Electrical Chaos

Oct 22, 2013 | India | 0 comments

Snap, bang, sizzle, stink-stink is no way to be awakened at three in the morning. Every plug, fan, power bar, light fixture and air-conditioner was frying as we watched helplessly. It was a throat-closing, stomach-grinding moment. OHMYGOSH, what just happened??? Luckily, the TV and computers were unplugged, but the smell was horrible.

Well, okay, what do we do now? Loren got up grabbed a torch (flashlight) and saw that there was nothing he could fix until later, so we opened the doors and simply adjusted

When our electrician arrived, he found that 440 volts were running through all the outlets in our room. Thankfully, it is a concrete building so there was little opportunity for fire, but electrocution could have occurred.

    

As they got into the project the guys realized that there was no fuse box and no color-coded wiring, incorrect splicing…so the repairs developed into a venture that required more professional attention. All new wiring had to be pulled and all panels, light and fans replaced.

Unable to leave, Loren stayed at Prakash while I took our guests on the village tour, fully expecting to have everything repaired and in working order when I returned…duh…did I forget I was in India?

What I found was a doozy of a mess and men working all over the room.

Not fully recovered from my bumped head, I laid down on the Loren’s bed and promptly fell asleep. It is not like me to sleep through all kinds of noise and people coming and going. The men continued to work with torches late into the evening.

                                   

Another night with no lights, fans, AC and cold showers…Oh, how spoiled we are at home.

The next night, as I sat on my bed after the AC was fixed, I asked, “Are these wires…hanging out of the electrical box at the head of my bed…hot?” “Oh, no, no madam.” “Well, they worked before with the AC, now it works, so could you please just check them for me?” They came over with two exposed wires and a bulb and touched the ends to the hanging wires.

Needless to say, I jumped a mile when the bulb lit up. I said, “I think I will move my bed while you fix the wires.” Because the wires were all yellow and not color-coded, our guys didn’t know which one went where. So Samit just wets his finger, touched the wire and jerked away when it sizzled…then just smiled.

                                     

Even now the project is not finished and probably will not be until after we are home, but God has protected us from harm and has given me a story to tell.

We realize that the PBI building will need to be completely rewired, from the outside source to every room. Ugg……not in the budget.