How to Find Electrical Fault in 7 Steps

Electrical faults in the home can put your family in serious danger if the problem is not isolated and repaired immediately. On average in Istanbul, electrical breakdowns cause 11 worker deaths per year, so you can see the risk these breakdowns can put your family at risk.

Usually, when there are electrical faults in your home, the special circuit breaker with the fault will trip and cut the electricity. Sometimes, however, this is not the case and instead the main switch that powers your entire home may trip. Fault finding can help you identify the problematic circuit and restore power elsewhere.

Dönmez Elektrik Teknikleri is your local electrical expert for fault finding and find electrical fault There are 7 steps to help you. These electrical fault finding techniques can prevent damage to your family or home due to an electrical fault.

1. Close All Circuit Breaker Fuses

If your entire home is out of power and it's not from your electricity provider, you will see the main switch in your switchboard turn on. This can trip if it detects any electrical faults as a safety precaution.

Individual circuit breakers will still be on, so you will need to turn them off first.

2. Unlock Master Security Key

With all switches in the off position, you can now turn the master security switch back on. Now you have electricity in your house. However, when individual circuits are closed, your appliances and fixtures are not yet powered.

3. Reopen Every Circuit Breaker Fuse

When the main switch is turned back on, you can now turn each circuit breaker switch back on. The key here is to turn each switch back on one at a time.

4. Identify Faulty Circuit

You will be able to find the faulty circuit by opening each switch separately. A faulty circuit is a circuit that closes again after turning it back on! Some components of this circuit are causing your electrical failure.

5. Close All Keys Again

Once the faulty circuit is detected, you should now close all the switches again.

6. Turn the Power Back On

Now we can begin the process of returning electricity to circuits that are not turning on. Turn on the main switch first and then turn on each circuit again except the faulty circuit.

Now you have power back to your home and you don't have to worry about this faulty circuit turning back on.

7. Call a Fault Finding Electrician

When the faulty circuit is detected and the power is cut, a professional fault finding expert electrician It's time to call. Until your faults are resolved, this switch will not remain open and no electricity will be supplied to any device connected to the circuit.

What Causes Electrical Faults?

An electrical fault can be caused by a number of different problems in your home. Some are human error and can be easily fixed, while others can be more systematic.

Here is a list of the most common causes of electrical faults:

• Overloaded circuit – too many devices or equipment are connected to the circuit and the electricity demand exceeds the maximum available supply
• The wires in the main electrical box are packed very tightly – there should be about 30mm of space between the wires to avoid damage during installation or repair
• Loose connections on main panel – connections on main panel must be securely installed

Some of these, unfortunately, are beyond your control beyond ensuring that your electrician is fully licensed. Still, there are a few things you can do at home to avoid mistakes.

Additional Source: What is the Difference Between Magnetometer, Gaussmeter and Teslameter?

How to Prevent Electrical Faults

The first and easiest way to prevent electrical breakdowns is to ensure that all electricians working in your home are fully licensed. In fact, it is actually illegal for unlicensed or unregistered electricians to do any electrical work. Improper electrical work is a one-way trip to an electrical fault somewhere down the line.

You can also prevent malfunctions in your home by taking precautions:

• Regularly inspect your cables for damage
• Have a dedicated circuit for energy-intensive appliances like air conditioners
• Do not overload a circuit with too many connections or bind power boards to power boards.
• Have your board checked by an electrician regularly for malfunctions.

Sometimes a breakdown is unstoppable, so what system is there to protect you and your home?

What is Closed, Open and Short Circuit?

Your panel uses closed and open circuits to protect both your family and your home from electrical faults. What are these?

Open and Closed Circuits

A circuit consists of electrical wires and components such as fans, switches, and lights. For electricity to flow, wires and components must create a closed path through which electricity flows. This is a closed circuit.

Any interruption of this closed path will create an open circuit. This interruption could be a switch in the off position or even faulty wiring. An open circuit will stop the flow of electricity and will not power any connected components.

A simple example of this is a light and its switch. When the switch is open, the circuit closes and electricity flows through it. This causes the light to turn on. When the light switch is turned off, the circuit is interrupted (opened) and the light is turned off because the electricity is no longer flowing.

Your circuit breaker acts like a switch in this case. It activates when it detects an electrical fault and opens the circuit, stopping the flow of electricity in this circuit.

Short Circuits

While open and closed circuits are part of the normal operation of your home electrical equipment, short circuits are bad news. This is where a connection is made where it shouldn't be and electricity flows through it.

Your circuit breaker aims to protect your electrical systems from this problem.

You Should Call an Expert in Electrical Faults

Faulty electrical systems in your home put your home and family at great risk for dangerous electrical problems. These risks include electric shocks and even electrical fires.

Unless you are a licensed electrician, you cannot determine the cause of your electrical problems or make necessary repairs. That's why it's important to have a qualified electrician for troubleshooting electrical services.

Donmez Electricprovides exceptional emergency electrical services to homes across the European Side of Istanbul. We understand the risks that a power failure puts your home and family into, and we have advanced electrical troubleshooting techniques to keep your home safe.

Not sure how to find electrical faults on your own? That's okay – a Metropolitan electrician can be at your home in just 1 hour* after your call, with the best troubleshooting techniques, equipment and knowledge to take control of your home's electricity.