Power Surge

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Suzannahen20

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hello and it is good to be welcomed so warmly!

2 weeks ago I had a whole house circuit test done and the electrician turned off the mains for 1 hour.

after the test was complete I discovered that I had no telephone line and that my television was inoperable.

the electrician did not unplug any electronic equipment before the test - all was switched on and when he switched the mains on again after an hour  this is what I discovered had happened.  I just wonder if this was due to a power surge and what may have created the damage to the equipment?

many thanks,

Suzanne H of London

 
I wonder if anyone could help me work out what may have occurred when I had the circuits checked in my house.

the electrician turned off the power for an hour and when he turned it back on after the testing, my phone and television were inoperable.

He did not unplug or switch off any electronic devices and I am wondering whether this should have been done before he switched the power back on again - perhaps creating a power surge.

grateful for any clues.

many thanks in advance.

Suzanne H

 
He will have performed an insulation resistance check at possibly 500V or even 1000V

He should have unplugged everything first as no doubt he will have got a poor reading with stuff plugged in so he should have investigated that.

In spite of the high voltage, the current available is tiny so it is very rare for stuff to actually get damaged but it sounds likely that's what happened here.

 
everything should be unplugged, although its not always practical (or known if everything is) so L-N is usually linked for the test. but it does sound like he may have put 500v L-N and damaged the electronics

 
Did the sparky give you a cert covering the tests and results he did?

Why was the testing done?

Have you consulted the sparky to see what he says?

 
is the telephone a hands free type that is plugged into the sockets? if not im not sure why the telephone wouldnt be working.

When you say the TV doesnt work, what does not work exactly?

I have had customers say this and it turns out to be a silly sky box that needed resetting or something

 
The electrician turning the power off then back on would be no different to a power cut from the supply company. As has been mentioned some electronic equipment can be vulnerable to Insulation Resistance testing if the 500v test voltage is put across Live and Neutral. Have ALLcircuits been switched back on? e.g. a TV aerial amplifier in the loft may be on a different circuit to the TV. (supply power fluctuates during normal use, most electronic equipment has some inbuilt protection from the common surges and fluctuations that occur daily).

Duplicate threads merged.

Doc H.

 
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