30 Years of Experience

If a safety switch has disconnected the power (tripped), it may be due to a temporary fault, lightning or nuisance tripping. Resetting the switch should restore the power supply.

If you cannot reset a safety switch after it has tripped, you may have a faulty appliance connected to the circuit, or there may be a wiring fault. In this case, switch off and unplug the appliance that you think is faulty. You should now be able to reset the safety switch and restore the power. If you are not sure which appliance is faulty, switch off and unplug one, then try to reset the safety switch. Do this for each appliance on the circuit until you find the one that causes the safety switch to trip.

If you are unable to reset the safety switch or can’t work out which appliance is causing a problem, give us a call to find and correct the fault.

Safety Switch tripping can be annoying especially nuisance tripping but think of what its really doing, its protecting you from an electrical injury or death. When your Safety Switch (RCD- Residual Current Device) has tripped it has detected a difference of amps between the active conductor and neutral conductor with electricity leaking to earth. When this difference has been detected your safety switch then trips. So why is your RCD tripping and how can you resolve this issue, well here are the 5 most common reasons that we have found.

Faulty Electrical Appliances 

Electrical appliances tend to wear and not function properly with extended use over a period of time. If appliances are not maintained they will be one of the biggest causes of your safety switch tripping. You will find electric kettles, toasters, range-hoods, clothes iron fridge and freezes to be possible issues.

Unplug Faulty electrical appliances

How to find the electric appliance causing the problem. Once tripping has occured you will try to reset you safety switch, if it trip’s again in a short period of time then you will need to unplug all your electrical items from the power point. Then reset your safety switch and if it holds then go back and plug in your electrical appliances one at a time until you have found the faulty appliance. You know this once the faulty appliance is plugged into the power point then it will trip your safety switch again. When found remove the appliance and have it tested professionally or dispose of appropriately.

Nuisance Tripping

I would describe nuisance tripping when your safety switch trips occasionally about every one to two days, I have had customers even saying once a week. Nuisance tripping is caused by two different issues. I will use three examples of this.

First there had been nuisance tripping on a power circuit and I found an outside power point in the back yard, when disconnected there were hundreds of ants and bugs inside. The second, a water feature with a submersible water pump in the water pond and found the electric motor had seized. The third example was a dish washer in the kitchen, I was told by the owners that tripping occurred every two days and what I found was a small leak in the electrical connection to the water pump enough to trip a safety switch.

These three examples show how electrical appliances can trip a safety switch and clear themselves of an electrical problem only to return again until the problem becomes constant and apparent. Nuisance safety switch tripping will be hard to find since the faults do not present themselves all the time. An electrician can use their insulation resistance tester to find a reading to earth fault, this will only work if the electrical hazard is present at all times. So serious visual inspection and experience will help determine these tripping conditions.

Faulty Electrical Wiring

If it has been established that electrical appliances are not the cause of safety switch tripping then faulty wiring can be another issue. Old electrical wiring deteriorates over time and the insulation around the wiring can become brittle and unsafe.

Poor or Faulty Electrical Wiring

This will be common with older homes (1940 – 1960s) that have black rubber insulated cables or split metal conduit with cotton cables as their electrical systems. The only way to overcome this is to have your property rewired and replace the electrical cables. If the age of your home is within 10 to 20 years old things like rodents eating into cables and possibly 240 volt wiring for garden lighting can be damaged.

Safety Switch Myth Busted

When safety switches trip the most common question asked by customers is “my safety switch keeps tripping does it need replacing or is it broken“. No it should not need replacing, it’s actually doing what its designed to be doing.

If your safety switch is broken then it probably wont trip at all when there is a fault. You should test your safety switch once a month and if it doesn’t trip when testing or the test button gets stuck and won’t release then this is a good sign that it will need to be replaced.

Rain And Lightning

Severe storms and long periods of rain can cause safety switch trip’s. This happens when excessive water get’s in behind electrical items such as outside light fittings, under eaves and external power points. There have been many times I have found trees draped over external power points dripping with water leading straight inside the power point terminals. Thunder and lighting will also cause safety switch tripping. Safety switches don’t like voltage fluctuations and the imbalance in electrical supply may trigger a trip.

A Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES) must be provided for all electrical installation work and issued within 30 calendar days of the completion of that work. If an electrician refuses to provide a COES, and you are the customer, you can make a complaint about a tradesperson to ESV.

Under the Electricity Safety Act 1998 (the Act), a copy of each COES must be provided to the customer of an electrician and to ESV.

If you are the owner or occupant of a property or you are the customer and have not received your COES copy, or have lost it, complete and return the COES application form to ESV to request a copy of the COES.

Email:  coes@energysafe.vic.gov.au
Fax:      (03) 9686 2197
Mail:    Energy Safe Victoria
              COES Application Form
              PO Box 262, Collins Street West VIC 8007

It may take up to 10 business days to process an application for a COES, not including additional time required to obtain a copy from the LEIW or REC via the complaints process. There is no guarantee a COES will be provided, even after this process is completed. Obtaining a COES is not always possible, even when a person is entitled to a copy.

Additionally, the Act only requires a Licensed Electrical Installation Worker (LEIW) or Registered Electrical Contractor (REC) to retain a copy of a COES for three years. ESV will not actively pursue anything beyond this period.

The simple answer is – it costs your Registered Electrical Contractor money so they pass on that cost to you. Just like any materials really.

Specifically, Energy Safe Victoria advises the following:

A Registered Electrical Contractor (REC) or Restricted Electrical Licence holder (REL) can seek payment from their customers for the purchase amount of Certificates of Electrical Safety (COES). The authorised amount for COES is legislated in the Electricity Safety Act s45B(12) and Regulation 255 of the Electricity Safety (Installations) Regulations 2009. This amount is GST exempt.

However, an REC may elect to charge their customers an additional handling fee for their time in purchasing the COES, filling it out and lodging it with ESV as required. This additional fee amount is determined by the REC and can be explained by the REC to their customer.

Some REC’s elect not to separately itemise Certificates of Electrical Safety on their invoices, instead the COES and handling fee form part of the sundry items or may even be included as part of one lump sum in their invoice. Although the purchase of COES from ESV does not attract GST, an REC or may be required to add GST to the amount they charge their customers. ESV cannot give advice regarding GST.

The amount the REC charges the customer, over and above the authorised purchase amount for the Certificate of Electrical Safety, including handling fee is a contractual issue between the REC and the customer. If a customer believes they have been over-charged for this, the customer should seek assistance from Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Taken from Energy Safe Victoria’s website:

Electricity can kill in an instant so always call 000 if lives are in danger.

To report an electrical incident call 1800 000 922 or fill out our electrical incident report form.

• Download the form
• Fill it in and save it to your device
• Then send it to ESV at the address on the form

Fallen powerlines

Stay well clear – just standing near them can be fatal.
Stay more than 8 – 10 metres away.

Always treat fallen powerlines as live even when they are broken.

Never go near them or anything they may be touching, such as vehicles, metal fences or pools of water.

Call your electricity distribution company and the Police to report the location of any fallen lines.

Household electrical issues

Contact a registered electrical contractor in your local area and arrange for a licensed electrician to visit. Ensure they are licensed and insist on a Certificate of Electrical Safety when the job is completed.

Power outages

Storms are the most common cause of power outages as strong winds often cause trees to fall across powerlines, interrupting supply.
Always be prepared for power outages and have a torch, charged mobile phone and battery-operated radio. If you use electricity to run a water pump, make sure you have an alternative source for fresh water or a non-electric pump available.

In the event of a power failure turn off and unplug all electrical appliances at the powerpoints. This will help to prevent equipment damage in the event of a power surge.
Contact your electricity distributor to let them know your power is out, or check their website/app for outage details.

• Citipower 13 12 80
• Powercor 13 24 12
• SP AusNet 13 17 99
• Jemena 13 16 26
• United Energy 13 20 99

For more information, click here to read ESV’s Guide to power outages brochure.