ELECTRICAL CERTIFICATE

[Dave A]

Should his inspection not have picked up the problem?

If the insulation test was done with a megga (as it should be done) there's a fair chance. If it was done with a multimeter (which I've heard is the way it's done by some) the chances of detecting the problem if the fault was dry at the time is much slimmer.

[Sparks]

In all likelihood you have what is called an intermittent fault. You do not mention whether the pump is on or not. Because you make reference to it happening when wet I will for now assume that the problem is not related to the pump, therefore an electrical inspection would not pick it up unless it had rained on the day or previous night. There is probably a joint under or close to the ground and it is either not inside a waterproof enclosure or the enclosure is damaged, if you have lights in the garden being fed from the pool DB which have joints or terminations which are not watertight it will also cause your earth leakage unit to trip. You can also check for "spade" damage caused by your gardener. These faults are all intermittent because they only occur in the presence of water. Once dry they are often impossible to find within a reasonable amount of time, especially if the cable has been damaged by a spade. You could end up minus your flowerbed. Simple logic and a keen eye can go a long way to find the fault.

[Dave A]

I'm interested in opinions on whether the electrician issuing the COC (test only) is liable for this, though.

If the electrician was using a megga and the insulation test reading was fine, can you hold the electrician responsible?

[AndyD]

From the certification side of things, I don't see the electrician being responsible, the COC is a one-shot test, if the correct test equipment and proceedures were employed then he should be in the clear.

The other point, especially with a pool pump and outside lighting is there's a good chance the IR fault would be on items that aren't even covered by the COC.

On the other hand, if the electrician was informed of the fault and he conducted repairs on that particular fault and he charged money for this on top of the COC work then he should return under warranty and make further repairs on the same fault if necessary.

I think the answer lies in the details (which we'll probably never know).

[unhappy]

Advice please - for a house based in Port Elizabeth:

Company 1 inspected and gave a quotation of R4000 and a list of 20 faults. 14 faults were fixed or eliminated which left 6 faults on the original list. Company 2 inspected and has now issued a quotation of R4000 and a list of 24 faults - which excludes the cost of fittings and "making good" (plastering and painting so heaven only knows what he is planning to do). Who or what do you believe now? This is R800 later after two inspections plus the "fixing up" costs in between!

Please help...

[AndyD]

Hi Unhappy, welcome to the forum.

Firstly I have to ask what possessed you to get a second company in to do another certificate when the place had already failed and the required remedial work hadn't been finished?

There's recently been a new ammendment (amdt 8) in the domestic installation regulations so it's possible the first CoC was done before the changes came in and the second one was done after. I assume you have the two lists of remedial work required so tell us what the differences are and we may be able to comment.