All categories

Switchboards & safety switches

Nuisance trips, dead circuits, and board faults.

Switchboards & safety switches

Safety switch (RCD) keeps tripping at the switchboard

The safety switch trips repeatedly — instantly on reset, randomly, or when certain appliances run. It's detecting earth leakage somewhere; the job is to find where.

5 causes3 test steps
QualifiedHigh risk
Switchboards & safety switches

Safety switch won't reset

The safety switch won't stay up when you try to reset it — power can't be restored because a fault is still present (or the device/wiring is at fault).

4 causes3 test steps
QualifiedHigh risk
Switchboards & safety switches

A circuit breaker keeps tripping (domestic)

One circuit breaker keeps tripping — instantly on reset or after a load runs — and you need to tell an overload from a short or a faulty appliance.

4 causes3 test steps
ApprenticeHigh risk
Switchboards & safety switches

No power to the whole house

The entire home has no power — nothing works. Could be a supply outage, the main switch/main safety switch, or a main fault, and the first job is to tell which.

4 causes3 test steps
QualifiedHigh risk
Switchboards & safety switches

Switchboard buzzing, warm, or smells hot

The switchboard hums/buzzes, feels warm, or has a hot/burning smell — a sign of a loose connection or an overloaded device, and a genuine fire-risk warning.

4 causes2 test steps
QualifiedHigh risk
Switchboards & safety switches

Old rewireable fuse blowing repeatedly

An older home with ceramic rewireable fuses keeps blowing a fuse on one circuit — the fuse is doing its job; something is overloading or faulting that circuit.

4 causes3 test steps
QualifiedHigh risk