Today I was doing an EICR and went around a couple sockets with a Megger MST220 socket tester just to see if there was anything obvious, all three green lights came on saying everything was fine and correct. When I took the faceplate off to do my R1 R2s I got readings of 0.60 on R1 but then >2000 on Rn. I know socket testers shouldn't be relied on and I only use it to see if there if anything obvious before I take the faceplate off but surly it should of shown a natural fault?
Socket Tester
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You would have hoped so. Try it in a known working socket, see what it does, then if it shows all being well, remove the neutral and then see what it does. (I suspect it will not indicate a lost neutral)
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What are the earthing arrangements??
If the installation is TT with a higher external earth loop impedance than with TNS / TNCS..
Then from first hand experience plug-in, (three-lamp-indication), socket testers can sometimes be as much use as a chocolate teapot with some neutral related faults!
If you are not already aware of it.. best practice guide 8 may be of some use?
https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/media/1205/best-practice-guide-8-issue-2.pdf
If the installation is TT with a higher external earth loop impedance than with TNS / TNCS..
Then from first hand experience plug-in, (three-lamp-indication), socket testers can sometimes be as much use as a chocolate teapot with some neutral related faults!
If you are not already aware of it.. best practice guide 8 may be of some use?
https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/media/1205/best-practice-guide-8-issue-2.pdf
I will give that a go, give it the best hope
I have been looking for that! I saw someone talking about it on a video but couldn't find it. Thank you.
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I’ve never seen a socket tester that showed N/E reversal
MDJ
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The earthing arrangements are irrelevent, the rest of your post I agree with, these plug in testers confirm polarity not readings between conductors, they are like volt sticks, handy but not reliable.
Who uses a socket tester on an EICR to confirm polarity ?
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How many times have you had a call out to wire a cooker because Curry's fitters reckon there's a faulty earth?
How many times have you had a call out to wire a cooker because Curry's fitters reckon there's a faulty earth?
A few but the worst one was when there was no earth for the house. A little bit of investigation found the main earth had been disconnected - probably 30 years earlier when last spark did some work
I'm not sure I'm interpretting the original post right, but I'm picturing it that the OP went round with the socket tester and I'D all the sockets on this cirucit and while doing so got three greens, then isolated, removed the socket front and started testing end to ends at the socket (assume the upper case was typo?) and was supprised that the neutral was open end to end but that the socket tester han't indicated an issue..... (and I am hoping that I'm wrong!)
Sounds like the neutral ring is broken somewhere, you can can still have neutral at a socket with a broken ring. A socket tester won't be able to tell you whether the ring is broken... what's the issue?
