Fault Finding

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Prevent power outages and dangerous electrical emergencies with fault finding!

Power outages caused by electrical faults can be incredibly stressful.

They can interrupt your daily life and the functioning of your business or organisation.

Not to mention the fact that they can be incredibly dangerous for the safety of your property and all those who use it.

Fault finding is your first line of defense against these issues as well as being the best was to locate and repair the electrical fault.

Here at 181 Electrical we offer a range of fault finding tests as part of our electrical services.

These tests must be administered by a licensed electrician to safely locate the root cause of the electrical problems.

But first…

What is an Electrical Fault?

The definition of an electrical fault is a failure in the electrical components or circuitry within an electrical system which affects its performance, operation or safety.

The symptoms of these faults can include power outages, electrical shocks, electrical leaks and electrical fires.

Where Is My Electrical Fault Coming From?

There are many areas that your electrical fault could be coming from, whether it is a large or small electrical problem.

Here are just a few of the main areas that could be at the root of your issue:

Electrical Switchboard

While switchboards are revolutionary in providing consistent power to our homes they also have the potential to be incredibly dangerous if they are not cared for and maintained properly.

As they are the source of power for the whole property any issues will also result in a loss of electricity.

Problems with an electrical switchboard can include faulty wiring, a faulty circuit, lack of safety switches, tripping circuit breakers and more.

By regularly inspecting electrical switchboards and carrying out electrical fault finding an experienced electrician can help ensure they remain safe for use.

Safety Switch

Safety switches are often installed in switchboards and are your first defense against electrical hazards or issues in your property.

They are an essential item as they help to prevent damage or loss of power supply from events like power surges.

However, they do need to be frequently tested have and electrical fault finding carried out on them to ensure that they are in working order.

Many electrical inspectors will carry out electrical inspections on each safety switch when doing electrical switchboard inspections.

There are many electrical faults that can occur in these devices including electrical insulation faults, breaking of circuit wiring inside the switches, faulty internal wiring and loose electrical connections.

These issues will be quickly located and repaired by a licensed electrician during testing.

Surge Protectors

Power surges can be caused by natural events such as thunderstorms or man made problems such as power grid surges.

Full home and dedicated surge protectors are very helpful in preventing damaging power surges in your property. Which is why it is important that electrical fault finding electrical inspections are carried out at least once a year to ensure that they are in working order.

Surge protectors should be tested for electrical faults after electrical storms or electrical spikes to check if they have been damaged.

Electrical Wiring

Faulty, broken or worn out electrical wiring is a big cause of electrical faults in a property. It is quite clear why broken wire could effect your access to power. However, the bigger issue is that this fault is also a huge risk factor for property and house fires.

This issue can be caused by multiple things – obviously the age of the wires can be a big factor, but wires can also be chewed through by animals if they are not properly protected.

They can also be damaged by electrical wires coming into contact with them, electrical short circuits and power fluctuations.

Regular electrical inspection lead to early detection of electrical faults- keeping your people safe and saving you money in damages!

Faulty Electrical Equipment or Appliances

Faulty appliances or electrical equipment can be responsible for issues in your electrical system.

This can occur because of a fault in the appliance that is short circuiting or tripping your electrical system.

This can be common in appliances or equipment that use a lot of electricity such as refrigerators or power tools as the fault within the appliance overloads your electrical circuit and cuts the power.

Our qualified electricians will be able to find the fault in the shortest time possible, preventing huge financial losses due to power outages or lasting damage to your electrical circuits.

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How Does Electrical Fault Finding Work?

Before electrical inspection can occur electrical fault finding must take place to determine the location of electrical faults in switchboards, circuit breakers or electrical wires.

This is done using testing equipment such as voltage meters, ammeters and electrical continuity testers.

By electrical fault finding electrical faults electrical inspectors can provide you with a quality electrical report.

These can be very complicated electrical installations consisting of many different electrical sub-systems working together to provide electrical power.

Electrical Faults can Result in damage to your property including electrical shock, electrical fires, electrical access problems and high electrical bills.

Signs You Need Electrical Fault Finding Tests in Your Property

There are a few tell tale signs that something is not quite right when it comes to the safety and reliability of your power supply. It’s not just completely losing power to some sections of your home that should start the alarm bells ringing.

If you notice any of the following it may be time to call a professional electrician to deal with the problem before it gets any worse and does lasting damage:

Flickering lights.
Light switches or power point switches that are difficult to flick on and off.
Light switches or power point switches that make a cracking noise or flash when they are turned on or off.
Power points that flash or crack when appliances are plugged in.
Electrical equipment that regularly trips the power in your property.
Smoke detectors that often have false alarms.

Electrical Inspections and Fault Finding for Rental Properties

Government regulations that came into place in March 2021 now require electrical safety checks and services to be carried out on all rental properties by a licensed electrician every 2 years.

The majority of switchboards will require electrical testing and electrical fault finding by a qualified electrician as part of the inspection process when being purchased or leased.

It also dictates that all smoke alarms must be tested according to the manufacturer’s instructions and replaced if required at least once every 12 months.

Our safety checks include:

An electrical safety check of the electrical installation, switchboard and fittings provided by the landlord.
Testing of all smoke alarms in all properties except apartments (this must be done by a specialist technician) to ensure they are in working order.

We will then provide a detailed electrical report of any problems found and a quote for their repair along with recommendations on how to improve electrical safety in your property.

This electrical report is provided to the owner or tenant so that they know what has been inspected and if there are any electrical faults that need to be addressed or electrical work that needs to be carried out.

Emergency Electricians

Electrical fault finding is often required in the event of an electrical emergency.

These emergencies usually manifest as a loss of power to one or multiple areas of a property.

In this circumstance one of our licensed electricians will need to perform a number of fault finding tests to determine the cause of the lost power.

They will then provide an additional quote for the work required to fix the issue.

There are many things that could cause this power outage or electrical issue hence the required testing.

181 Electrical offers a quick response time with emergency jobs booked in our Service Area and operating hours attended within two hours of the query lodgement.

Benefits of Electrical Fault Finding

There are many benefits of regular or pre-emptive electrical fault finding including:

Preventing power outages and electrical dangers

Undetected electrical issues can result in dangerous events such as arc flashes and electrical fire.

Why risk this when you can get a simple check that will give you physical safety and peace of mind? It’s a no brainer!

Maintaining equipment for optimal performance

Power outages and faults aren’t only annoying while they are happening. They can also be incredibly destructive.

If your electrical circuits or systems are faulty surges or fault can damage every electrical appliance in your entire house that is plugged into a power point.

That is a lot of devices to replace and a lot of money. Save yourself the hassle with a quick check!

Safe Installation

To ensure all your new installations are safe and will function optimally, any qualified electrician should perform tests including fault finding before completing the job. This is essential for a high quality electrical service.

What Is Involved In Electrical Fault Finding?

Electrical fault finding is more than just tracing and repairing visible faults. Fault finding in the electrical field means working with complicated wiring configurations, multiple fault locations and specific fault types.

To succeed in fault finding technical need to have practical experience, detailed knowledge of both fault finding hardware and electrical circuits, as well as an electrical fault finding mindset.

Essentially, you need to book reliable, professional electricians to ensure excellent work in this area.

Which is where we come in…