Electrical Fault Finding
RCD keeps tripping? Half the house dead? Burning smell you can't place? We find it, explain it in plain English, and fix it once. Burning smell or sparking? Call now - don't book online.
The fault doesnt leave - it waits
An electrical fault is your system telling you something's wrong - and the protective gear cutting power is doing its job. The mistake is resetting it over and over until it stops tripping.
Our fault-finding process isolates the cause circuit by circuit, so you pay for a diagnosis and a fix, not for guesswork and repeat visits.
Is this an emergency?
Turn power off at the board and call immediately if: you smell burning or see scorch marks · anything sparks · you feel a tingle from taps or appliances · the switchboard is hot or buzzing. These are the call-now faults.
Book urgently (same/next day) if: the RCD trips repeatedly · a whole circuit or half the house is dead · lights flicker persistently.
Fine to book normally: one dead socket, a light that stopped working, an appliance you suspect.
The usual suspects (what we find most weeks)
Method beats meandering - we take your symptom history, test at the board, then split and isolate circuits until the fault has nowhere to hide.
An appliance leaking to earth
The #1 cause of a tripping RCD. Classic culprits: aging fridges and freezers, hot water cylinder elements, dishwashers, heated towel rails, and anything outdoors that's taken on water. Often the fix is unplugging one guilty appliance - and we'll tell you so rather than inventing work.
Moisture
In outdoor sockets, garden lighting, junction boxes and (after storms) roof-space wiring. Auckland humidity and horizontal Manawatū rain both keep us busy here.
Loose or aging connections
Terminals work loose over decades; the result is flickering, warm points, intermittent circuits and, left long enough, heat damage. Common in homes due a wiring assessment.
Overloaded circuits
Modern appliance loads on one original circuit; the breaker isn't faulty, it's correct. The fix is a dedicated circuit or switchboard capacity, not a bigger fuse.
Rodent damage
Chewed cable insulation in roof spaces. More common than anyone likes to think about.
…and the paperwork
Whatever we find and fix, you get the plain-English explanation and the certification that goes with it.
How we work (and what it costs)
Diagnostic call-out: $149 incl. GST covering travel and the first hour - which resolves the majority of faults. You get a plain-English explanation and a fixed price for any repair before we do it. Minor fixes happen on the spot from van stock; anything bigger is quoted, never assumed.
FAQs
Why does my RCD keep tripping?
Usually a faulty appliance leaking current to earth; sometimes moisture in outdoor wiring or a genuine cable fault. Unplug appliances on that circuit one by one and reset - if it still trips empty, the fault's in the fixed wiring and it's our job.
Why is half my house without power?
One tripped RCD or breaker typically feeds several rooms. If it won't reset - or resets then trips - stop resetting and book us: repeated tripping into a fault stresses the wiring and hides the evidence.
Are flickering lights serious?
A single fitting flickering is usually the fitting or a mismatched dimmer. Whole-room or whole-house flickering - especially when appliances start - points at loose connections or supply issues and deserves prompt attention.
What does fault finding cost?
Our diagnostic visit is $149 including the first hour; most faults are found within it. Repairs are quoted fixed before any work proceeds.
Should I keep resetting a tripping breaker?
Once, to rule out a fluke. Beyond that, each reset pushes power into a live fault. Leave it off and call.
Something's not right? Let's find it.
Same-week diagnosis across Auckland and Palmerston North - same-day where it can't wait.