Weird electrical issue with RCD / Electric Toothbrushes

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mdooher

Hmm, what to write...
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#2573498 24-Sep-2020 13:35

timmmay:

Nah if I think there's an actual fault I'll call the electrician. I'll just give it a few days to run the toothbrushes down, double check if they charge there, then if they don't I'll try another plug.

Ok, if this real and not your imagination (don't kill the messenger) get a sparky to do a fault loop impedance test on the plug in the bathroom. And in the meantime don't go testing it with high power devices like hairdryers

I suspect Bung might have nailed it

Matthew

tripper1000

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#2573566 24-Sep-2020 15:36

Doubt it is anything to do with the RCD itself. Bad contacts in the switch or pins due to accelerated deterioration in the damp environment - maybe. I have seen similar faults where low powered devices won't work, but a high powered device will. It can be indicative of a poor contacts at the pins or in the switch (where the connection is dynamic not permanent). The high current device will set up an arc that blows through the gunk but a low current device wont. Something will probably fail entirely shortly which will make it easy to find the fault. Have you noticed any weirdness like the switch being intermittent or buzzing?

timmmay

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#2573591 24-Sep-2020 15:59

@mdooher yes I'm in the process of validating the problem that my wife reported to me before I get the electrician out. Everything I've tried works fine in there, a 1W LED, a different charger, hair drier. We'll run the toothbrushes down and plug them in to charge, simple test but takes 2-5 days to run them down.

@tripper1000 that's the kind of thing I was looking to hear, which is that it's possible. Still, will re-test before getting the sparky in.

We've already had to replace one toothbrush and had one charger fail. So it's a toss up of wait to see what happens and something breaking else or getting the sparky in who finds nothing and bills us for an hour plus travel.

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