Intermittent power

What this usually means

This is for a local issue rather than a full power cut: a socket that works only sometimes, a spur-fed appliance that loses supply, or one small area that drops out now and then. Common causes include a loose connection, a failing accessory, moisture at an outside point, or another local fault that needs checking properly.

Typical solutions

• Check the affected point and nearby local wiring or controls for loose, damaged, overheated or damp connections.
• Test whether the problem stays local or points to a wider circuit, protective device or recent alteration.
• Repair the confirmed local issue and explain clearly if the right next step is broader fault finding.

Basic information

• The quickest first message is your postcode, a short note on what loses power, whether anything trips, and when it tends to happen.
• If the point is hot, buzzing, crackling, loose, blackened or smells burnt, stop using it until checked.

What can change the scope

• If several points are affected, the breaker keeps tripping, or the whole area is going off, this usually moves into fault finding rather than a simple repair visit.
• Intermittent faults can take longer to pin down when they appear under load, after rain, after movement, or after a recent change elsewhere.