Circuit breaker trips during windy weather

ronanb78

New build 2020.

During stormy windy weather our circuit breaker trips. Happens even if nothing is on, except fridge, ventilation system etc. The external power cable is connected under the ground.

Any tips for trouble shooting?

Would it be worth logging a esb fault and risking the 136euro fee, if no external fault is found?

kirk.

No don't log it with esbn

Call a REC and most likely get an IR test on the fixed wiring and locate the fault, if that is the issue

maestroamado

likely just a loose connection.. tricky to fault-find...

meercat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118664356#Comment_118664356

Agree with this

what tripswitch is tripping (is it the rcd)

have you an outside socket or cabling. Along with stormy windy weather comes driving rain which may be allowing moisture ingress somewhere.

ronanb78

Yes, it trips the rcd. We have outside sockets but they are securely covered. No outside cables.

meercat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118664579#Comment_118664579

I’d definitely be checking the outside sockets first

the cover may be secure but the seal may be allowing moisture in (they’re fiddly to install correctly)

have a good look at the black seal around the middle in daylight

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118664379#Comment_118664379

Not likely to cause an RCD trip

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118665189#Comment_118665189

what do you think... its something wind is effecting so likely outside...

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118665247#Comment_118665247

If op said wind and rain maybe a joint or socket outside

If you can't physically identify the issue you'd do an IR test at affected RCD

ronanb78

RCD just tripped again. The majority of the house still has power, there are only a few electrical items and sockets that lose power.

Would I be right in saying that the issue is linked to one of those?

meercat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668502#Comment_118668502

Yes,but it could be the wiring and not the appliances. I’d always recommend to make sure the immersion is turned off. As Kirk said,an insulation resistance test should identify the circuit

Bruthal.

Outside sockets would be better setup through double pole switches inside. Eliminates a lot of this messing in these situations.

Bruthal.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118665247#Comment_118665247

Probably, but as said, unlikely to be a loose connection if the RCD tripping is the symptom.

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118665262#Comment_118665262

like me you cannot know unless there... its all speculation...

Car99

Do you have outside lights?

P2C

I had something similar recently. It was a loose connection on the rcd in the end. After consulting a spark I took the cover of the fuse board to inspect the area only ( normally 4 plastic screws) look to see if any singing, burning or black. If there is any call a spark. I had my head light checking sockets, dishwasher as there were intermittent faults on certain sockets and randomly tripping.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118669515#Comment_118669515

That would be unusual though

You wouldn't normally be tightening connections to troubleshoot an rcd trip , if thats actually the case

That would be more of an issue for arc fault interruption

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118669460#Comment_118669460

We can know what's likely and what's unlikely ,that's the whole point of replying

Your scenario is generally unlikely

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118669660#Comment_118669660

Clarify if you can..

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118669672#Comment_118669672

No need

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118669689#Comment_118669689

sleep well..

Bruthal.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118669460#Comment_118669460

Well you speculated that it might be a loose connection. Seems an unlikely cause of a tripping RCD, although Its hard to rule anything out but there would be a list from most to least likely.

kirk.

I wouldn't rule out anything but loose connections is not normally something you go looking for when an rcd is tripping

I recall a shower installer here mentioning that replacing RCBOs was a likely fix for nuisance tripping if no fault found.Not something I ever considered much as I'm in the habit of assuming they work reliably after testing but there you go.

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670911#Comment_118670911

Maybe its the wind...