electrical burning smell in the house?

arrived home late last night and there is an electrical burning smell in my bedroom. I managed to sniff it out to a double wall socket and unplugged everything.
There's no scorch marks on the socket and everything is still unplugged but the smell remains...

advice would be appreciated as i have to go out soon and other than sitting staring at it, i don't know what to do.

am tempted to turn off the upstairs electrics while i'm out ... i also need to buy batteries for the smoke alarms (i know!), but what can/should i do about the socket?

 

yes turn the power off while your out

it might just be something in the double socket broken and replacing the socket might be all that's needed

but it would be best to get an electrician out and test the circuit, there might be a loose wire somewhere else on the circuit resulting in a over loaded bit of cable

 

Sounds like a loose wire in the back of the socket. If your up to it pull the fuse and have a look. If not - get a sparky in!

 

thanks folks. was wondering if i should have a look at the socket later but i thought that if it was that i'd at least see a scorch mark.
will isolate upstairs while i'm out and look at it later - then probably get a sparky in if it's not obvious.

...then will my charmed life begin????

 

Doh, wifi on same circuit.

 

a big possibility is a loose connection in a 13amp plug,
unplug everything and look at the pins to see if theres any yellowing,
and give em a sniff to see if they have been getting warm, look at the sockets on the wall too,
also check the lampholder as the bakerlight in them can smell like kippers when its hot,

 

got to nip out and pay for a new engine first.

 

Check the plugs and also the socket.If you got that much smell you should see signs of overheating.Also check the insulation on the wiring in the socket.If it has got hot it can go hard and brittle and will need repairing.What was pluged into the socket and was it switched on.Make sure the supply is ISOLATED before you check the sockets.Let us know how you get on.

 

Sleep first then will check. Up til 3 am sniffing out source then early appointment. Prob not best to play with electrickery while sleepy zzzz

 

Power is off. Double checked. Now nap time then stick screw driver in

 

Haha. See, too sleepy to realise what I typed.

 

look for something like this perhaps not as bad but anything where the plastic insulation is missing is a no no , this can be caused by loose wires in the fixing screws or insulation missing and bare conducters touching Ermintrude

 

That would have made some spooky lights on and off effects!!!

 

ok, double socket checked - no scorching, no loose connections (but have now broken the thread on the face plate )
have now turned everything back on and plugged everything in and am *plug watching and checking what is getting warm.


*not a pastime i'd recommend. on a par with watching paint dry.

on the up side - i'll be saving on my leccy bill to pay for new engine and from now on will only be showering when it rains

 

So if this summer is like your last one, you'll be having lots of showers

 

ok, still opening up 13A plugs but finding nothing...
am now convinced that the smell is coming up through the floorboards
Have contacted neighbour to ask if he's had any soldering or electrical work done recently as it's on the wall which backs onto his bedroom too. it's a long shot but better than taking up floorboards (after moving bed and all the stuff stored under there) unnecessarily.
will isolate the upstairs again tonight and buy batteries for the smoke alarms tomorrow.
tis an unsettling mystery.

 

A few years ago our council changed all the single sockets to doubles using cheap 'double up' faceplates on single wall boxes, the plastic in them has broken up and started shorting out leading to epic lights out events and strange smells.
I've given up complaining and replaced them all myself for safety's sake. I might well be in breach of some rule but I'd rather be a healthy rule breaker than a dead complainant.