Surgeguard claims that i have faulty wiring

[MoD1977]

Hello,

 

I have a Surgeguard SR-8 to give my HiFi and TV a bit more protection.

For the last 3 days I noticed that the "Fault Wiring" LED is flashing all day long and since yesterday it's constant on.

Before it was flashing only when some worker with old powertools where around the house.

 

I took my small socket tester what i bought 3 months ago to check all the sockets in the house (everything was fine then) and got a reading for "Live/GRD reverse, missing GRD"

 

I measured the socket next to my breaker box and had L-GRD=160V and N-GRD=70V

There was no electrical work going on in the house for over a year.

All apliances in the house work just fine.

 

 

Has anyone (crossy) an idea what could be the problem?

Could it be that the soil under the house dried up because there was almost no rain for a long time in pattaya and it's now to dry to make a good ground?

 

Kind regards

MOD

 

[Crossy]

It does look awfully like you have a missing ground.

 

Try running a long lead from your breaker box ground bar to a big screwdriver in the lawn (and water it), see if things improve.

 

[MoD1977]

Thanks Crossy, I'll try that.

[OneMoreFarang]

15 minutes ago, Crossy said:

It does look awfully like you have a missing ground.

 

Try running a long lead from your breaker box ground bar to a big screwdriver in the lawn (and water it), see if things improve.

 

That's the theory.

But I would be very carful connection any ground to anything which should be ground. Because bad things might happen.

It seems many (most?) electricians in Thailand do weird things. And when things somehow work they don't do anything anymore. But if whatever they did is legal or the way it should be is a completely different thing.

 

I would try to get someone you trust to check that out. Don't try it yourself if you are not 100% sure what you are doing. 

[Crossy]

12 minutes ago, MoD1977 said:

Thanks Crossy, I'll try that.

 

In line with OMF's worry, do turn off your main breaker before connecting anything just in case ????

 

You could also try measuring the voltage L, N and E to your screwdriver before actually connecting to the ground bar.

 

Also, if you have a regular incandescent lamp stick that in the wire to your screwdriver, if it lights up - worry!

 

[Tropposurfer]

Don't ever ever ever play with electricity unless you are trained and qualified.

 

I understand we live in a place that is hard and frustrating to get appropriate tradie help, don't attach wires to or touch exposed wired (whether breaker tripped or not on a mains board). Even touching a mains board can kill you instantly if the wiring is faulty. Never touch or attach any exposed wiring unless you are trained and licensed.

Get a falang recommended electrician or electrical engineer to check you circuitry, circuit loads, and do a 'ground' test. Is your life worth as little as a few hundred baht?

[Sumarianson]

Try throwing a few buckets of water over the earth rod and give it 30 min and read again. Tbe dry earth can affect the earth as you say.

[bankruatsteve]

Something simple to try that could indicate the cause...

Plug your socket tester into the socket next to the CU.  Assume it shows the same as above.

Start turning off circuit breakers one by one.

If turning off a breaker changes the status to "good", it is likely you have a gecko, ants, or whatever causing a L-E fault in that circuit.  Check each outlet to find.

[ifmu]

22 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Something simple to try that could indicate the cause...

Plug your socket tester into the socket next to the CU.  Assume it shows the same as above.

Start turning off circuit breakers one by one.

If turning off a breaker changes the status to "good", it is likelly you have a gecko, ants, or whatever causing a L-E fault in that circuit.  Check each outlet to find.

This is agood test. Aoto electrical diag tests are like this

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Tropposurfer said:

Don't ever ever ever play with electricity unless you are trained and qualified.

 

I understand we live in a place that is hard and frustrating to get appropriate tradie help, don't attach wires to or touch exposed wired (whether breaker tripped or not on a mains board). Even touching a mains board can kill you instantly if the wiring is faulty. Never touch or attach any exposed wiring unless you are trained and licensed.

Get a falang recommended electrician or electrical engineer to check you circuitry, circuit loads, and do a 'ground' test. Is your life worth as little as a few hundred baht?

That is ridiculously over the top and a vast exaggerated assessment of the dangers involved.
 

Playing with electricity is certainly a bad idea, but working with it is not. Yes you should understand the limit of your knowledge and work within it. Do as electricians do and keep one hand in your pocket when working and most people have an extremely low chance of killing them selves.
 

 

[natway09]

Earth leakage I think, check earth wire to board to ensure not damaged, check earth  with electric screwdriver to ensure does not light up, bash earth rod with a hammer, & yes pour some water down the rod but only if the screwdriver does not light up

[Peterw42]

OP, salty water or at least not filtered/purified water is best for the earth rod, as pure water is actually an insulator.

 

P on it is the best, lol, As an old school telephone tech I fixed the odd single wire earth return phone service by doing just that.

[Janner1]

Don’t play with it, just get it checked out.

safety first always