DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

last night while watching tv the power suddenly went.
I tried resetting the tripper but it didnt work. A neighbour succeeded in getting the lights working again, for me by playing with the tripper and sockets area of the fuse box., but still no power to fridge, central heating system, washing machine, tv computers.
Went to bed wondering what to do next day, Sunday,wanting to avoid costs ( electrician)- (I have cover for central heating boiler system which was also down).

Today went to cupboard under stairs to turn off the bolier central heating system then went back to fusebox , reset tripper again, everything seemed to be working now. Also the heating system when I turned on that switch again.
Except when went to put electric kettle on, whole system tripped out again.
Twice, as I tried kettle at two different points not far from each other on same wall.

Anyone any ideas what is wrong or what I can do next please? as I miss my cup of tea, and it is frustrating. The fuse in the electric kettle plug seems ok.

The trip is activated by an earth fault - in other words electricity has found a way to escape from the power circuit.

There are several ways this can happen and with a kettle, the most likely cause is water has leaked and shorted the element. It is possible you may have spilt water and it has seeped into the electrical working, and if allowed to dry out, the kettle will be safe to use again. However, if the kettle is leaking, then it must not be used again. Either way, the safety devices have worked as they should and protected you from receiving an electric shock.