Fuse board keeps tripping? Read this first.
A board that trips is doing its job: something on that circuit is leaking current or drawing too much, and the board is refusing to let it become dangerous. The trick is working out whether the cause is an appliance, a circuit, or the board itself.
What you can safely check yourself.
- One appliance? Unplug everything on the affected circuit, reset, then plug items back in one at a time. If the trip follows one appliance around the house, the appliance is the problem, and that is a cheap fix.
- One circuit? If the same breaker drops with nothing unusual plugged in, note which rooms die with it. That tells the electrician where to start and saves you diagnostic time.
- The whole board? If the main RCD drops and takes half the house with it, the fault can be anywhere on that side. This is the one that most needs a professional trace.
The usual suspects.
In rough order of how often we find them: a failing appliance (kettles, washing machines and immersion heaters lead the table), moisture in an outside socket or garden fitting, a nail or screw through a cable from some past DIY, a worn element in a shower or oven, and, less often than people fear, a genuine wiring fault.
When the board itself is the problem.
Older boards with a single RCD protecting everything are wired so one faulty kettle can black out half the house. A modern board splits circuits across independent protection, so a fault takes out one circuit rather than the lot, and it adds surge protection while it is there. If your board trips often and is more than fifteen years old, an assessment is worth having even if a single fault started the conversation.
Asked about this.
Why does my RCD trip when it rains?
Water is almost certainly getting into an outdoor socket, light or junction box and leaking current to earth. It needs finding and sealing or replacing. It will not fix itself.
Is a tripping fuse board dangerous?
The tripping itself is the protection working. What it is detecting may well be dangerous, which is why frequent tripping should be traced rather than lived with.
Do I need a whole new fuse board?
Not always. If the board is modern and one circuit faults, you need the fault fixed. If the board is old, unsplit or has no spare ways, replacement is often the better spend, and we tell you straight which case yours is.