If you can smell burning, see sparks, or the switchboard is hot or wet, turn the power off at the main switch and ring us now on (07) 4099 3497. We run a 24 hour callout.
Electrical problems
Burning smell from a power point or switch
Turn that circuit off at the switchboard and stop using it. A burning smell means heat, and heat in an electrical accessory is how house fires start.
- 5.0 on Google
- 24/7 emergency callout
- Licence 82270
Do this now
- Turn that circuit off at the switchboard. If you are not sure which one, turn off the main switch.
- Unplug whatever was in it, if you can do that safely without touching the point itself.
- Do not use that point again until it has been looked at.
- If there is smoke, visible fire, or the wall is hot, get everyone out and ring 000.
Why this one is not a wait-and-see
A burning or fishy plastic smell from a power point, switch or the switchboard means something is running hot enough to melt or scorch. The usual cause is a loose connection. Loose terminals arc, arcing generates heat, heat degrades the terminal further, and it accelerates. It does not settle down.
The second common cause is an overloaded point. A double adaptor stacked with a heater, an air conditioner or a pool pump will cook a standard accessory.
The third is moisture and corrosion, which in a coastal town is a real one. Salt air gets into outdoor and semi-outdoor points and corrodes the terminations. We see it constantly on beachfront and near-beach blocks.
What we do when we get there
Isolate, open it up, and look at the actual damage. A scorched accessory gets replaced, but the important part is checking what caused it: the terminations either side, the loop through the rest of the circuit, and whether the same problem exists at other points on that run. Replacing the burnt point and leaving the loose neutral three points down the wall is not a repair.
Where a board or a run has multiple heat-damaged terminations we will tell you plainly whether it is a repair or whether the circuit needs redoing. We put that in writing.
After a fault like this
Installation work we carry out is certified by us as the licensed electrical contractor, and you get a Certificate of Testing and Compliance for it. Keep it with the house papers. It matters at sale and it matters to an insurer.
Straight answers
Burning smell from a power point: your questions
A power point smells like burning but nothing looks burnt. Am I imagining it?
Probably not. Overheating plastic has a very distinctive smell and people usually notice it before there is anything to see. The damage is often inside the accessory or behind it. Turn the circuit off and have it checked.
Can you come out tonight for a burning smell from a power point?
Yes. We run a 24 hour callout, every day of the year. Burning smells are exactly what that is for.
Will my insurance cover a burnt power point?
We are electricians, not insurers, so ask them. What we can tell you is that having it repaired by a licensed contractor and holding the compliance certificate is the position you want to be in if you ever need to make a claim.
Other things that go wrong
Common electrical problems in the Douglas Shire
Burning smell from a power point? We will find the actual cause.
Ring (07) 4099 3497 now. Day or night, we pick up the phone. For anything that can wait, leave a number and we ring you back in office hours.