Hi all.

I suddenly developed an earth leakage in the middle of the day during a period without rain or wind or anything strange. It is isolated to one circuit breaker and is consistent.
I had an electrician come and we looked high and low but could only find three plugs that weren't working. After disconnecting the plugs the earth leakage still tripped.

The electrician believes the issue is with the actual wiring between the DB and the first plug, but I have two reasons to doubt him. Firstly, he recommended that we disconnect the earth of that circuit which would "fix" the problem, to which I of course said no and sent him on his way. Secondly both the live and earth are insulated as far as I can see and in PVC conduit, so from my rudimentary understanding both cables would have to be exposed and touching each other for the fault to lie with the cables. Unless there is a junction box somewhere in between but the distance from DB to plug is quite short and if there is it has to be "inside" the walls.

Could you help with these questions:
  1. It is likely/possible for the issue to be with the cables running in the conduit, or do we need to keep searching for a different cause?
  2. If the EL only trips when the one circuit breaker is active, that means we can exclude all other circuits/appliances, correct?
  3. Can anyone recommend an electrician in Pretoria East? After reading through the post at https://www.theforumsa.co.za/forums/...CD%29-Tripping I realise that I'll need someone who knows his stuff.


Thank you