electrical problem

[damonjames]

I am fitting a kitchen in my parents house and they wanted me to replace the light switch. after cutting the power i took the switch cover off and found the earth was not attached to it and was taped up. so i replaced the switch with the new one and turned the electric back on. before i touched the switch to see if it was working i tested the switch and to my horror the switch is live.. i turned the power back off and took the switch off then with the electric back on i tested the earth wire and it was live. i tested the ceiling light fitting and that was live. i took the fitting off after switching the electric supply off then tested the earth and this was live... can anyone tell me how this can happen and what needs to be done.

[mxyzptlk]

Obvious answer is call an electrician

[scotman]

Agree with posting above. This is a serious fault. Leave everything alone until it has been checked over and fixed.

[johnk]

Somewhere an earth cable has been connected to live, this must mean the main earth is not connected at all or all fuses would blow. This is a serious fault. Check all circuits and see if it has happened on any of the others

[jg96]

Just a thought. What are you using to test it with if its a neon screwdriver or similar it can provide all sorts of weird results. If its a multimeter where are you testing between earth and earth!!!!! or earth and neutral?

[Disco Fever]

I'm a sparky and I agree with the above if the earth was left tapped up at the back of the box then this has been done for a purpose, i.e. the dodgy bloke who put it in knew it would be live and hasd done this on purpose. Get an electrician in to check it all over as this can be very dangerous....