What is tripping my RCD?

BlazingSaddler

Hi all. I live in a 20 year old house, never had any problems with the electrics before but recently the power keeps tripping. It happens approximately once or twice each week, at random times but more often than not it seems to be a nighttime when all five of us in the house are asleep. All I can think of is that it must be the fridge. Other than that the only thing that has changed was getting a couple of extra sockets fitted in a converted room about six months ago. Any ideas?, am I missing something or do I need to get the fridge looked at? Many thanks

kirk.

It could be related to the extra wiring

Hard to say really without testing

Damp is always a possibility

smuggler.ie

How about, if on separate breaker, eliminate new install and monitor for a week or two...

10-10-20

Any external lights or sockets added?

I always find that these are the most common cause of RCD trips, specifically after rain.

wotzgoingon

Any breaker go down with the RCD? Just wondering to narrow it down to which area in the house is tripping and then to pin point the device if it is a device that is causing it.

meercat

I’d usually look at the immersion first

as kirk said,hard to tell without testing

BlazingSaddler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120456049#Comment_120456049

Thanks all. No, no breaker down with the RCD. I’ve tried isolating the immersion and it has tripped with the immersion off. It happened again last night at around 4am. As all in the house asleep all I can think of is the fridge. Would this be the only appliance that could cause a ‘surge’ when turned on but not in use?!

iwillhtfu

Do you have a water softener in the house? They'll usually do a regen at night.

It could be anything though and you'll probably have to leave off a breaker at a time if it's happening every night to try and narrow down the area the fault is in. Also could be a faulty sensor light wired off off a socket circuit coming on at night.

Fridge will be on an off all day so I doubt it's that but could be a possibility.

kirk.

Dunno about switching off breakers , could be there forever

Trial and error works alright when the rcd won't reset ,not so much on random trips

emo72

I isolated same problem to an old brick shed. Probably 20 years old. Problem started work the severe cold a few weeks back. Haven't tested it lately, just left the switch off. Anyone think it will heal itself with the warmer weather?

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120461751#Comment_120461751

It will get worse with the April and May showers before it gets better anyhow. I wouldn't be depending on a good drying day for electrical safety. 🤣

iwillhtfu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120461736#Comment_120461736

True, thought it was a regular nightly thing.

There's not many more options though for OP going solo. Perhaps try unplugging appliances but obviously not the fridge/freezer 🙈 Do you run the dishwasher or washing machine at night? I know some do now with the smart metering.

Eldudeson

I had the same problem previously. The RCD would trip about once a month. It was driving me crazy until one day it went and wouldn't reset. After plugging out all the appliances one by one, it was the fridge! After replacing the fridge, there hasn't been a trip since.

It's very tough to diagnose when it happens so far apart.

Edit: Forgot to say that it was recommended that I replace the RCD itself. There's always a chance that it's the part that's faulty. I did that first but it wasn't my issue.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120464589#Comment_120464589

Could be just damp outside , sockets, joints

Needs a rec to test the wiring insulation resistance, and ramp test rcd and even leakage testing

Mr321

Do you have a private well as your water mains OP?

The Continental Op

OP do you have exposed cables in the roof? Can you take a look and see what condition they are in? 4am in the morning with nothing else obviously tripping the RCD would have me wondering about rodents taking a nibble at the cables?