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Electrical faults are one of the most common reasons Solihull homeowners call an electrician — and one of the most frequently put off. A light that flickers intermittently, a socket that trips the circuit, a faint burning smell from the hallway: these things get noticed, noted, and then quietly ignored. The problem is that electrical faults rarely fix themselves. Left unattended, they tend to get worse — sometimes significantly.

This guide covers the domestic electrical faults that Farthing Electrical is called out to most often across Solihull, Knowle, Shirley, and the surrounding areas, and explains what each one could mean for your home. For a complete guide to the fault-finding process itself, see our Electrical Fault Finding in Solihull pillar article.

The Most Common Domestic Electrical Faults

1. Tripping RCDs and Circuit Breakers

Your consumer unit contains two types of protective device: circuit breakers (MCBs), which protect individual circuits, and RCDs (residual current devices), which protect against electric shock by detecting current leakage to earth. If either trips occasionally, it is usually a sign that something on the circuit is drawing more current than it should — or that there is a fault somewhere in the wiring.

A single trip after plugging in a high-demand appliance is not unusual. But if a circuit trips repeatedly, or if your RCD trips without an obvious cause, that is a fault that needs investigating. It will not resolve on its own, and repeated resetting without identifying the cause can mask a developing problem.

2. Flickering or Dimming Lights

Occasional flickers when switching on a heavy appliance elsewhere in the house are generally harmless — a brief voltage dip caused by inrush current. But lights that flicker continuously, dim unexpectedly, or buzz under a dimmer switch are usually telling you something else.

Common causes include a loose connection at the light fitting or rose, a failing bulb, or — more seriously — a deteriorating wiring connection further along the circuit. Homes with older wiring, particularly those still using rubber-insulated cable, are more prone to these issues. If multiple lights on the same circuit are affected, the fault requires professional investigation.

3. Dead Sockets or Switches

A socket or switch that has stopped working entirely has usually lost its connection somewhere — either at the accessory itself, at the spur it is fed from, or further back at the consumer unit. It is worth checking first whether the relevant circuit breaker has tripped. If the consumer unit looks fine, the fault is likely in the wiring or at the accessory itself.

Never use a socket that shows scorch marks, smells of burning, or has sparked when a plug was inserted. These are signs of arcing — an extremely dangerous fault that requires immediate professional attention.

4. Burning Smell from Sockets or Wiring

A burning smell from any electrical fitting — socket, switch, light fitting, or junction box — should be treated as urgent. It typically indicates that a connection is overheating, often due to loose wiring, an overloaded circuit, or insulation that has degraded over time. In worst cases, it can point to active arcing, where electricity is jumping across a gap in the circuit.

If you smell burning from your electrics, switch off the circuit at the consumer unit and contact an electrician immediately. This is not a watch-and-wait situation.

5. Warm or Buzzing Sockets and Switches

Electrical accessories should not be warm to the touch during normal use. Warmth suggests that resistance is building in the circuit — often at a loose terminal, a corroded connection, or an accessory that has been installed incorrectly. A buzzing or crackling sound from a socket or switch is a similar indicator, and can point to arcing within the accessory itself.

Both are potential fire hazards and should be assessed by a qualified electrician as soon as possible, particularly in older Solihull properties where wiring has not been updated in some years.

Should You Try to Fix Electrical Faults Yourself?

Some tasks are fine for a homeowner: replacing a like-for-like light fitting, changing a fuse in a plug, resetting a tripped circuit breaker. Anything that involves working behind sockets, switches, or junction boxes falls under Part P of the Building Regulations — meaning the work must be carried out by a competent person, and in many cases notified to your local building control authority.

Farthing Electrical is an NICEIC-registered contractor, which means every fault repair is carried out to the current BS 7671 wiring regulations and properly certified. That certification matters when it comes to selling your home, making an insurance claim, or knowing with confidence that the work has been done correctly.

If your property has not had an electrical installation condition report (EICR) in the last ten years, a fault diagnosis often provides a good opportunity to arrange one at the same time. Properties built before the 1990s in particular can conceal multiple developing faults that only a full inspection will identify.

Call Farthing Electrical in Solihull

Farthing Electrical covers Solihull, Knowle, Shirley, Dorridge, Bentley Heath, and the wider West Midlands area. Whether you have a single suspicious socket or a pattern of recurring faults across your property, call 0121 674 4014 or get in touch via the contact page to arrange a visit.

References

1. Electrical Safety First — Electrical Safety Around the Home
2. Health and Safety Executive — Electrical Safety
3. UK Government — Approved Document P: Electrical Safety in Dwellings