Safety switch keeps tripping? Here's what to do
Most of the time it's one appliance, and you can find it yourself in five minutes. When it isn't, we find the circuit and tell you what the fix costs before we touch it.
Every price on the website is a quote, not a fixed charge. It assumes a standard single-storey home with the switchboard within reach. When your request comes through, Luke looks it over and sends you a quote to confirm. Once the job is done, that quote becomes your invoice.
Before you book anyone
- 1Reset it once. Push the switch firmly up. If it holds, something that was plugged in tripped it, and it may well stay on.
- 2If it trips straight back, unplug everything on that circuit: fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, heaters, the bar fridge in the shed. Reset again.
- 3Plug things back in one at a time. The one that trips it is the one at fault. Leave it unplugged.
- 4If it trips with everything unplugged, or you can't tell which circuit it is, that's us. Book a fault call-out.
- 5Outside weekday hours, for a burning smell or sparks, turn the main switch off and call SA Power Networks on 13 13 66.
What it usually is
- An appliance leaking to earth. Old fridges, washing machines, heaters and kettles are the usual ones.
- Water in an outdoor powerpoint or light after rain. It often dries out and trips again next storm.
- A hot water element breaking down. It trips at odd hours when the tank reheats.
- A cable chewed by rodents or nicked by a screw in the roof or a wall.
- The safety switch itself. They wear out, and a tired one trips at nothing.
- One old safety switch across the whole house, so a small leak on each circuit adds up to a trip.
What we charge
Every visit has one $165 call-out, covering the trip and the first 30 minutes. It's already inside the first price you see. Anything else on the same visit shares the call-out, so extra jobs are usually cheaper. Appliances and fans are a flat price each. Whatever it turns out to be is quoted before we go further.Prices are quotes, confirmed by Luke by text. How pricing works ›
How it works
Three steps, no phone tag.Name, mobile, address, a photo if you have one. Luke texts you back, usually the same working day.
He looks over what you've sent, confirms the price and you pick the day. Nothing changes after that unless we tell you first.
Found, fixed, tested, and you've agreed the price before we do it.
Questions people text us
Answered the way Luke answers them.Something keeps tripping the safety switch. Can you find out why?
Yes. A fault call-out covers the first 30 minutes, which is usually enough to find the circuit at fault. We tell you what we found and what fixing it costs before we go further.
What time will you actually arrive? Can I get a tighter window than two hours?
Every booking has a two-hour arrival window, confirmed by text the day before. On the day we text when we’re on the way, so you’ll know within about 20 minutes. If you have a hard deadline, school pick-up or an appointment, tell us when you book and we put you first or last in the day.
Can you text or call me before you arrive?
Yes. Every job gets an on-our-way text as we leave the previous one. If you need more notice, say so in the booking notes and we call instead.
Do you charge a call-out fee and what does it cover?
A fault call-out covers the first 30 minutes on site and the diagnosis. If it’s fixable in that time there’s nothing more to pay. For installs and quoted jobs the call-out is already inside the first price you see, it’s never added on top.
What people say
Straight from Google. Nothing picked, nothing typed.“I was impressed with the service from Switch Electrical. The communication and workmanship was great. I will definitely be using them again and would recommend them to anyone. Thanks Luke and Michael!”
“I've used Switch Electrical a few times over the past 2 years, installing a new oven, more power points, 2 hard wired smoke detectors and 13 downlights. I found them to be reliable, polite and a very fair reasonable price.”
“Recent oven replacement by Luke. Nice and quick. Professional and courteous. Luke also did a quick fix on an LED light at no cost. Great work. Very happy customer.”
If it turns into a bigger job
Prices are quotes, confirmed by Luke by text. How pricing works ›