middle of a task, and particularly if you don’t know what has caused it. Often, the problem may be simpler than you think. There are a few reasons why your power might have tripped. Even better, there are simple steps to follow to fix the problem quickly and easily, allowing you to get on with your day.

Causes of a Power Trip

Essentially, a power trip occurs when the electrical system in your home is compromised in some way. The trip is a safety mechanism, meaning your circuit breakers will ‘trip the switch’ and automatically shut down power to one or several systems, making sure the problem cannot become anything more serious. This can happen for a number of reasons.

Overloaded Circuit

The most simple cause of a power trip is an overloaded circuit. If you have too many devices or appliances running simultaneously, the circuit can end up drawing more electrical load than it is equipped to handle. It heats up, the circuit breaker senses this, and the power trips before the circuit can heat to a dangerous level.

Short Circuit

A short circuit can be caused by a wiring problem in a device or an appliance when it is connected to your main system. It can also happen if two opposing wires accidentally touch, causing an unexpected surge of electricity that will cause the circuit breaker to trip the system.

Earth Leakage Fault

An earth leakage fault is a type of short circuit, and it will happen when the current flowing through the electrical system finds an alternative path other than the active or neutral conductors. These are slightly more dangerous, particularly if they occur in places such as the bathroom or kitchen where moisture could carry the electricity and cause shocks. Once again, the increase in electricity will cause the circuit to heat up, and the circuit breaker will therefore initiate a power trip to prevent further damage.

What to Do About a Power Trip

In the case of a short circuit or a ground fault, it is advisable to promptly seek professional advice in order to resolve the problem safely. If you live in the south-east, you may want to call your electrician in Brighton and get a specialist to take a look at the problem. However, in the case of an overloaded circuit, you can often fix the problem yourself in a few simple steps.

Before any fault occurs, it’s useful to ensure you know where your electrical board is located, and you have a handheld torch to help you navigate in case of a blackout.

Turn Appliances Off

Make sure to turn any appliances off that are connected to the affected system.

Master Switch

At the power board, your first move should be to turn off the master switch. This will ensure you cannot get hurt whilst fixing the problem.

Safety Switch

Make sure you have an RCD safety switch installed , and use it to check the safety of your appliances.

Once you have flipped the relevant switch back to the ‘on’ position, test that the circuit is working again. If it is not, or if it immediately trips again, it may be that the problem is more severe than an overloaded circuit, and it’s time to call in the professionals.

Earth leakage switch tripping when loadshedding starts

I have installed the Victron MultiPlusII 8kv and rececently and intermittently, when the power goes during loadshedding, the Earth leakage trips cutting electricity to the house. Does anyone know what the cause this might be?

If I had to guess, you have a standing leakage that is close to the point where the RCD starts tripping, and when the grid fails the disturbance caused by the Multi disconnecting the grid and then closing the ground bonding relay creates a transient that is just enough to push it over the limit.

Standing leakage: In every house there is a small amount of current that leaks to ground. This is due to actual leakage in conductors (usually very low), but also due to EMC and surge protection devices that is now fitted to many appliances. It is not uncommon to have a few milliamps of “normal” leakage, and this is known as the “standing leakage”.

In my house the standing leakage is 13mA . RCDs starts to trip around the 15mA mark. I actually measured mine and during switchover it would peak at 20mA.

The solution was to split my loads into two blocks, each with their own RCD, and now a much healthier 7mA leakage on each. Tripping resolved.

At a previous house I tried the same trick and I could not fix it. I ended up fitting an expensive “high immunity” RCD, and that solved it.

But also: it is usually a good idea to 1) check the RCD itself for proper working, using a tester (not just the button on the RCD), and 2) actually check your insulation as well, with an insulation tester. May need to get a sparky in for those jobs.

Thanks for the information. I will get my electrician onto it.

The cable leakage (resistance) to earth should be almost nil otherwise it’s time to rewire the house…

Just want to add to that, at the time, we both had the same machines, the same problem, but totally different causes.

In my case, the earth of the house was not properly connected outside the house, unbeknownst to the occupants over years of living here. When that was fixed, all worked.

Good idea. Let them test the earth of the house first, takes seconds.

So in summary, from cheapest to most expensive:

• Test the earth leakage, with something like this .
• Test the earth continuity, sparky will have a tool for that
• Test the insulation of every circuit, live and neutral to earth, sparky has the tool for that.
• Check the standing leakage (there is a trick for that that avoids expensive tooling), and if necessary split your circuits into two blocks, if it is over 10mA.
• Install an impact-resistant RCD.

The trick for testing standing leakage without the expensive clamp meter: Use the testing tool I linked in 1. Those have an adjustable test current, going down to 10mA. By first testing the RCD on its own (to determine where it trips), and then using this tool to preload the RCD with 10mA, and then by turning on individual circuits until it trips, you can employ a proverbial “difference method” to detect if you have more than 5mA leakage on a circuit.

Edit: I notice now the RCD tester I linked as example is rather on the expensive side. There are cheaper ones that are non-digital. That’s what I had in mind. It is also more likely that the sparky has a RCD tester in his bag than having a fancy earth leakage clamp tester.

In my case I also got lucky, I had just enough space in the DB to fit another RCD, by removing the ancient wide Heinemann RCD (1) and installing a narrower CBI QA17C. I even had a spare Neutral bar (2).

In my experience the CBI breakers aren’t too trigger-happy, and good quality, even if they are pushing R1k in price by now. When you have a Samite board, your’e somewhat limited in choice though.

I’m fairly sure that is the only way: an expensive clamp meter will most likely not give a good answer and the leakage current in a modern home is not 50Hz or linear. This is a deceptively difficult measurement to make…

What is an impact-resistant RCD? I have heard of anti-nuisance tripping RCDs.

That’s for when you installed a R3000 RCD and your problem still doesn’t go away… ** HEADDESK **

Which is probably why the meter is so expensive, because to be any good it needs to be at least True RMS. Also, it was a good excuse for me to buy a good clamp meter at the same time… and I was truly fed up with the situation by that point.

Oh I probably screwed up the terminology. Not that there is agreed-upon terminology. It is essentially an RCD with some resistance to nuisance tripping. It will ignore those little transients above 20mA and only trip if the energy value exceeds something dangerous.

Now for the people still reading these essays… if you’re going to make a study of what RCD to buy, you are going to find out that RCDs come in types . Type-AC is the cheap one which is really no good for a modern home anymore. Type-A is what you should use at least.

But then you also get type-S (with a delay, not allowed for use in a house, for selectivity in larger installations).

You get type type F, which is a good one to have if you have deep pockets. And you get type B which is essentially unaffordable.

But the good news is that many manufacturers make transient/impact/surge/whatever resistant RCD’s within the type-A bracket.

Hager calls theirs “HI” (high immunity). ABB calls it “type A-APR”. Gewiss calls it “Impulse Resistant”, type IR. I had to look all of these up, because I know they exist, but I forget the names… hence me butchering the term. I was probably thinking of Gewiss’s name for it.

Thanks for the explanation, I will make sure that sparkie does the thorough testing.

A ‘quick’ test to confirm this would be to remove these devices before loadshedding kicks in. That’ll be things like the TV & Fridge safe devices, multiplugs with surge protection etc. Just unplug them from the wall.

That should be an easy test to see if it is in fact standing leakage.

I guess you should technically just remove the surge protector, but keep the TV etc. connected, but I don’t want to say that and then there’s a surge or something.

Do you have any of these in your home?

If you do, please start by removing them?

The following can also play a role. Old Alarm transformers are also well known to cause this.

Basically every thing with build in surge protection will contribute to your current situation.

Lastly, it might just happen that your earth leakage is on its way out and that its sensitivity is not on 30ma anymore. I do respect @plonkster previous experience with the earth leakage and that buying an very expensive RCD fixed hie situation but before I even suggest that solution we try and eliminate all of the above first. 95% of the time its one of the devices above, 4% sensitivity issues and only 1% required that expensive RCD as we could not fine any other reasons.

Those devices are usually just a bunch of MOVs (metal oxide varistors), usually from both neutral and live to earth, sometimes between L and N. They do leak below the rated voltage, which is why some of the more expensive arrestors also have a gapped device in series, which does not leak. MOVs are also found in many appliances for protection (but also as warranty indicators). Fortunately they are usually only L-N. I would remove these devices and just have one of these on the incoming line (after the main MCB) 900454 | TYPE 2 10kA 340V 2P 1PH+N SPD | N - Safety : Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) | ElectroMechanica (this is the cheapest spark gap plus varistor arrestor that I know of)

Then the other cause of leakage is the caps in the input filter of most SMPSs. Those are not easily eliminated, and the only solution is a better RCD, or more RCDs with fewer circuits on each (which is probably why RCBOs are becoming popular in other parts of the world.)

where we cant remove the device we simply remove the MOV’s. Small side cutter = problem solved. Cutting out the surge protection has no effect on the operation of the rest of the circuit.

I read half as usual… I only saw now what you were saying, and i agree, removing the SMPS is not easy… and I agree.

So we do Power Stations. And as Jaco state above. We also experiance that surge protectors cause an overload on the setup. Almost immediately, even if you only plug in an 8w Led bulb.

I’m seriously considering one of these:

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RCD keeps tripping in rainy weather since having PV system installed

Discussion in ' Electricians' Talk ' started by pieterwf , Apr 12, 2023 .

• solar panels rcd fault

pieterwf New Member

We have had no history of our RCD tripping until solar panels were fitted last month. Since then our RCD frequently trips when it rains. The technician who fitted the PV system told me it couldn't be anything to do with that, as the solar cell wiring was entirely separate from the house wiring which the RCD was protecting. I see that there is an earth wire going to the solar panels, and assume this must eventually return to the main earth as it enters the house. The RCD has always been there between the meter and the distribution box, but now also feeds the PV inverter through a new isolator, which includes a second, new RCD which does not trip. The question is, would a leakage from the active solar panel wiring to the earth wire trip the original RCD or not? If not, I will have to assume that tripping the RCD in wet weather has a different source and the PV system has nothing to do with it.  

Tony Goddard Screwfix Select

The solar panels produce DC voltage, that is then converted to AC and stabilised before being applied to your mains. As such the technician is correct that the panels are not directly connected to the mains. Depending on the design of the electronics within the inverter it is possible that a leakage to earth from the panel could result in a trip. One way of determining this would be to switch off the isolator for the PV and see if you get any more trips, if that cures the issue the solar system in some way looks like the culprit. RCD tripping for all sorts of water ingress is very common, I've got two or three calls to make due to this weeks wind and rain, so it could be totally un-related. I personally prefer solar set ups to be fed direct into the outgoing meter tails via henleys and whatever control gear is needed, thus keeping them entirely separate from the house circuits.  

fourtytwo Member

The technician is incorrect. It is almost certain your PV inverter is transformerless, meaning there is no isolation between the grid and the PV panels. The result is PV leakage currents can indeed trip an RCD though inverters are supposed to check for and fault if such leakage exists though this feature can be disabled. Get the company back with a different technician or if that fails have it independently inspected. Can you tell us the make & model of the inverter and also the newly installed RCD ? Does opening the grid side PV isolator stop the tripping ?  

fourtytwo said: ↑ The technician is incorrect. It is almost certain your PV inverter is transformerless, meaning there is no isolation between the grid and the PV panels. The result is PV leakage currents can indeed trip an RCD though inverters are supposed to check for and fault if such leakage exists though this feature can be disabled. Get the company back with a different technician or if that fails have it independently inspected. Can you tell us the make & model of the inverter and also the newly installed RCD ? Does opening the grid side PV isolator stop the tripping ? Click to expand...

I attach photos of my PV setup including a system diagram, where the green lines indicate green earth cables and hashed double lines indicate sheathed cables. I see there is only the one original RCD (30mA); I thought there was one in the "Solar PV on roof"-labelled switch box, but the third switch is in fact a 32A Contactum circuit breaker BSEN60898. (Don't know what function it has; perhaps it's not connected. )  

The Happy Builder Screwfix Select

What exactly is in the garage/PV consumer unit, a photo showing the consumer unit with the cover lifted up would help.  

Roys Screwfix Select

You have an “upfront” RCD straight after the meter so any fault on your domestic or solar electrics could cause it to trip.  

Jimbo Screwfix Select

Or there could always have been a residual leakage just under the trip sensitivity of the up front RCD hence the added leakage from the inverter now producing the trips. needs the residual leakage testing and the upfront RCD testing too, which incidentally should be a type A so probably easier to just change that anyway.  

Also to note, this installation could be potentially dangerous if there no RCD in the solar CU, since it may continue to supply longer than the required RCD trip time and there appears to be nothing protecting any of the rest of the installation.  

The original existing installation requires updating and improvements, it’s just a question of how best to go about it.  

Unfortunately beyond "Growatt" visible in the picture we still don't know what model of inverter it is ? There may be installation restrictions that have not been followed or approval issues, please supply asap  

MGW Screwfix Select

The whole of the installation is through on 30 mA type AC RCD, this is not acceptable, the solar panels should not be connected to a type AC RCD, basic fault is the henley block splitting the supply is wrong side of the existing RCD. These are the wrong way around. The way it should be done is to have a 100 amp isolator where the RCD is and a RCD between the tails out of the henley block and the old consumer unit, or change the consumer unit for one where the RCD protection is part of the consumer unit. However what has been done is wrong, solar panels can allow DC under fault conditions to flow, so should never have a type AC RCD which they could cause to freeze, specially when also supplying other things, that is completely unacceptable.  

Thanks for all your useful replies. I can see that the Henley block should come before the original RCD, which should only feed the original consumer unit, aand a separate RCD should be fitted to drive the PV system. Not only would this avoid increasing the basic mismatch on the original RCD, but when/if the PV system RCD trips it wouldn't switch off the whole house. I've seen a suggestion that this new RCD should be 100mA, not 30mA; what do you think? Fourtytwo: The inverter is a Growatt SPH3600. If, as you suggest, there is no transformer isolation, does this imply that there is a common connection beteen the grid (neutral) and the PV panel wires? This would certainly cause the RCD trip if rain causes leakage to earth! I now have the ammunition to get back to the installer...  

30mA for both. Do get the old one switched to type A.  

pieterwf said: ↑ I've seen a suggestion that this new RCD should be 100mA, not 30mA; what do you think?.. Click to expand...

pieterwf said: ↑ Thanks for all your useful replies. I can see that the Henley block should come before the original RCD, which should only feed the original consumer unit, aand a separate RCD should be fitted to drive the PV system. Not only would this avoid increasing the basic mismatch on the original RCD, but when/if the PV system RCD trips it wouldn't switch off the whole house. I've seen a suggestion that this new RCD should be 100mA, not 30mA; what do you think? Fourtytwo: The inverter is a Growatt SPH3600. If, as you suggest, there is no transformer isolation, does this imply that there is a common connection beteen the grid (neutral) and the PV panel wires? This would certainly cause the RCD trip if rain causes leakage to earth! I now have the ammunition to get back to the installer... Click to expand...

There is nothing to stop one using a 300 mA RCD if the cable used does not require RCD protection. And if SWA cable is used, then this would be the case, however SWA does not like bending, and in the main it would be a pain to try wiring in SWA or mineral insulated cable, but since the installer is not the same person as the manufacturer it is easy for a manufacturer to recommend 300 mA as they are not installing the cable. But my house has a RCD combined with the MCB for every circuit, (RCBO) so in total my house could have a 210 mA leakage without any of the 30 mA RCD's tripping. AC can pass through insulation with induction and capacitive coupling, so there is always a little leakage, and the regulations don't say you must use 1 or 14 RCD's they just say installation shall be divided into circuits to among other things to reduce the possibility of unwanted tripping of RCDs due to excessive protective conductor currents produced by equipment in normal operation. Back in the early 90's I fitted RCD's to my own house, at that time single width RCBO's to fit in the fuse box were not available, so I just fitted one for each fuse box, but by time I moved here things had moved on, so we in this house have 14 RCD's, I considered worth the extra cost to reduce the chance of a freezer failing, but nothing forces me to have 14, and it all depends on what the home owner agrees with the electrician.  

MGW: Thanks for your observations. I appreciate the advantages of RCBOs. However we had no problem until the PV system was added to the original RCB's load, so swapping the RCB for RCBOs would involve work on the distribution box for no immediate advantage. This is a 1970s house and, over the years, mods have made the distribution box a bit of a dog's dinner. Proverbs like "Let sleeping dogs lie" and "If it aint broke don't fix it" come to mind!  

The answer is that the leakage current needs to be tested. It may well be sitting at just under the threshold with the house loads that are already there and the inverter will certainly add to it. The connection to the weather may also relate to the existing installation rather than the solar for the same reason.  

pieterwf said: ↑ MGW: Thanks for your observations. I appreciate the advantages of RCBOs. However we had no problem until the PV system was added to the original RCB's load, so swapping the RCB for RCBOs would involve work on the distribution box for no immediate advantage. This is a 1970s house and, over the years, mods have made the distribution box a bit of a dog's dinner. Proverbs like "Let sleeping dogs lie" and "If it aint broke don't fix it" come to mind! Click to expand...

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Earth leakage trips when it's raining - pool pump unit the cause.

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Occasionally the house E/L switch trips and the pool pump unit is always the cause and it happens only when it is raining. The fibre glass cover prevents water from reaching the motor or it's elect. box. The cable from the box to the pump lies on the ground which is likely to become damp during prolonged rain. I don't know if this could be the problem or simply moisture in the air or something else entirely, but to wake up in the morning to find the freezer partially thawed is not pleasant. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The best way to address this is to actually find the fault and repair/replace whatever is causing it. You'll probably need an experienced electrician with suitable test equipment such as a mega tester and and earth leakage clamp meter. With it being a swimming pool which is a higher risk of shock than most things I'd strongly recommend you go this route. If you just want to address the inconvenience factor you could either put the pool circuit on it's own RCBO in the main DB or you could take the pool circuit off the earth leakage in the main DB and install another earth leakage in the pool control box where the circuit breakers for the light and pump are located. This second earth leakage will contain the tripping to just the pool itself. Both of these options aren't actually addressing the fault causing the tripping they're only addressing the inconvenience of thawed boerewors in the freezer so I wouldn't recommend them. Note; An RCBO is like a circuit breaker and earth leakage breaker combined in a single compact device. It's usually a bit longer that a standard circuit breaker so sometimes you can't fit them in an existing DB because there isn't room. RCBO

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Thanks for your advise Andy. What I find strange is that there are two E/L breakers, one in the house that serves everything, the other serves the circuit serving the pool, garage and outbuilding. The pool circuit also has an overload switch. Sometimes both E/L breakers trip but in the latest occurrence the house E/L only tripped as well as the pool overload switch. I hope I've made sense as I'm only a layman in this field.

most likely the earth leakages are wired incorrectly. the house e/l will be fine but the pool e/l must be disconnected from the house e/l. i find that a lot

Yeah, you've probably got your pool board with its earth leakage supplied via the main earth leakage breaker in the DB. If they're both 30mA then there's no 'discrimination' as it's known in the trade which means it's basically a lottery which one trips when there's a fault because they're equally sensitive. The chances of you finding the fault without specialised test equipment is pretty slim especially if it's an intermittant fault. It's unlikely to be the cable you suspected unless the cable is physically damaged so you really need to get an experienced electrician I'm afraid. If you indicate your location maybe one of the forum members is close enough to assist you, there's quite a few guys here with the skills and test equipment to localise the fault quickly.

Thanks Guys, I guess I'll have to start looking for an electrician as the electrician I used in the past has passed away.

you mentioned the pool overload switch tripped as well. most likely pool pump motor is faulty.

It's a fairly new pump and my son's PC, TV and room lights are on the same circuit.

This is my busiest time of the year Everyone has a tripping earth leakage due to rain soaking electrical equipment or penetrating deep into the earth and creating earth faults on a slightly nicked cable etc. Check if the two earth leakages are "joined", one feeding the other, change this immediately. They interfere with each other and may cause tripping for no reason in certain circumstances. Disconnect the supply line feeding the pool box on both sides and megger it between L - N, L-E, N - E. A lot of times I find an installation that has a minor nick on the cable, and it only becomes problematic months or years later, especially with heavy rains. Check if there is a light or a plug on the pool DB. 99 percent of all my faults are usually a garden light. DO NOT TRY to seal a light, you are wasting your time. Take a drilling machine and drill a small hole at the bottom of the light for the water to drain, take some silicone and cover the terminals to allow the light to pass the "standard test finger test", if you can reach the live ends of the terminal with a piece of wire. Spray bug spray in the light, around it and close it, to prevent ants from nesting inside. Clients phone me and by the time I get there, the water seeped out and I cant find the problem, which becomes a painfull and long excercise which could have been solved if I was standing in the rain wating for the next trip . Finally, a simple thing to check is all the terminals in the DB. Check to see if anything is black, or if any terminals are loose. I get about 6 DB's per year that burnt out due to a loose connection, this is almost always on the neutral supply or feeding side. A neutral supply has a resonance that actually "vibrates" and creates loose connections (as explained to me by an apparent professor, so dont take my word on the exact science of how this occurs, but it does, i've seen it too many times to disregard this). Tighten each connection, and if there is a black terminal, the carbon or the actual CB may be causing the installation to trip.

IJS Installations Electrical, Residential Gas and Electric fencing.

Thanks given for this post:

Dave A  (30-Nov-13)

Like Andy said, get someone with the knowledge and proper equipment to find the problem and solve it before someone gets hurt. That might just be the last time it tripped, you have no way of knowing that it still works.

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South looks north, as solar storm brings auroras

Geoff Brumfiel

The solar flare as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Thursday. The flare has triggered a severe geomagnetic storm watch for the first time in nearly 20 years. AP hide caption

The solar flare as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Thursday. The flare has triggered a severe geomagnetic storm watch for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Planet Earth is getting rocked by the biggest solar storm in decades.

Late Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared that the Earth was experiencing a G5, or "Extreme," geomagnetic storm. This is the first G5 storm to hit the planet since 2003.

NOAA Issues First Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch Since 2005

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NOAA warns several waves of flares will slam into the Earth over the next few hours and days, potentially disrupting communications and navigation, triggering power outages and damaging satellites. The 2003 event briefly knocked out power in part of Sweden and damaged electrical transformers in South Africa.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center says that this latest storm may induce auroras visible as far south as Northern California and Alabama.

On social media, posters were putting up photos of bright auroras visible across Russia , Scandinavia , the U.K . and continental Europe . Some reported seeing the aurora as far south as Mallorca, Spain .

my cat just experienced the aurora borealis, one of the world's most radiant natural phenomena... and she doesn't care pic.twitter.com/Ee74FpWHFm — PJ (@kickthepj) May 10, 2024

The source of the solar storm is a cluster of sunspots on the sun's surface that is 17 times the diameter of the earth. The spots are filled with tangled magnetic fields that can act as slingshots, throwing huge quantities of charged particles towards our planet. These events, known as Coronal Mass Ejections, become more common during the peak of the Sun's 11-year solar cycle.

Usually, they miss the Earth, but this time, NOAA says several are headed directly towards our planet.

Extreme (G5) geomagnetic conditions have been observed! pic.twitter.com/qLsC8GbWus — NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) May 10, 2024

"We have high confidence that a series of coronal mass ejections ... are directed right towards Earth," says Shawn Dahl, service coordinator for the Space Weather Prediction Center told reaporters early Friday.

NOAA's GOES-16 satellite captured a flare erupting occurred around 2 p.m. EDT on May 9, 2024.

While they expect the storm to be large, there's still a lot of uncertainty about what the other effects could be, Dahl says.

"I wouldn't want to speculate on that," Dahl says.

Shocking problems

The most disruptive solar storm ever recorded came in 1859. Known as the "Carrington Event," it generated shimmering auroras that were visible as far south as Mexico and Hawaii. It also fried telegraph systems throughout Europe and North America.

While this geomagnetic storm will not be as strong, the world has grown more dependent on electronics and electrical systems. Depending on the orientation of the storm's magnetic field it could induce unexpected electrical currents in long-distance power lines — those currents could cause safety systems to flip, triggering temporary power outages in some areas.

Stronger activity on the sun could bring more displays of the northern lights in 2024

The storm is also likely to disrupt the ionosphere, a section of Earth's atmosphere filled with charged particles. Some long-distance radio transmissions use the ionosphere to "bounce" signals around the globe, and those signals will likely be disrupted. The particles may also refract and otherwise scramble signals from the global positioning system, according to Rob Steenburgh, a space scientist with NOAA. Those effects can linger for a few days after the storm.

What Causes The Northern Lights? Scientists Finally Know For Sure

Steenburgh says it's unclear just how bad the disruptions will be. While we are more dependent than ever on GPS, there are also more satellites in orbit. Moreover, the anomalies from the storm are constantly shifting through the ionosphere like ripples in a pool. "Outages, with any luck, should not be prolonged," Steenburgh says.

The radiation from the storm could have other undesirable effects. At high altitudes, it could damage satellites, while at low altitudes, it's likely to increase atmospheric drag, causing some satellites to sink toward the Earth.

The changes to orbits wreak havoc, warns Tuija Pulkkinen, chair of the department of climate and space sciences at the University of Michigan. Since the last solar maximum, companies such as SpaceX have launched thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit. Those satellites will now see their orbits unexpectedly changed.

"There's a lot of companies that haven't seen these kind of space weather effects before," she says.

The International Space Station lies within Earth's magnetosphere, so its astronauts should be mostly protected, Steenburgh says.

In a statement, NASA said that astronauts would not take additional measures to protect themselves: "NASA completed a thorough analysis of recent space weather activity and determined it posed no risk to the crew aboard the International Space Station and no additional precautionary measures are needed," the agency said late Friday.

People visit St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay to see the aurora borealis on Friday in Whitley Bay, England. Ian Forsyth/Getty Images hide caption

People visit St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay to see the aurora borealis on Friday in Whitley Bay, England.

While this storm will undoubtedly keep satellite operators and utilities busy over the next few days, individuals don't really need to do much to get ready.

"As far as what the general public should be doing, hopefully they're not having to do anything," says Dahl. The largest problem could be a brief blackout, so keep some flashlights and a radio handy, he says.

I took these photos near Ranfurly in Central Otago, New Zealand. Anyone can use them please spread far and wide. :-) https://t.co/NUWpLiqY2S — Dr Andrew Dickson reform/ACC (@AndrewDickson13) May 10, 2024

And don't forget to go outside and look up, adds Steenburgh. This event's aurora is visible much further south than usual.

A faint aurora can be detected by a modern cell phone camera, he adds, so even if you can't see it with your eyes, try taking a photo of the sky.

The aurora "is really the gift from space weather," he says.

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