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StevenSGP
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 1

Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/07/2010 12:45 PM

I need to have a ceiling fan and the electrician taps 3 wires (live, nuetural and earth) from the lighting circuit, all lights and fan has its own switch and I'm not sure if if the fan's swtich on the wall controls both live and neutral. The switch looks the same as lighting switch.

When I switch off the fan via the wall fan switch, it trips the ELCB but not always.

Any one knows what has gone wrong.

Thanks,

steven
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Pathfinder Tags: ELCB Trips
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Anonymous Poster
#1

Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/07/2010 12:56 PM

Has your fan got a 5 minute time delay when the light is switched off. will it keep running.
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gringogreg
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#3
In reply to #1

Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/07/2010 1:55 PM

GA This was my immediate response. Turrning off the wall switch should disconnect all power to the load.

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Mr. Truman Brain
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#2

Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/07/2010 1:45 PM

Yes, you hired an incompetent electrician who didn't check his own work!! Get him back in to do the job properly.

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LAA_Lucke
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#4

Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/08/2010 7:03 AM

What kind of ELCB you have? is it a differential current c.b.? or is it the old voltage leak type?
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vsar
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#5

Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/08/2010 10:32 AM

If you have a 230Vac fan, you should have 3 wires ( 2 hot wires and a bare earth wire) or a (red and black wires for 230V and a green wire for ground) ? A DPST type switch can be used to control both hot wires, or a standard SPST type (not a safe practice) can also be used to cut the power to only one of the hot wires. A white (neutral) wire is not needed unless it is used as one of the hot wires?

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Sciesis2
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#8
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Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/08/2010 11:17 PM

ONLY IN AMERICA... Other places in the world use a HOT 220 volt, Neutral, and Ground... and different color codes. I assume the OP is either European, or in a country influenced by the British.

Bill
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SSCpal
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#6

Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/08/2010 5:07 PM

Where are you located? Do you have only 230 service, or do you have 115/230 service, with two hot wires? Does the ELCB protect your whole house, or is this fan in a commercial building? How old is the ELCB? Older units were prone to nuisance tripping, for a variety of reasons. Does the ELCB trip on other occasions?
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Anonymous Poster
#7

Re: Switch off a 230Vac Fan which taps on Lighting Circuit, trips the ELCB

08/08/2010 5:11 PM

took me two days of thinkin of this one

but it hit me

and this actually happened to me once

as an electrical contractor, I was called to a similar situation where someone not knowing had replaced a single pole switch with a three way switch

the single pole switch had a grounding screw, the three way had three screws too, but, one wasn't the grounding screw

want me to go on? or can you figure this one out on your own?

the 230 vac circuit is a dead giveaway-someone just doesn't have a clue
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Anonymous Poster (2); gringogreg (1); LAA_Lucke (1); Mr. Truman Brain (1); Sciesis2 (1); SSCpal (1); vsar (1)

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