Fault finding
Electrical fault finding and repairs
Electrical fault finding in Manchester means tracing the actual cause rather than resetting the breaker and hoping. We isolate circuit by circuit with proper test gear, find the fault, tell you what it will take to fix, then fix it and certify the repair. NAPIT registered (Part P approved).
If it is happening right now and cannot wait until morning, our emergency arm answers 24 hours a day on the same number.
Send us a photo of the fuse board or the job and we’ll come back with a price the same day.
What we get called to
The usual suspects
How diagnosis works
Traced, not guessed
1. Listen
When did it start, what were you doing, what has changed. Half of fault finding is the story you tell us at the door.
2. Isolate
Circuit by circuit at the board, with test gear rather than a screwdriver and optimism. We narrow it to a section.
3. Locate
Down to the accessory, joint or cable run. If the fault is buried we tell you what access is needed before anything gets cut.
4. Repair and certify
Price agreed, fault fixed, circuit retested and a minor works certificate issued for the repair.
How pricing works
You pay for the tracing, then decide
Fault finding is charged on time, because nobody honest can price a fault they have not found yet. We agree how long we spend before we start, tell you what we have found, then price the repair separately so you decide.
Recent job
Intermittent trip, semi in Chorlton
RCD tripping once every few days, always overnight, never when anyone was watching. Two electricians had already been and changed the RCD.
We logged it over four days and caught it: water tracking into an outside light every time it rained hard, on the same circuit as the upstairs sockets. Light replaced, gland sealed, circuit retested, minor works certificate issued. It has not tripped since.
Common questions
Fault finding questions
Why does my breaker keep tripping?
Usually one of four things: a faulty appliance dragging the circuit down, water or damp getting into an outside light or a socket, a nail or screw through a cable from previous work, or a genuinely failing breaker. Testing tells us which, and it takes an hour or two rather than a guess.
How does fault finding actually work?
We split the installation down, test insulation resistance and continuity circuit by circuit and narrow it to a section, then to an accessory or a cable run. Sometimes it is the first thing we open. Sometimes it takes a couple of hours. We tell you where we are as we go, and we agree the repair price before we start fixing.
Half my sockets are dead, is that expensive to fix?
Often not. A dead ring or radial usually comes down to one loose connection in one accessory, and once it is traced the repair is quick. The cost sits in the tracing, not the fix, which is why proper testing saves you money against ripping walls open.
What if I can smell burning or see sparks?
Switch off at the mains and call us now. Do not investigate it yourself and do not run the circuit until it has been looked at. Out of hours that call goes to The Emergency Electricians, our emergency arm, same team and same number.
Out of hours
If it cannot wait until morning
Burning smells, sparks, water near electrics or a full power cut at midnight are not fault finding jobs. They are emergencies.
Those go to our 24/7 emergency electrician service, delivered by The Emergency Electricians, the emergency arm of Mister Electrics. Same team, same number, answered any hour.
Where we work
Fault finding across the patch
Get the fault found properly
One visit, proper test gear, a straight answer on what it is and what the fix costs.
Send us a photo of the fuse board or the job and we’ll come back with a price the same day.