Before proceeding with any electrical work you must first contact your Building Control department at your local council
A damaged socket may need replacing due to:
- A blown circuit has broken the socket face plate.
- The socket has become overheated and scorched either by being overloaded or a loose connection in the plug. If this is the case you must deal with the problem before plugging it back in.
Tools and Materials
Socket tester, screwdriver, wire strippers, new socket face plate the same size as original, screws, green & yellow sleeving, pliers.
N.B: Before starting ensure the power is switched off and isolate the circuit.
- Use the socket tester to check that the circuit is dead.
- Unscrew the screws which hold the socket face plate in place and put to one side.
- Gently pull the socket face plate away from the wall exposing the wire connections behind.
- There will be three different cable core terminals with cables attached; one for Live, one Neutral and one for Earth (see Cable core colours). The number of cables cores fitted to each terminal will depend upon what type of circuit the socket is on:
Spur - only one wire each to a terminal
Ring - two wires to each terminal
Ring leading to a spur - three wires to each terminal - Loosen the terminal retaining screws and free the cable cores.
- Strip the cables cores (Live, Neutral and Earth) to expose the wire inside for re-connection to the terminals. With the Earth cable core make sure it mimics the other two cable cores by adding extra Earth sleeving (green & yellow) over any exposed wire to leave the same length of bare wire as the others.
- Connect the Live cable core to the Live terminal (L) of the new face plate by inserting the exposed wire into the 'L' marked hole.
Tip: If you are fitting more than one cable core wire of the same type of cable core to a terminal, carefully twist the 2 (+) bare wire ends together using a pair of pliers. This ensures maximum contact between the components plus makes it easier to fit the wires into the corresponding terminals on the socket face plate.
- Ensure the wire is fully housed in the hole and check that they is no exposed wire showing.
- Tighten the terminal screws to make sure the wire is firmly secured in the terminal.
- Repeat steps 6 to 8 with the Neutral cable core (s) to the Neutral terminal (N) and with the Earth cable core (s) to the Earth terminal (E).
- Double check all connections are secure and attached to the right terminals.
- Carefully refit the face plate gently folding the cable cores as you go so as they sit neatly into the box space.
- Tighten the retaining screws into place so that the socket box sits securely and evenly against the backing surface ensuring no gaps are left between.
- Use the socket tester to check that the socket is correctly wired and functioning properly.
- Turn the isolated circuit back on.
Tip: If the new retaining screws don?t fit the lugs of the new socket face plate, use the original screws from the damaged socket face plate.
- Before proceeding with any electrical work you must first contact your Building Control department at your local council to check if the work is compliant to the new Building Regulations for England & Wales as of 1st January 2005 concerning domestic electrical installations and repairs. Failure to do so could result in a fine and other complications due to the lack of appropriate electrical certification for your home.
For more information on Local Building Regulations, see the Communities and Local Government/Building Regulations
Reproduced with permission from www.ProblemSolved.co.uk. The website contains 70,000 reliable and recommended tradespeople from plumbers to interior designers and everything in between!
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