Adventures in German home electrics

While renovating and ripping out a wall, I removed a light-switch/power-point combo. When afterwards I reconnected it, I couldn't get the light to work.

The cable had a black wire (live), a blue wire (neutral), a yellow/green wire (earth) and a brown wire, presumably the return to the light. But after trying different combinations, I tested the connection and found no circuit between the brown wire in the switch, and the brown wire that was connected to the light.

There was something else strange about this plug, and it was this:



The earth of the power-point was connected directly to one of the plug poles. I suspected that this strangeness was somehow related to the switch not working, but I couldn't work out what.

(Those of you who know something about electrics and enjoy puzzles might want to think about this before reading on.)

Opening the nearby switch-box, I found a brown wire connected to an earth wire! As I realised that the earth wire was that which lead to the light-switch/power, I started to understand. Instead of using the brown wire to pass voltage back to the light, they had used the earth wire. So the neutral must have be double-timing the earth and neutral connections in the power-point. Stupidly, connecting live to earth in the switch was one thing I hadn't tried(!).

So the mystery of the light-switch was solved. But why had they chosen to use the earth wire for the light, instead of the brown wire?

As we ripped down the wall, we found this. On top of a wooden beam in the wall, lay these cables. Bricks had been laid directly on top of the cables(!), and there were some long nails securing some of these bricks. I was pulling one of these nails with a claw hammer when I stopped, got down off the ladder, and suggested that Tom take a look at this. "But be careful not to touch the nail."

I had goose-bumps on my arms. What I'd found was this.



The dickheads had put the nail straight through the cable. This was starting to explain why that power-point had always been so dodgy (anything more powerful than a battery charger had always blown the circuit-breaker).

Later on, after cutting out the broken bit of the cable, I opened it up and looked at the wires. The jackets of the earth, neutral, and brown wires are all torn open, and the brown and the earth wires are actually broken (the blue wire is badly enough burned that it appears black in the photo):



The evil has now been purged from this part of the flat. But there are other electrics in the place which also don't work the way you'd expect. I guess I'll find out more about them when I rip open the next wall.

No need to have the Feuerwehr on Speeddial, just keep a bucket of water handy in case something catches fire and you will be fine.

To throw on the electrical fire? Thanks ever so much.

Well you can throw it on the cat if you like, but I'm not sure this will help your fire situation.

you could always install one of them freon systems, I'd love to see one of those go off...

I think he was working with the builders

Believe me sickboy, I had one of those freon things explode in my face, I'd take my chances with the water solution any day of the week.

actually when it all goes up in flames he'll be wanting to fuck... sorry kick the cat

The fire brigade lives on the ground floor*, silly.

*The aforementioned Tom is Matt T's pal, landlord, ground-floor neighbour and also a member of the volunteer fire service.

EDIT: sickboy, he better not kick the Kat(rina) or the Blundstone safety boots will be used defensively.

It would help a lot more than throwing it on the electrics!

Perhaps investing in a chemical fire extinguisher specifically made for electrical fires might be a good idea?

My husband is a volunteer firefighter and the first thing we did on moving into our house was to get two multi-purpose home fire extinguishers and some smoke alarms.

I've long been of the belief that for a country so hell bent on rules and regs, that German electrics are a fcukin death trap waiting to spring.

Even relatively modern buildings have plug sockets and light switches inside the bathrooms

The above is a good example of exactly why you're supposed to have any electrical work checked by a certified electrician in Germany (because otherwise, no insurance will pay).

And why you should trip the breakers before ripping down any walls.