7 Steps to Electrical Fault Finding

Make no mistake – electrical faults in the home can occur more than you might think. And without some form of electrical fault-finding system in place, they put your family in serious danger.

The number of preventable electrical fatalities in Australian homes has notably decreased over the last 15 years, from an average of 15 per year in 2010 to 10 recorded deaths in the 2023-2024 year. And according to the results outlined in the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council‘s Electrical Fatal Incident Data, of those 10, four were attributed to home electrical installations.

Though this downturn in electrical fatality figures is promising, the risks are still present and are certainly something none of us should become complacent about. And electrical fault finding is an essential part of maintaining that vigilance.

What Is Electrical Fault Finding?

Typically, when a fault occurs in your home, the specific circuit breaker protecting that faulty circuit will trip and shut off the power to that circuit. However, this doesn’t always occur, and the main switch to the power for your entire house might trip instead. Fault finding can help you identify the problem circuit and allow you to restore power.

It’s important to note that DIY electrical work for an unlicensed person is limited to small tasks like resetting a tripped circuit breaker or changing a lightbulb. For major fault-finding work, you will need a licensed and professional electrician.

Metropolitan Electrical Contractors is your local electrical expert in electrical fault finding and will run through the process in seven simple steps. These techniques can prevent everything from power surges that damage your appliances and other electrical installations, to stopping harm from coming to your family.

1. Turn All Circuit Breakers Off

If power is out across your entire home and it’s not due to a fault from your electricity provider, the main switch in your switchboard (the red switch shown above) has likely tripped.

Tripping circuit breakers will occur if they detect any kind of electrical fault. It’s an essential safety precaution that can prevent a serious electrical emergency.

The individual circuit breakers (orange switches in the above picture) will remain on, so you will first need to switch these off.

2. Turn the Main Safety Switch On

With all the switches in the off position, now you can turn the main switch back on and restore power to your home. But while you have each individual circuit shut off, your appliances and fixtures will not yet receive that power.

3. Turn Each Circuit Breaker Back On

With the main switch back on, you can turn each circuit breaker switch back on, too. The key here is to turn each switch back on, one at a time.

4. Identify the Faulty Circuit

Turning each switch on individually allows you to identify the faulty circuit. It will be the one that trips again after you’ve switched it back on! There will be some component of this circuit that is causing your electrical fault.

5. Turn All Switches Off Again

Once you’ve identified the problem circuit, turn all the switches off again, including the main switch. This prevents further electrical problems while you isolate the faulty electrical circuit. Faulty equipment, loose connections or damaged electrical wiring could be causing issues, and safely shutting down your system prevents further damage to your electrical installations.

6. Turn the Electricity Back On

Now we can begin the process of turning electricity back on to the circuits that aren’t tripping. First, turn the main switch on and then turn each circuit back on except for the faulty one.

You now have power back to your home and don’t need to worry about that faulty electrical circuit tripping again.

7. Call a Qualified Electrician

With the faulty electrical circuit identified and power cut off from it, it’s time to call in a professional, experienced electrician. Until your faults are resolved, this switch won’t stay on, and any appliances connected to the circuit won’t have power.

What Causes Electrical Faults?

Several potential issues in your home may lead to an electrical fault. Some come down to easily fixable human errors, while others may be more systemic.

Here is a list of the most common causes of electrical faults:

• Overloaded circuit – You may have too many electrical appliances or equipment connected to the circuit, leading to electrical demand exceeding the maximum supply available.
• Wiring in the main electrical box is packed too tightly – You should have approximately 30 mm of space between the wires to prevent severe damage during installation or repairs.
• Loose connections in the main panel – connections in the main panel should be installed securely.

Some of these are, unfortunately, out of your control beyond ensuring your electrician is fully licensed. You can do a few things at home to prevent faults, though.

How to Prevent Electrical Faults

As we just mentioned, the first and easiest way to prevent electrical faults is to ensure you use only licensed electricians for any essential electrical work. In fact, in South Australia and across the country, it’s illegal for unlicensed or unregistered electricians to carry out any electrical work beyond basic tasks like changing a light bulb or testing your safety switches. Improper electrical work is a one-way trip to an electrical fault somewhere down the line.

Other ways you can prevent faults in your home include:

• Inspect your wiring regularly for damage.
• Have a dedicated circuit for energy-intensive appliances such as air conditioners.
• Avoiding circuit overloads with too many connections or by piggybacking powerboards onto powerboards.
• Regularly have an electrician inspect your switchboard for faults.

Sometimes a fault simply can’t be stopped, so what system is in place to protect you and your home?

What Are Closed, Open and Short Circuits?

Your switchboard uses open and closed circuits to protect your family and home from electrical faults. What are these, though?

Open and Closed Circuits

A circuit consists of electrical wiring and components such as fans, switches and lights. For electricity to flow, the wiring and components must form a closed path through which electricity flows. This is a closed circuit.

Any interruption of this closed path will form an open circuit. This interruption may be anything from a switch in the off position to faulty wiring. An open circuit will stop the flow of electricity and won’t power any connected component.

A simple example of this is a light and its switch. When the switch is on, the circuit is closed and electricity flows through it. This causes the light to turn on. When the light switch is turned off, the circuit is interrupted (open), and the light turns off as electricity no longer flows.

In this case, your circuit breaker acts like the switch. When it detects an electrical fault, it trips and opens the circuit, stopping the flow of electricity in this circuit.

Short Circuits

While open and closed circuits are part of the normal operation of your home’s electrical equipment, a short circuit is bad news. This is where a connection is made where it shouldn’t be, and electricity flows through it.

Your circuit breaker aims to protect your electrical systems from this problem.

Electrical Fault Finding Electrician

Faulty electrical systems in your home put your home and family at great risk of dangerous electrical problems. These risks include electric shocks and even electrical-related fires.

Unless you’re a licensed electrician, you won’t be able to identify the cause of your electrical problems or carry out the necessary repairs. That’s why you must have a qualified electrician out for their electrical fault finding expertise.

Not sure you’re up to finding the electrical faults on your own? That’s not a problem – a Metropolitan Electrical Contractors electrician can be at your home just 1 hour* after your call with the best fault finding techniques, equipment and knowledge to get your home’s electricity under control.

Please note: Thanks for reading our blog “7 Steps to Electrical Fault Finding”. This information is provided for advice purposes only. Regulations differ from state to state, so please consult your local authorities or an industry professional before proceeding with any work. See our Terms & Conditions here.