Fault finding & repairs
Electrical fault finding & repairs
Something trips the moment you plug the kettle in. Half the sockets are dead. A light flickers only when it rains. These are the jobs that get bodged most often, because guessing is quicker than testing — and a guess that happens to work still leaves the fault there.
How I actually find it
Fault finding is a process of elimination with instruments, not intuition. Insulation resistance testing on each circuit, splitting circuits at junction points to halve the search area, and checking the things that genuinely fail most often — moisture in outside lights and sockets, cables nicked by a previous trade, failing accessories, and neutrals borrowed between circuits by whoever wired it last.
The most common cause I find in Pudsey and Bradford stone terraces is water getting into an outdoor fitting or a garage supply, which is why so many of these faults are weather-dependent. An intermittent fault that only happens in the rain is a strong clue, not a mystery — tell me when it happens and it saves us both time.
What it costs
Fault finding is charged for the time it takes, because nobody can honestly quote a fixed price to find something they have not seen yet. What I will do is agree a limit with you up front — if it is going to run past that, I stop and talk to you rather than run up a bill. Most faults are found within the first hour or two.
Things worth trying before you call
Not everything needs an electrician, and I would rather tell you that than charge you to find out:
- Unplug everything on the affected circuit, reset the breaker, then plug items back one at a time. A failing appliance is the cause more often than the wiring.
- If it is an outside light or a garage, check after dry weather — if the fault goes, it is water ingress.
- If the whole house is dead, check whether your neighbours are too before calling anyone. That is a job for the network operator on 105, and it is free.
Genuinely urgent things
Burning smells, scorch marks or discolouration round a socket, a consumer unit that is hot to the touch, or anything that has given someone a shock — turn that circuit off at the board and get it looked at the same day. Do not wait to see if it settles down.
Common questions
Do you charge a call-out fee?
I charge for the time on site rather than a separate call-out on top. You get told the hourly rate and an agreed limit before I set off, so there are no surprises.
Can you come out the same day?
Often, for anything genuinely dangerous — burning smells, scorch marks, or a shock. Ring rather than emailing if it is urgent. Non-urgent faults are usually within a few days.
My RCD trips at random with nothing plugged in. What is it?
Most often moisture in an outdoor circuit or a failing appliance that is hard-wired, like a boiler, shower or immersion heater. Sometimes it is accumulated small leakage across several circuits, which is exactly the problem RCBOs on individual circuits solve.
Will you fix it on the first visit?
Usually. I carry common accessories and cable, so most faults are found and repaired in one visit. If a part needs ordering I will make it safe and come back.
Other things I do
Fuse boards & consumer units
Old fuse box swapped for a modern consumer unit with RCBO protection on every circuit, tested and certified in a day.
House rewires
Full and partial rewires, planned around you room by room so you are never left without power or lighting overnight.
EICRs & landlord certificates
Electrical Installation Condition Reports for homeowners, landlords and letting agents — with any remedial work done by the same person who found it.
Want a price?
Tell me a bit about the job and I'll come and look. No charge for the visit, and a fixed price before anything starts.