So I was sitting minding my own business when the lights went out. Had a look at the fuse box and found that the main fuse trips when I turn on the fuse for half the house sockets. The good news is that the fridge and kettle are in the half that work. But now how do I find the problem? Is it sufficient to turn off all the sockets and turn them on one by one until something pops?

Advice gratefully received!!

Is it sufficient to turn off all the sockets and turn them on one by one until something pops?

That’s what I would do

Unplug everything first. It’s probably an appliance that’s caused it.

Switch the breakers/switches back on using a bit of wood or the handle of an insulated screw driver just in case it trips again.

This gives you an insight to what’s happening inside a breaker when it trips during a short circuit

A similar thing happened to me a few months ago. I found an electrician through British Gas.

I had expected a problem with a socket or more worryingly the wiring, but the problem was in the consumer unit; the copper bus bar thingy needed replacing along with the breaker. It had melted a bit where it met the breaker. It seems the breaker was probably installed a bit loose originally.

Edit – note that I had eliminated the cause being a particular appliance.

I’m an Industrial electrician and I’ll say it now I kin hate domestic stuff (bobbins hidden behind plaster)

But your approach is logical

Main fuse? Do you mean an RCD or similar?
If it’s that and it’s working properly (not always the case) then it’s detecting a fault, often in an appliance.
Based on your terminology alone, switch off and unplug everything that isn’t necessary and call an electrician.
You could systematically add appliances back in but remember that something is faulty and could do some damage. The fault will be going to earth, possibly through a metal case
Typically anything involving water will be the problem, so outside lights, washing machine, electric shower/pump, etc
RCDs and the like can be temperamental too and need proper kit to diagnose. In summary: Electrician

My main RCD kept tripping – new house, recently tested so know it wasn’t the wiring. One of the ‘weatherproof’ exterior lights was full of water. Could be an appliance, loose wiring somewhere or the switch socket itself.

I had this in the new place…
Rcd tripped, and wouldn’t turn back in despite the individual breakers all being off…

Was the RCD itself that was broken!
Replaced, and all working fine.

Typically, you switch all the circuits off and the rcd should be able to switch on… then turn them on one by one to figure out which circuit had the fault (as it’ll trip the rcd when you turn THAT ONE back on)

DrP

I initially read DrJ as DrP and thought

ooh, could there be a chance that this is connected to a new spur being fitted? 

🙂

Have you just tried turning it back on and seeing if it trips again? RCDs often get taken out when a light bulb fails

i had this recently.

turned out it was a piece of olive, stuck between the elements and the housing of my toaster. who know olives were so conductive…

Your approach is the first thing to try but if the fault is on one side (the neutral from memory) turning off won’t be enough so unplug everything you can. I found this out when my built in oven went and it took a while to figure out how it was still tripping.

I initially read DrJ as DrP and thought

ooh, could there be a chance that this is connected to a new spur being fitted?

Ha. I mean..Oi!!!

DrP/J

Thanks all. So, this morning I did the “unplug everything, reset the fuse and turn on one by one” routine and … I turned on everything and it all worked fine. Not sure whether to be relieved or worried!!