Do you have some pictures on the wires to show? That will be really helpful.

google image 3 phase will get you what you will need.. as the pic is up to your preference.

it is just consist of 3 life wire and 1 ground wire for 3 phase, which for 1 phase it is 1 life and 1 neutral

life is also known as phase in electrical

3-phase-4 wires



single phase-2 wires

@bengang14, @supersound Thank you!

Now I know where to look. Initially I though of looking it up at my fuse box.

Bro Bengang & bro waikee,

Tq for advise. will try my luck....

@bengang14, @supersound
Thank you for the pic

it's old, but i have to add something.
the overload isn't cause by sagging voltage because of too much use from neighbor, but from overvoltage sent by TNB.

you can easily check by a multimeter. you need a logging meter to get the voltage pattern, but a multimeter is good enough for initial measurement.
usually the voltage sag will happen around 8-10pm and during midday during 12-2pm. check what's your voltage during that time, preferably at all 3 phase.

tnb can't supply more than 260v by regulation. my lab usually get 235 and sometimes 255v, which a power transmission engineer mentioned to me before, is perfectly normal with tnb.
if your neighbor is using more power than usual, or if you're one of the last people in the chain, you could see the voltage swing from 190-ish to 210v within a minute. if you're further up the chain you could see quite high voltage around 230v. if you frequently get >250v especially during the high usage time (refer above) then there's a high chance you're at the top of the chain and there's higher possibility overvoltage will happen to you and bump the voltage over >260v and burn your equipment.
in which case if it happens you could claim from TNB for damages.

i've successfully forced TNB to rewire the line to my parents house (and to half of the village) because it's at the end of the line and voltage sags below <200v causing lights to dim and sometimes can't be started at all. took quite an effort.

If I remember correctly input voltage is 230v -7%to+10%

This post has been edited by weikee: Oct 18 2014, 05:33 PM

it's -6% to +10%. which means from 216v - 253v.
the standard is available from suruhanjaya tenaga's website.

so if you get lower voltage that sags below 215v, report to TNB and if there's no action for a few months, escalate to suruhanjaya tenaga. might need to submit proper documentation and evidence though, as the voltage sag will never happen during off peak time.

it took me nearly 6 month, 4 reports, threat to escalate to suruhanjaya tenaga and direct phone number of the TNB's pengurus bahagian bekalan.
now the voltage is stable at 235v-238v, up from 195v during 8-10pm

Look for cut off fuse will be easier.
1 cut off fuse = single phase
3 cut off fuse = 3 phase

Too low the voltage will cause wires to run hotter because it will increase the current to maintain the wattage.

Yup, another way also.
An d here another : 3 phase meter will be bigger and more fancy

wait you're totally right. forgot about that. the current will compensate the decrease in voltage.

Haha, this is something new to me.

Single phase meter only have red LED that blink.
But 3 phase meter got green color display during night, can check voltage(mine highest was 255V during normal run) and current
Is good to have a check on incoming voltage every now and then. A rm38 Sunwah multimeter is a good start. Or if you are fanatic enough, a Fluke multimeter

that must be bad for all connected equipment right?

other than paying more for the increase in current, i reckon not all equipment will be affected.
electronics such as TV, radio, computers doesn't run on AC. they all run on regulated DC so they decrease in AC voltage won't have much effect to them.

but other electrical items that run on pure AC like washing machine, non-inverter aircond, fans, florescent lamp, incandescent lamp etc will be affected. some will run at reduced speed, some won't even start.
6 month of sagging voltage doesn't damage any electrical item at my parents house. only the bill shot up to over RM200. and some lamps can't start.

Purposely get a metter to check the voltage?

A DIYer, must at least hve a china brand multimeter.