Neutral arcing to Earth help please....?

get a spark in asap as that cable needs figureing out fast.

 

i

It's not two spurs, but two radial circuits.

 

hi Slimjim. These are my own (DIY) opinions
Q1. 2 days - yes, quite feasible if that is the problem. Rain - no, unless you can see a damp problem.
Q2. Not straighforward. As you probably appreciate, the second (now isolated) cable is almost certainly part of the ring main from the socket. The reason the socket appears to work normally is that, being a ring main each socket is fed from both ends of the ring form the consumer unit, thereby doubling the current carrying capacity of the ring. By disconnecting one of the cables coming into the socket, you are breaking the ring circuit but all sockets are still supplied from each end but only with a single current carrying cable, halving the current carrying capacity. However the disconnected cable will still have that fault so I'm still not sure why the circuit now works fine.
Q3. No, don't leave it. The probelm is still there and I would say that in halving the ring main current carying capacity you may possibly overheat the cables - at worst causing a fire.

diymostthings

 

over loading the system to many spurs from one radial and fitted as a spur off spur system. thats what happens when you break a ring and keep running it also that dogey lead may still be live somewhere.

Further more tape is not a viable isolation method at least termanial block it. (sometimes known as choc block) only time i insulation tape cable is cut and strip multi strand being feed. (rare i do this unless a cable route being replaced but cable is viable to re use. ie smashed conduit but cable survied)

 

sad but true

 

Only an amateur but IMHO the choc block should only be used as a temporary solution. Either put a maintenance free junction box in if you have room (if it is a stud wall) or replace the full length of damaged cable. A professional electrician should have the necessary experience, expertise and tools to do the job with a minimum of disruption.

 

i only suggest the use of termanial block as a safe method of isolating the cable not a perment fix

 

You could well have damaged/shorted cables under that capping tbh, it may have 'blown' the fault clear for now, but I would inspect further.

 

if you used hammer action i would suspect the cable may be damaged

 

When you say "arcing", was it little sparks, no bangs etc?

With TN-S, if you short N to E, your installations N load can be diverted through the short to earth. While it may make a little spark, it is normal. The closer you are to the CU, the bigger the current could be. Obviously depends on what load you have too.

Do you think it was just this you noticed?

 

If you had something plugged into that socket, it may have just heated the wires just enough to make them touch(after being damaged and close to each other). With nothing running there, now power bypasses that and doesn't heat up.
You say you haven't breached it, but is that metal conduit/cable cover? Earthed?
If so, may have been just squashed onto the neutral in the cable!

Mr. HandyAndy - Really