Problem : Current leakage in Ground wire in plugs.

Rupam

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Hi,
In All the 3 pin plugs of my home, the EARTH wire has current. Well, I have tested it by my tester screwdriver, the earth pin has current although not as strong as the main phase but the tester indicator light still glows at 30% brightness. For the last 10 months I have ignored this problem, but now LCD is acting up, sometime flashes red stripes on screen. I don't if the earthing problem is the culprit or not but very worried about it. Can anyone please confirm if leaking current in ground wire is a common problem and can it hurt my electronic equipments ?

Is there any device to protect from this leakage ?

Thanks
 
Hi,

I am not sure if you should see any current in the EARTH wire without tripping the ELCB. If I were you, I would double check the ELCB and your wiring.
 
First of all, I hope you are using a Neon Tester and NOT an LED Tester which is more a continuity tester. The LED Tester requires a battery inside . The Neon Tester does Not have a Battery.


IF you are using a Neon Bulb tester...... From what you describe.... your Earth is Not Grounded.... ie it is effectively NOT An Earth !

The Earth wires from your various receptacles are interconnected .... but these should then go to a Proper Earth Point.... which is not being done.

Hence the leakage Earth from any one appliance is going to all other appliances, rather than the leakage being conducted down to Earth.

Call a qualified Electrical Contractor and get this rectified.

You Neon tester should NEVER light up ... even the Slightest, on the Earth Terminal !

Obviously you do not have an ELCB ( Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker ) either.

(IndianEars = Amp_Nut )
 
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You've probably got a damaged wire somewhere that's leaking current.

You'll have to check the earthing in the mains, then every socket, and if you still have a leakage, then you'll have to disconnect phases in your house till you isolate the leak, and then investigate further.

Electricians now-a-days try and get you to rewire the entire house saying it's not possible to trace the leak, but all it takes is a some elbow grease.
 
Sounds like earthing wire has got disconnected somewhere, maybe at the grounding point. Has seen this happen to my ex neighbour few years back. Their earthing wire had broken off from the earthing rod that was hammered down to the ground.
 
Thanks to all, yes you are completely right. Earth is Not Grounded in my apartment. Actually this is a new apartment. There is a legal problem in installing the transformer in the flat premises. So the connection is temporary and without grounding. Yes, I'm using a Neon Tester.
So is there a temporary solution of grounding ? Please advice.
 
It is dangerous. Remedy the situation immediately before some gets killed. Over here a couple just died of electrocution because their water heater wasn't properly grounded. In your case it is more dangerous because you have electricity already leaking. Turn OFF the main and get help!
 
If you have Metal ( Not Plastic ) pipes, connect the Ground wire to a metal pipe, as a temporary solution.
 
The buildings earth has to be connected to a pit with earthing plates. This is not an issue related to the transformer. Ask the builder to do it .

On another note if the flats in the apartment are connected to a common earth wire which is not grounded properly any leakage in any of the apartments will flow backwards into your equipment.

I would disconnect my earth connection from the common earthing till a proper earthing pit is installed. Instead the earth wire of your apartment can be connected to any metallic water pipe. This is not a recommended solution and is not legal as any leakage from your equipment will energise the water pipes.
 
Curious to know how this situation affects consumption. Are electricity bills likely to rise considerably if such an issue goes undetected/remains unresolved?
 
1. Earth is disconnected
then follow other friends suggestion.

2. I have one more suggestion.

- Shut down Main MCB and check leakage

- Turn Main MCB and ....
- Shut down Sub MCB and
turn one the sub MCB one and one and check leakage

- Turn one Main and all sub MCB......
- Disconnect all the electric devices and check leakage

- Finally, connect the devices one by one and check leakage

You must solve this problem!

Cheer!
 
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