Neon tester vs dodgy wiring
Hi
Hope this is in the right place!
My partner who is painting and decorating a house called to say she's had a mild shock from a metal switch faceplate. I went along and sure enough my trusty neon screwdriver lit up dimly. It turns out several light switches on the ground floor are between 70 and 200v above true earth.
I'd say the wiring is about 25 years old, but has been 'improved' by these metal switches and sockets. It has an RCCB which works in the good area of the house, and all cross-bonding has been done.
I tried earthing the light switch in question via a milliammeter to a good earth - around 10mA drawn and all was well - except the others were still live!
So I'm in a bit of a dilemma. The work she's doing is for an acquaintance who lives abroad and the house is to be let out in two weeks. I let them know about the shock and they said the electrics had had a clean bill of health 12 months ago. Looking under the bonnet there's the usual enthusiastic DIY approach - faceplates earthed but not the back boxes and the odd bit of rubber cable (no earth). This ties in with the general state of repair of the house.
I can't in all conscience let them rent the house without insisting they get this sorted, but if I was in the position of the electrician I'd be suggesting a rewire which won't go down at all well. I'm not Part P so this is not something I want to get involved with, especially as it'll be a floorboards up job.
Is any leakage permissible? Any ideas or suggestions?
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