24/7 emergency electrician · Fife & Edinburgh

Electrical emergency? Jack picks up his own phone, day or night.

Power gone across the house, a burning smell, sparks or a dead circuit — an electrical emergency will not wait, and neither does Jack. He runs 24/7 emergency call-outs across Fife and Edinburgh, answers his own phone day or night, and gets to genuine emergencies fast. He finds the actual fault, explains it in plain English, and makes it safe.

qualified electrician 4.8 on Google, 26 reviews Based in Dalgety Bay, Fife

Tripping, in plain English

Why does my electricity keep tripping?

Electricity that keeps tripping is almost always your fuse board doing its job and protecting you from a fault. In most homes it comes down to one of four things: a faulty appliance leaking to earth (a tired kettle element, washing machine or immersion heater is the single most common cause), water getting in to an outdoor socket or a light fitting, an overloaded circuit, or an RCD that is worn out and nuisance-tripping. The trip is the safety system working. The thing behind it is what needs finding.

What to do when a fuse trips or the RCD won't reset

There is some safe detective work you can do before calling anyone, no tools and nothing inside the board:

  1. 01

    Unplug everything on the affected circuit

    Or everything in the house if the main RCD is the one going.

  2. 02

    Reset the tripped switch

    If it will not stay up with everything unplugged, stop, that points to a wiring or board fault and is a job for an electrician.

  3. 03

    Plug things back in one at a time

    Wait a moment after each. When it trips again, the last thing you plugged in is very likely the culprit, leave it unplugged and get it checked.

  4. 04

    Note the timing

    Does it trip when the shower runs, when it rains, when the dryer is on, or at random? That pattern is genuinely useful to whoever fixes it.

One rule, always: never open the consumer unit, poke inside it, or remove socket and switch fronts to investigate. The live parts behind those covers can kill, and there is no safe DIY check in there.

Why does my fuse box keep tripping after I reset it?

If it keeps tripping even after a reset, the fault is still there, and repeatedly flicking the switch back up just ignores it. Sometimes the board itself is the issue: on an older fuse board where one RCD covers everything, a single minor fault takes out half the house, and worn protective devices can nuisance-trip on their own. The proper fix is to find the cause first. With the right test kit Jack isolates which circuit and which fault is doing it, then tells you straight whether it is a £30 kettle, a remedial, or a board that has had its day, with the cost in writing before any work starts.

What's involved

Finding the actual fault, not swapping parts

Electrical faults rarely fix themselves, and resetting a tripping breaker just delays the problem. Jack diagnoses methodically so the thing that was wrong is the thing that gets fixed.

  1. 01

    Tell him the symptoms

    What is happening, on which circuits, and when, does it trip when the shower goes on, is one room dead, is there a smell? A quick message or call gives Jack a head start before he even arrives.

  2. 02

    Test, don't guess

    On site, Jack uses proper test equipment, insulation resistance, continuity, live testing, to isolate the fault to the exact circuit, appliance or cable, instead of replacing parts and hoping.

  3. 03

    Explain it plainly

    You get told what was actually wrong and why, in plain English, with the options if there is more than one way to put it right.

  4. 04

    Fix it properly

    The fault is repaired safely and the circuit re-tested so you know it is genuinely sorted, not just reset. Urgent and unsafe faults are made safe straight away.

No surprises

Signs worth a call

  • A breaker or RCD that trips and will not stay reset
  • Dead sockets or a room with no power
  • Flickering or dimming lights with no obvious cause
  • A warm or burning smell near a socket or the fuse board
  • Scorch marks, buzzing or sparking at a socket or switch
  • Shocks or tingles off appliances, taps or switches

A burning smell, scorching or sparking means stop using that circuit and call, those are reasons not to wait.

A typical job

The trip that won't reset

The classic call: the upstairs power goes, the breaker trips again the second it is reset, and resetting it on repeat is getting nowhere. Jack isolates each circuit, tests until the actual fault shows itself, often a failing appliance or moisture in an outdoor circuit, fixes it, and re-tests so it holds. Done properly once, instead of nursed along.

24/7 emergency call-outs · day or night, 7 days a week

Seen fast, sorted properly

4.8 on Google across 26 reviews. Every word verbatim.

Arrived within an hour and instantly diagnosed the problem. Sorted it quickly — brilliant when you need someone fast.
John Halliwell Emergency call-out
Extremely professional and easy to work with. Helped us make good, informed decisions and the work was spot on.
Emma Wilson Home electrical work
Friendly and helpful, and installed parts superior to those originally quoted. Great job.
Chriss Podd General electrical

Read all 26 reviews

Straight answers

Questions, answered.

Why does my electricity keep tripping?

Electricity that keeps tripping is almost always your fuse board protecting you from a fault. The usual causes are a faulty appliance leaking to earth, water getting into a socket or fitting, an overloaded circuit, or an RCD that is worn out. Unplug things one at a time and reset to narrow it down. If it will not reset, or trips again with nothing plugged in, it needs an electrician.

Why won't my fuse box reset, or why does it trip the moment I reset it?

A switch that will not stay up, or trips again the instant you reset it, usually means a live fault on the circuit, a short, water ingress or a damaged cable. That is not safe to keep forcing. Stop resetting it, leave that circuit off, and call an electrician. Jack isolates the faulty circuit with proper test gear rather than guessing.

Why does my fuse box keep tripping when I reset it?

If your fuse box keeps tripping even after a reset, the fault is still there, the board is just doing its job. On older boards a single RCD covers half the house, so one small fault knocks out lights, sockets and the freezer together. Repeated tripping you cannot pin to one appliance is your installation telling you something, and chasing an intermittent earth fault is exactly what a fault-finding visit is for.

What should I do when a fuse trips or an RCD won't stay on?

First, unplug everything on the affected circuit. Reset the tripped switch. If it holds, plug things back in one at a time until it trips again, the last thing in is usually the culprit, so leave it unplugged and get it checked. If it will not reset with everything unplugged, stop, that points to a wiring fault. Never open the consumer unit or remove socket fronts to investigate, the live parts in there can kill.

What counts as an electrical emergency?

A burning smell, scorch marks or heat around a socket or the fuse board, sparks, or a circuit that trips the moment you reset it are all reasons to stop using that circuit and call. Total loss of power, or anything that feels or smells wrong, is worth a phone call rather than a wait.

How quickly can you come out?

Emergencies are prioritised day or night, seven days a week. Jack answers his own phone himself, so a genuine emergency goes straight to the front of the queue and you get a fast response rather than a wait on hold.

How does fault finding actually work?

Jack isolates the problem methodically with proper test equipment, insulation resistance, continuity and live testing, to pin down the actual fault rather than swapping parts and hoping. Then he explains in plain English what was wrong and fixes it properly.

Stop resetting it. Get it found.

Tell Jack what's happening, which circuits, what it's doing, and he'll diagnose it properly. Urgent faults go to the front of the queue.

qualified electrician · 24 hours, 7 days a week · Based in Dalgety Bay, Fife