In short
Treat it as urgent. Stop using the power point or light, switch it off, and if it is safe, turn off that circuit or the main switch at the switchboard. If there is smoke, flame or heat you can feel through the wall, get out and call 000. A burning, melting-plastic or fishy smell usually means a connection is overheating, and it needs a licensed electrician before that circuit is used again.
Do this now
- Stop using the power point, switch or light and unplug anything connected to it, if you can do that without touching anything hot.
- Turn off that circuit at the switchboard, or the main switch if you are not sure which circuit it is.
- If there is smoke, flame or a wall that is hot to touch, get everyone out and call 000.
- Call a licensed electrician. Ambient takes calls 24 hours a day on 0415 684 120.
- Leave the circuit off until it has been checked.
What the smell usually means
Electrical burning smells come from plastic insulation and fittings heating up. Some people describe it as fishy rather than smoky, because some fittings give off that odour as they overheat.
- A loose or corroded connection behind a power point, switch or light
- An overloaded power board or double adaptor
- A failing appliance, plug or cord
- An overheating downlight, transformer or light fitting
- Old wiring whose insulation is breaking down
Is it the appliance or the wall?
Unplug the appliance and move it away. If the smell stays with the appliance, stop using it. If it stays at the power point, switch or ceiling, the problem is in the fixed wiring, which only a licensed electrician may work on in NSW.
Discolouring or brown marks around a power point, a plug that is hot when you pull it out, or a switch that is warm to touch all point to the same thing: heat where there should not be any.
What the electrician will do
Find the source, test the circuit, and replace whatever has been damaged by heat, whether that is the power point, the switch, the fitting or a length of cable. If the cause is too much load on one circuit, the lasting fix is often an extra circuit or more power points, so nothing is running through one overloaded outlet.
Related service: Electrical faults
Ambient Electrical works in Bronte, Bondi, Coogee and across Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, 24 hours a day.
