I have just pruchased a new TV and plugged it into the wall socket. Nothing happened. Checked the plug that was alright. Put the TV plug into another socket and the TV worked!
Unscrewed the top of the socket box checked the wires were stiil attached, that was alright.
I'm wondering if the cable from the box is faulty. I have just done some decorating and thought maybe the cable had been damaged when new clips were attached to the skirting board. I have checked for any damage on the cable but can't see any. Help!

Elaine, February 2011

i can only give general advice here,i have been an electrician for 37 years,you have no experience in electrical work,if you have any doubt get a spark in,the martindale tester is fine for checking the sockets,but if a nail has been driven through the live conductor,then you will only find it by getting a spark in who will test the cable with a multimeter,cant see it though,cables are not clipped to skirting boards on the inside,but as i said ,if your worried get a spak in,

mm,, March 2011

I am not an electrician but physics/electronics teacher .... having read your question a word of caution in using a 3-neon-plug-in-tester. While 3 neons will indicate that an appliance plugged into a passed socket should work it could give a false sense that all is well.
If you have been decorating it is possible that a nail or similar has penetrated a mains cable and made electical contact (most dangerous case) with the live wire while missing the neutral and earth wires. In such a case you will get 3 neons but you will also get a shock if you touch the nail!
A competent person could check this out when the MAINS IS TURNED OFF by testing for such an electrical connection by an electrical continuity test using a multimeter.
To get an electrical shock you only need to touch the switched-on-live wire and an electrical earth route such as the floor or a wall.
This is another storey version of drilling into a mains cable.

best wishes Nyge C, March 2011

the tester will cost you around £20.00 or so,as i said you just plug it in to the socket,and i think that last guy ment a voltage tester,not test lamps,test lamps do not show any indication of voltage,they just light up a bulb

MM, March 2011

or buy a martindale tester,you just plug it into the socket,it has 3 neons on it,depending on what ones light up,it tells you where the fault is,i.e.open circuit earth,live and neutral reversed,faulty neutral,its a lot safer for you just to plug it in rather than mess around with test leads,

MM, March 2011

You need a test lamp that shows voltage. if you put your test lamp on the wires in the back of the socket, red/brown is live, black/blue is neutral, your test lamp should show 240 volts, if its showing 50 ish volts its probably a neutral fault and you need to get a electrician to find the fault,
if the wires at the back are showing 240 volts then it could be a defective socket plate. As all ways with electricity DONT mess with it unless you know what your doing and you have the correctly insulated tools

Bidge, February 2011