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Totally OT:question for a sparkie or elec engineer


ajfclark

13-Sep-2012
7:55:05 AM

On 12/09/2012 rightarmbad wrote:
>If you live close by a TV transmission tower, all your flouros glow. Some to the point of some people putting up a light with no wiring as an outside light.

I guess near high voltage lines too:

jrc

13-Sep-2012
11:15:13 PM

Hi Stu you may have some sort of inductance and it works on incandescent glbes too, just not as bright as a fluoro. I had that in my old house in Dulwich Hill. 7 volts on the neutral. Handy for an impromptu night light.

The one that nearly nailed me though was the false ceiling the FYs had put in the hall, which popped out one night when I was fiddling with the wall plaster. Big panel now hanging by the wire only to the light. I grabbed some pliers, made sure the switch was off and snip - bang - crash one tipped over ladder, one broken thong strap and one dazed me later i realised the prior owners had wired the switch on the neutral. I still have the weld mark on my fancy german pliers to remind me to make sure the power is isolated.


ajfclark

14-Sep-2012
6:57:18 AM

Probably Seppos... For some reason they decided black should be hot/active and red neutral.... I got bit by my pinball table because when an AU plug was fitted, someone matched the colours to the pins on an AU plug which resulted in the neutral being switched not the active (when on at the wall but off at the cabinet switch).

Fortunately only 3 coils run on 240v so I didn't recoil into anything else live at 240v when I bumped them.

TonyB

14-Sep-2012
8:02:31 AM

Stu,
Check the voltage on the neutral.
http://iecon.com/blog/?p=851
"Broken neutrals can be difficult to detect and in some instances may not be easily identified. .. If you have flickering lights or tingly taps in your home, you may be at risk of serious injury or even death."

jrc

14-Sep-2012
9:51:46 AM

FYs was 'former (country beginning with Y that no longer exists)''

kieranl

14-Sep-2012
10:04:33 AM

On 13/09/2012 jrc wrote:

>The one that nearly nailed me though was the false ceiling the FYs had
>put in the hall, which popped out one night when I was fiddling with the
>wall plaster. Big panel now hanging by the wire only to the light. I grabbed
>some pliers, made sure the switch was off and snip - bang - crash one
>tipped over ladder, one broken thong strap and one dazed me
>
Probably best not to do house repairs while clad only in scanty underwear

ropedonkey

14-Sep-2012
12:34:59 PM

Most houses are wired up with the earth and neutral joined at the switchboard. Your neutral carries the return electricity. If it breaks at the pole or at the attachment point of your house the earth will try and carry that load. The tingling you get from taps etc is your earth not being the best, worst in dry conditions or sandy soils, which is why the old camping caravan park showers were good for the tingles.
Have seen this condition numerous times at work and generally a change of lamp will fix it.
Dont forget when we make a compact fluro work we are energizing a gas and also in the base of the lamp a lot of electronic parts are just waiting to go haywire.
But in doubt pretty easy to throw a multimeter on the installation if your worried

TonyB

15-Sep-2012
7:21:31 AM

On 14/09/2012 ropedonkey wrote:
>Most houses are wired up with the earth and neutral joined at the switchboard.

This is not correct for houses correctly wired, at least in NSW, where the neutral floats.
It may be correct in other states, such as QLD, or countries with MEN.

maadness

15-Sep-2012
11:16:11 PM

>This is not correct for houses correctly wired, at least in NSW, where
>the neutral floats.
>It may be correct in other states, such as QLD, or countries with MEN

So when did NSW have different wiring rules to the rest of australia ?

TonyB

16-Sep-2012
7:50:15 AM

Good point. It seems that from 2006, MEN is mandatory on only new installations and alterations in NSW. 1.10.7 http://www.trade.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/428800/SIR-July-11-Compilation-.pdf

ropedonkey

18-Sep-2012
3:55:00 PM

It has actually been in since 1980....


Cool Hand Lock

19-Sep-2012
8:44:02 PM

It's just caused by capacitive charge coming from the Neutral.

Common in 3 phase systems, office blocks. In lights that have been pre-excited(heated).

Try disconneting a neutral in a 3phase office bock, then messing with the lights & light switches.

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