Hi Margaret,
Yes, i know what you mean by 'transposing the wiring'
For those who don't quite see what is meant,
he got the live and neutral wires crossed over when
he ran in an extra socket as a spur.
Thing is, most electrical appliances will run just
the same, but in this case he was switching the power
on and off in the neutral line, which was wired to the
switch inside the socket, where the live should have
been. So it behaved in a normal manner.
Unfortunately for him, sockets rarely switch both the
live and neutral lines, he had switched off the neutral
and the live was still present.
I always carry a neon screwdriver. Its such a simple
thing, yet i am sure it has saved me many times.
I have even had instances where a spur has been wired
in correctly, and yet the live is on the neutral leg.
Which of course means that where it came from is wired
in wrongly, and has been maybe for years. A simple spur
turns into a fox-hunt for the location of the place
where the wiring error occurred. Getting the neutral and
live crossed is more common than many people realise.
waiting for continuation part three ...
John