Tag
Multimeter
21 articles
ArticleHow to Use a Clamp Meter: Measuring Load Current Safely, Checking Circuits Against Breaker Ratings, Motor Inrush and Leakage Current BasicsA client says the breaker for the kitchen "trips every evening", another wants to know whether the old cable to the water heater can take a new, bigger unit, and a third suspects t…
ArticleHow to Install LED Strip Lights: Choosing 12 V or 24 V Strip, Sizing the Driver, Avoiding Voltage Drop, Wiring and Mounting in Aluminium ChannelA client wants a soft glow along the ceiling cove in the living room and bright light on the kitchen worktop under the wall cabinets. LED strip looks easy: peel, stick, plug in. St…
ArticleHow to wire a fan capacitor and a single-phase pump capacitorThe correct way to wire a fan capacitor is: connect the two supply wires to the common wire and the run wire, and connect the capacitor between the run wire and the start wire. A s…
ArticleHow to Install Electricity Sub-Meters for Rental Rooms: Choosing the Meter, Wiring to Its Terminal Diagram, One Breaker per Room, Testing and Fair Billing RecordsA landlord has six rooms for rent behind one EVN meter, and every month there is the same argument about who used how much electricity. They ask you to fit a meter for each room. I…
ArticleInstalling wired and wireless doorbells in homes: choosing the type, outdoor push-button placement, wiring, safe 220 V supply connection and fixing a doorbell that won't ringCalls to an electrician about doorbells usually fall into a few familiar situations: a newly built house needs a doorbell at the gate; an old doorbell does not ring however many ti…
ArticleElectric fan won't spin, runs weakly or hums: checking the fan capacitor, shaft bushings and windings, and replacing the capacitor with the correct ratingA client calls: “When I switch on my pedestal fan it just hums and the blades don’t turn, but if I give them a push it starts running. And the living-room ceiling fan on speed 5 sp…
ArticleWiring a wall-mounted split air conditioner: choosing cable and a dedicated MCB, and safely connecting the power cable and the indoor–outdoor interconnecting cableA client calls: “Could you come and wire up my new air conditioner? The refrigeration technician is coming to install it this afternoon.” Or: “Every time I switch on my air conditi…
ArticleTingling when touching a washing machine or fridge: causes of current leaking to the appliance casing, how to test and how to fix it safelyA customer calls: “My hands were still wet and when I touched the lid of the washing machine I felt a tingling. Our fridge does it sometimes too – the handle feels prickly. Is that…
ArticleInstalling a home voltage stabiliser for weak or fluctuating power: sizing, location, input–output wiring, bypass and safe commissioningA customer calls: “Every evening the lights in my house go really dim and the air conditioner doesn't cool. Could you install a voltage stabiliser for me?” This is a common request…
ArticleHot, scorched or melted sockets and plugs: causes and how to replace a socket outlet safely“A few minutes after I plugged in the electric kettle, the extension lead started smelling of burning, and when I pulled the plug out its pins were black.” “The air-conditioner soc…
ArticleLED bulbs keep burning out or failing early: finding the real cause (voltage, lampholder contact, heat, switches and dimmers, moisture) and how to fix it so lights lastA customer calls: “This is the fourth bulb I've put in the hallway light this year, all brand-new LED bulbs, and every few months it just goes dead.” Another is annoyed because the…
ArticleConcealed in-wall wiring: marking routes, cutting chases, running flexible conduit, placing junction boxes and testing before plasteringA customer calls: “We're renovating the second floor and the builders are about to plaster the walls. Can you come and run concealed wiring for us, add a few sockets by the bed and…