All about Electrical Troubleshooting, Diagnosis and Repair
Have you ever faced the unfortunate situation where an electrical appliance or fixture in your home stops working, or it starts giving out sparks or crackling noises? It can be incredibly scary for you, and you might not even want to go near the fixture or appliance for fear of getting hurt or electrocuted. Electrical faults and malfunctions are indeed dangerous, which is why you shouldn’t even try to fix in on your own.
Before we go any further, make sure to call an electrician in Vancouver whenever you are faced with such a situation, as they will be able to diagnose and fix the problem properly and professionally. Having said that, let’s go through the processes of electrical troubleshooting, diagnosis, and repair so that you can understand what can be done when something goes wrong.
Electrical Troubleshooting, Diagnosis, and Repair Steps
An electrician has to perform a certain method to find out what is causing the problem in your electrical system, and identifying the problem is key to getting it fixed. Here are some of the steps that are commonly followed by electricians when they have to troubleshoot the problem.
Information Gathering
The first step to electrical troubleshooting is gathering as much information as possible about the fault or the appliance that is malfunctioning. First and foremost, the electrician checks if there is an owner’s manual or technical documentation for the system, fixture, or appliance. This would have all the information that they may need to troubleshoot the problem, along with possible steps that they can follow.
Moreover, this documentation will also contain the wiring diagram for the electrical fixture, and it helps electricians match it against the actual wiring so that they can find what may be causing the problem. Apart from this, the information gathering process also involves focusing on the proper operation of the fixture, i.e. how it should normally work. Moreover, you should also provide them any information about prior repairs or maintenance work that may have been done on the fixture.
In case you can’t find the technical information for the electrical fixture or component that needs to be troubleshot, the best way to go about it is to try finding information about similar products that also operate in the same way. This way, you might be able to help the electrician with this process.
Understanding the Fault
The next step involves how the electrical fixture is malfunctioning, and this can be done by understanding how the fixture or appliance actually works. Once you know its proper function, you can find out which part of the fixture isn’t working properly or causing a disruption in its normal function. Basically, you need to determine what the proper operation is, and which function of the operation isn’t working the way it should.
Once you have gathered this information, the next step is to determine the possible causes for this malfunction. Any electrical fixture consists of various components and parts that work together and ensure smooth operation. The electrician Vancouver will be able to determine this much more efficiently once they have complete information about the aforementioned steps.
Once the malfunction is detected and its root cause is isolated, this makes it very easy for the electrician to proceed to the next steps.
Evaluating Parameters
Moving on, detecting the malfunction is followed by determining the parameters that the electrician needs to examine in order to zero in on the fault. Electrical fixtures have various parts that send a signal to the main circuit board, and this ensures its proper function. So, the electrician has to identify which of these signals they have to examine.
One thing that electricians do is to measure the input and output signals of the electrical fixture that they have to troubleshoot. For this, they have to know the correct input and output signal values, which enables them to find out which component isn’t sending the full signal as it should. Once the input signals are sent, the output value is measured, and the electrician identifies any delays or interruptions in the process.
In a nutshell, the electrician determines the measurable parameters and their expected values for proper operation. Then, they have to find out the right equipment to measure the input and output signals. Once these values are measured, they will be able to know better about which component may be at fault.
Identifying the Problem
To identify the root of the problem, the electrician separates the electrical components from one another and examines them according to the parameters determined in the previous section. Next, the electrician checks each component according to the signal it sends or receives from the circuit. By isolating these components, they will be able to identify which component is causing the malfunction.
If electricians don’t have access to technical data or the preferred input and output signal values, they can measure the current or signals of two similar electrical components or fixtures, and if they match, the component seems to be working fine. However, if there is an anomaly, then you can identify the malfunctioning component much easier.
If the electrical fixture has a construction that allows the electrician to remove the malfunctioning component or part, they will be able to better diagnose the problem or get a replacement part, if possible. For example, if a rotor is broken and hampering the function of the fixture, then the electrician may be able to replace it with a new one and save time.
Usually, once the problem is identified and the component is isolated, the first three steps may need to be repeated to ensure that there is no other problem with the electrical fixture and that everything else is working perfectly.
Repairing the Component
Once the above steps are completed, the electrician should be able to isolate or remove the malfunctioning or broken component from the electrical fixture, or they should have sufficient diagnostic data to be able to determine what needs to be done to fix the problem properly. Once the component is repaired or a new one has been bought, the electrician will install it into the fixture.
After this step is completed, the electrician can repeat the troubleshooting steps to determine whether the newly repaired or replaced component works perfectly and has restored the machine to its original and proper function. If everything seems to be fine, then their work is done. Otherwise, they might have to be more meticulous in their diagnostic process.
Sometimes, electricians are also faced with the problem where a small unit of a component has malfunctioned, but simply replacing that unit isn’t possible or feasible. Therefore, they might have to replace the entire component. Although this may be slightly costlier, it would ensure that there are no future problems with your machine.
Verifying the Repair
Once the repair process has been completed, the electricians have to troubleshoot the electrical fixture once again to determine that their repairs have proven to be useful. The entire troubleshooting, diagnosis, and repair process involve a lot of troubleshooting and testing, which takes up a lot of time. However, this is highly important, as it will ensure that there aren’t any other problems that may pop up later in your electrical fixtures.
Repeated testing and verification also ensures that the same component won’t malfunction in the future, as it can set you back a lot of money if you have to hire an electrician in Vancouver to carry out the repairs repeatedly.
Analyzing the Root Cause
By this step, you have completed the electrical troubleshooting, diagnosis, and repair process successfully and the electrical fixture should be working properly by now. The last step requires the electrician to single out the root cause of the failure, i.e. whether the machine failed prematurely, or there was a certain component that requires periodic maintenance or replacement.
Sometimes, certain components have to be replaced, and if their replacement date is overdue, the machine may start to malfunction. Therefore, the electrician will be able to single out the root cause, and it helps you to understand any future problems that may arise.
These are the most common steps involved in the electrical troubleshooting, diagnosis, and repair process. However, the electrician that you hire may have a different set of steps that they may follow, but the basics remain the same.
Common Electricity Faults Around the House
Having electricity problems in your home can be quite disconcerting, but you should be able to identify them so that you know if you can correct or prevent them on your own. Let’s have a look at some of the common electrical faults in your home.
Constant Electrical Surges
Electrical surges refer to a dip or increase in the voltage. Normally, there is a determined voltage range that is supplied by the power grid to your home, and all of your electrical appliances and fixtures are wired to work at the same voltage. Sometimes, electricity flowing into your electrical system may come at a higher or lower voltage than the defined range, and this can cause a problem in the function of your electrical fixtures.
If you are constantly noticing that your appliances are going on and off repeatedly, or the lights in your home keep going dim and bright, you may be experiencing constant electrical surges. This may also mean that your electrical system isn’t well equipped to deal with the surges, which is why you should seek the services of an electrician in Vancouver to fix the problem quickly.
If you don’t hire an electrician to fix the issue on time, you can risk causing a malfunction in your electrical appliances, which can be quite costly to repair.
Power Dips
Power dips are similar to electrical surges, the only difference being that these are caused by one of the devices or appliances in your home. These machines may have faulty wiring or a malfunctioning component that may cause a power dip in your electrical system, i.e. drawing a lot of power from the grid. This may also cause the circuit breaker to trip if it is connected to the appliance in question.
Faulty Switches
Often, you find that light or dimmer switches in your home don’t work properly, or they cause the light or fan to turn on slower than expected. This can be attributed to a few factors, one of which is that the switches are of poor quality, which is why they don’t supply electricity properly to the electrical fixture that they are connected to.
Another reason why your switches may not be working properly is that the wiring that is connected to them is loose or hasn’t been screwed in properly, thus causing a difference in power or an improper flow of current. This can also cause the lighting fixtures to malfunction or get burnt due to low current, or if the wires come loose and touch each other, it could cause a short circuit and cause further damage.
Therefore, it is best to consult with an electrician if you are experiencing this with multiple switches in your house.
Circuit Breakers Tripping Frequently
You may have heard a snapping sound in your home, following which the lights suddenly go out. This is caused by a circuit breaker tripping. Circuit breakers are connected to the electrical system and they are usually divided to cover each room, with separate breakers installed for large appliances that draw more power. Their main role is to stop the flow of current in case of a power surge or dip.
So, if your circuit breakers keep tripping repeatedly, then there may be a problem with one of your appliances, especially those appliances that generate a lot of heat, such as microwaves, hairdryers, steam irons, etc. The best way to diagnose this problem is to notice which appliance causes the breaker to trip. There may be a fault in your appliance, and you will need to get it fixed at the earliest.
Circuit Overloads
Referring to the previous point, a circuit breaker may also trip when there is excessive load on the circuit. This often happens when you overload a power socket or extension with too many power-drawing or heavy appliances. This causes them to draw a lot of power from the electrical system and as a safety precaution, the circuit breaker trips to prevent your appliances from malfunctioning.
To prevent this, a good step is to always unplug appliances and devices when they are not being used, so that they don’t keep drawing power unnecessarily. Moreover, you should also keep track of your power requirements, so that you don’t keep overloading the circuit repeatedly.
Varying Brightness in Lighting Fixtures
Normally, you may have lights with similar power ratings throughout the house and ideally, they should output the same brightness as the others. However, it may often happen that some lights may be brighter or dim than the others, and this indicates a problem with the electrical system, meaning that all lights are not getting the same amount of current.
This is often caused by a problem with the neutral connection in your electrical system, or with any lighting fixture. This could further lead to light bulbs burning out, which is why you should get in touch with an electrician at the earliest.
Electrocution
It is the worst feeling in the world when you feel an electric shock when touching the surface of an electrical appliance or light switch. This shock is often experienced while you turn a device or appliance on or off. To diagnose whether the problem lies in the appliance or the socket, you can unplug it and plug in another device to the socket. Of course, you don’t want to keep shocked to check where the problem lies, so your next thought should be, “I need to find an electrician near me”.
Rising Energy Costs
If the electricity tariff in your state remains the same, and your electricity consumption is also the same, your energy bill should be the same month after month, especially when the weather remains the same. However, if you notice a sudden increase in the electricity bill, it could mean that your appliances and devices are drawing more power than they should, or electricity is being wasted somewhere in the electrical system.
To ensure that you don’t keep getting overbilled every month, make sure to hire an electrician in Vancouver to troubleshoot, diagnose and fix the problem as soon as possible. Not only will this reduce your energy bills, but it would also mean that you can stay safe from electrical accidents and injuries, which are quite common in households.
As you can see, there are various types of electrical issues that may occur in your home, which is why you should always have one trusted “electrician near me” on your speed dial, so that you can call them at any time you encounter an electrical problem. When it comes to electrical work, safety is of paramount importance and you can never be too careful.