Electrical fault finding services from Lighting Electrical

Electrical fault finding in Colchester

Lights that flicker, sockets that have gone dead and a breaker that will not reset are traced and repaired by Lighting Electrical, in homes and businesses across Colchester.

Ten years on Colchester housing stock and I have seen most of it: terraces where the lighting circuit has been extended once too often, boards fitted before RCDs were standard, new builds with sockets nowhere near the kitchen. I check the earthing, the bonding and whether the supply will carry another load before I price anything, because the age of a house settles nothing on its own.

How much does electrical fault finding cost in Colchester?

Fault finding and repair in Colchester starts at £75 an hour, which buys the testing that locates the fault and the work to put it right.

  • Prices start from that figure and move with how many circuits have to be tested and how far the board, the loft or an outbuilding sits from the fault.
  • A minor works certificate starts at £95, an EICR at £150, a consumer unit replacement at £450, and out of hours attendance at £90 an hour.

View the fault finding cost guide for Colchester

Full electrical fault finding details

Electrical fault finding and repair in Colchester

  • A fault that trips the power, kills a lighting circuit or leaves sockets dead is traced and repaired from £75 an hour.
  • Something on one circuit is leaking to earth, and testing each circuit in turn shows which one it is.
  • A loose connection at a switch, a rose or the board can drop a lighting circuit without blowing anything.
  • One failed connection can cut the sockets after it, so every point on the circuit is tested in turn.
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Valandi testing a socket outlet by Lighting Electrical

Electrical faults in Colchester housing

  • The age and build of a Colchester house shape where a fault sits and how long it takes to reach.
  • More than sixty timber framed weavers' houses from the late sixteenth century stand north of the High Street, where cable can run in narrow voids or on the surface.
  • Behind Magdalen Street and Military Road sit around 470 brick houses from the 1880s, where the board and meter can be under the stairs or in a hall cupboard.
  • Highwoods in CO4 went up from 1981, so a detached or semi detached home there may still be on its original board and circuits.
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Open consumer unit showing circuit breakers and wiring by Lighting Electrical

What happens on the day

A Colchester fault visit runs from the symptom you describe to a tested circuit and its paperwork.

  1. 01

    Arrival and the symptoms

    The circuit at fault is narrowed down from what has been happening, when it started and what was switched on at the time.

  2. 02

    Testing at the board

    The board is isolated and circuits are tested for insulation resistance, continuity and earthing until the fault shows itself.

  3. 03

    Repair and certificate

    The faulty accessory, joint or length of cable is repaired, the circuit is retested, and a minor works certificate from £95 records a circuit the repair alters.

Other electrical work in Colchester

A Colchester fault that turns out to be an ageing board or worn wiring leads to consumer unit replacement from £450 or rewiring from £2,400, and a landlord who wants the whole installation checked can book an EICR from £150.

Why customers choose Lighting Electrical for fault work in Colchester

Lighting Electrical is NAPIT registered, prices fault work in writing before it starts, and covers homes, rented property and commercial premises across Colchester. A Silver or Gold maintenance plan takes 10 or 15 per cent off the hourly fault rate and brings next day or same day priority booking.

NAPIT

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New electrical cabling run through a stripped-back wall during a rewire by Lighting Electrical

Electrical maintenance plans in Peterborough

Three yearly plans. Bronze takes 5 percent off labour and certificates and includes one free safety certificate. Silver doubles that to 10 percent and adds next day priority. Gold takes 15 percent off, runs to three free safety certificates a year, and adds same day priority booking with two emergency call outs.

Bronze

£12/mo
Billed annually at £144Save 20%

Lower rates on every job, plus a free safety certificate each year.

  • 5% off labour
  • 5% off certificates
  • Free safety certificate, once a year
Join Bronze

Silver

Popular
£20/mo
Billed annually at £240Save 20%

Double the discount, next-day priority, and a free safety certificate each year.

  • 10% off labour
  • 10% off certificates
  • Free safety certificate, once a year
  • Next day priority
Join Silver

Gold

£31/mo
Billed annually at £372Save 20%

Best rates, same-day priority booking, three free safety certificates a year.

  • 15% off labour
  • 15% off certificates
  • Free safety certificates, 3 times a year
  • Same day priority booking
  • 2 emergency call-outs a year
Join Gold

Recent work from Lighting Electrical

These photographs show work completed across the wider service area covered by Lighting Electrical; they are not all presented as electrical fault finding work in Colchester.

Wall lantern with PIR sensor fitted to a brick wall
Two pedestal EV charge points on a marked charging bay
Open consumer unit with breakers wired and cables dressed in
Infrared heater and isolator fitted above a shopfront doorway
Outdoor distribution enclosure with glanded armoured cables and earth bar
Three rows of solar panels on a tiled house roof

Areas covered in and around Colchester

Fault finding reaches Lexden, Greenstead, Highwoods, Prettygate, Old Heath and New Town across CO1 to CO4, along with Stanway, Wivenhoe, Rowhedge, Great Horkesley, Marks Tey and Dedham.

Colchester (by arrangement), Heybridge (by arrangement)

Electrical fault finding questions from Colchester customers

Questions Colchester homeowners, landlords and businesses ask before booking a fault visit.

Why does my RCD keep tripping?+

Something on one circuit is leaking current to earth and the RCD is cutting it off, which is the RCD doing its job. Switching circuits off one at a time narrows it to a circuit, then insulation testing names the cable or accessory. Fault finding and repair starts at £75 an hour.

Valandi Kotorri

How much does it cost to find an electrical fault?+

From £75 an hour, covering both the testing and the repair. The time comes down to how many circuits have to be tested and how easily the board and cable runs can be reached. Anything that grows into a larger job, such as a consumer unit replacement from £450, is priced in writing first.

Valandi Kotorri

Will the power be off while you look for the fault?+

The circuit under test is off, and the whole board goes off for short spells during insulation testing. Fridges, freezers, servers and anything else that cannot lose power are planned around before testing starts.

Do you work on older houses in Colchester?+

Yes, including the timber framed houses of the Dutch Quarter and the 1880s brick housing of New Town. Older buildings put cable in tighter voids and on the surface, so tracing is done by test readings rather than by lifting everything. The rate is the same £75 an hour.

What paperwork do I get after a repair?+

A minor works certificate from £95 where the repair alters a circuit, listing what was done and the test readings taken. If testing shows the whole installation needs looking at, an EICR starts at £150.

Can you come out to a fault at night or the weekend?+

Out of hours attendance is charged from £90 an hour rather than £75. The booking line is answered at any hour.

What if the fault is in my fuse board?+

A board with rewireable fuses or without RCD protection may not take the repair you want, and a consumer unit replacement starts at £450. The board is tested first and the circuits it feeds are checked before anything is quoted. The price comes to you in writing before that work begins.

Can you find a fault in a garage or outbuilding?+

Yes, a submain out to a garage, garden room or workshop is tested for insulation resistance along its length. A buried cable that has taken in water shows up in those readings. Larger plots west of the centre can carry a long submain, which adds testing time at £75 an hour.

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