Rogue lamp adaptor with shock risk

Another interesting example of people making products without understanding what they're doing. In this case it's a simple lamp adaptor with a built-in design fault that can make the shell of a bayonet cap lamp-base live. If the adaptor is used in a plastic ungrounded holder this won't be noticed, but it does pose a shock risk due to exposed metal.
If the adaptor is put into an earthed/grounded socket then it will either bridge live or neutral to earth. That will either result in instant RCD/GFCI tripping if live is bridged to earth, or unpredictable tripping if neutral is connected to earth.

When neutral is bridged to earth it can result in some of the neutral current bypassing the RCD and causing an imbalance. That results in the RCD/GFCI issues when a load reaches a specific level, even on other circuits. It can be quite hard to trace, because turning off single pole circuit breakers will not remove the neutral to earth short.

I'm sure there are properly wired versions of these adaptors, but I've bought a few in this style from different sellers and they all had the same issue. It's probably best to test them before use. To test them, set a meter to continuity mode, hold one probe against the metal shell and touch the other probe to each end contact. There should be no continuity to the shell from either of the end contacts.

Also note that these adaptors may not be suitable for tungsten lamps, and are best used with low power LED lamps for thermal reasons.


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