Not every electrical fault shows up when you flip a switch or plug something in. A circuit can look and work normally while having no working earth connection at all — because the earth conductor only matters when something goes wrong. Without it, a fault that should trip the protection instead makes the exposed metal parts live.

During a recent EICR in Acton, this is exactly what our engineer found: the earth conductors inside a junction box had been cut off at the cable ends. The socket outlet worked as normal, so there was no obvious sign of the problem — it was only found by opening the enclosure and testing.

The same inspection also picked up something less well known: circuit protection isn’t just about having an MCB or fuse — it has to match the cable it’s protecting. Here, a 32 A breaker was fitted to 1.5 mm² socket cable, a combination that would let the cable overheat under overload conditions well before the breaker reacted. A correctly sized device for that cable would typically be rated much lower.

The takeaway: an EICR isn’t a visual check. It tests continuity, protection ratings, and enclosure conditions that don’t announce themselves through normal use — which is why alterations by previous owners or unregistered installers can sit unnoticed for years.