I had forgotten how different "British" electrical systems were from continental ones - especially as some of our postings were in places were electricity was a bit of an afterthought and lucky happenstance.*1
Last week the Microwave just didn´t work. It had been working the night before, but the next morning, no. At first we thought it might be a switch that we had acccidentally turned off, but that search proved fruitless. There are a variety of flush mounted plates with fuses and or lights in the kitchen units nearby, but none that seemed to be connected to the microwave. Now it is a "plumbed-in" microwave, set at head height into the kitchen units (not a great location), so I recokoned it had to be plugged in inside one of the cupboards. Again no. No circuit breakers tripped, everything else ok, only resort to ask the site staff if the electrician could have a look. (Remembering problems when we first moved in, when nothing had been connected or plumbed in the year or so it had been the show house).
Paula the assistant site manager was passing, so I called her - and she decided to have a look herself and almost immediately found a switch "hidden" in the cupboard above the unit. Felt a bit daft for not finding it myself, but no way to get up there (she balanced on work surface), so not too embarrassed.
The switch also had a fuse, so she wanted to change that, but it was mounted so tightly in a corner, it couldn´t easily be prised out. Next screw off the front - again need a gynaecologist more than electrician. I gave her a spare fuse and it worked. Easy we thought. She left
I tested the fuse we had taken out. It was OK. Hmmm. Almost immediately the microwave doesn´t work again. I get the steps. the switch is off. Switch it on - it works.
Then it goes off.
This is confusing. I obviously need a plan for tomorrow.
All this has been communicated to the agent for the owner - who is more concerned about the box being out of warranty than the actual problem itself.
Decide to isolate the problem by removing the microwave from the cupboard surround and putting a plug on it to test it "on the bench".
I managed to extract the microwave box, but cannot free it from the fused plug as it is, as already stated, very badly situated. Eventually I pull the front of the fused box away, only to find that all the cabling, ringmain and microwave leads are attached to the front of the switch - and the cables are immovable as all firmly trapped by the wall units.
Oh, and then I find that it is still almost impossible to get at the fuse even when the front is off the box. I decide go for simplicity (stupidity?) and to power the lot on and wiggle the wires to see if there is a loose connection.
Well, that was good - it worked as soon as I switched it on. Wiggle, wiggle anyway, but nothing goes wrong. Now totally lost.
Reinstall all and have a think.
I can´t get to the fuse.
The fuse that was (supposedly) changed was ok.
The site lady probably didn´t manage to change the fuse either (which compicated the matter).
The microwave definitely powers itself off, so there is a problem.
The fault is occasional and probably somewhere in the wiring.
Seems like the fused switch works like an ELCB and trips the switch rather than blowing a fuse?? The switch internals didn´t look like it had that capability, but only possible answer.
There is a "simple" fix of resetting the switch when there is a problem.
Unfortunately the switch is so positioned as to be unseeable and unreacahable without steps, so turning it off between uses not really viable.
Stuff it. I will chase the site electrician to have a look (and wonder why we have to do this rather than the owner or agent handling it). Still, it´s easier than Brunei.
*1 In Brunei I had to buy a very big stepladder in order to get to the fusebox, which was 3m (10´) up in a false ceiling in the hall cupboard. The power used to trip in most thunderstorms, a lot of which were overnight, and I had to get up this ladder in the pitch dark and reset the breakers - oh, and the ladder had to be leaning against the wall as the cupboard wasn´t wide enough to put the stepladder up! Happy expat days?
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