Work through the checks that match your problem. If you are in any doubt, or you do not feel comfortable with any of our suggestions, please contact us. We are always here to help.
Use a neighbour’s phone or call from outside if you can. This number is the National Gas Emergency Service, not NWGC.
Do not go back in to look for the leak.
Safety first
Stop — carbon monoxide concern
Do not keep going through this troubleshooter. Carbon monoxide has no smell. Treat an alarm or symptoms as an emergency.
If a CO alarm is sounding, or you think carbon monoxide may be present
Get everyone out of the building into fresh air — including children, older people and pets.
Stay out. Do not go back in to turn things off or to “just check”.
Do not use the boiler, fire, cooker or any other fuel-burning appliance.
If anyone has a headache, dizziness, sickness, confusion, or has collapsed, call 999.
0800 111 999 is the National Gas Emergency Service. Tell them you are worried about carbon monoxide.
They will advise on isolating the supply. Do not wait for an NWGC visit if an alarm is sounding or someone is ill.
Safety first
Stop — serious water leak
Do not keep going through this troubleshooter until the water is isolated, or you have tried and cannot turn it off.
Find your stop tap and turn it off
Look under the kitchen sink, under the stairs, by the front door, or in a small cupboard.
Turn the tap clockwise to close it. It may be stiff — only use hand force.
If you cannot find it or it will not move, go to the front of the house where the property meets the street.
Look for a small plastic circle or metal square marked W. That is the street stopcock.
If water is reaching sockets or the fuse box, leave those areas and treat it as an electrical danger.
If you have stopped the leak, contact NWGC so we can look at the cause.
If you cannot stop it, contact us anyway — do not take the pipework apart.
Do not keep going through this troubleshooter. Isolate the electrics first.
If you can smell burning, see sparking, or think there is an electrical fault
Go to your fuse box / consumer unit.
Turn all the switches off — pull them all down.
Do not keep using the appliance or sockets.
Contact an electrician.
If you feel there is an immediate danger, call 999.
This is not a gas job. NWGC can help with heating and gas once the electrics are made safe.
Let's get started
What can we help you with today?
What part of your system are you having difficulty with?
Heating
Work through these checks
Open each one, run the short check, then come back here. Ticked items are done.
You can do these in any order. Fault code and Pressure open the full checks for those problems. If heating still does not work after the ones you can complete, contact NWGC.
The boiler should have a display or lights, and a switch beside it that is on.
Check the fused spur or switch next to the boiler.
If there is still no power, check the fuse box / consumer unit has not tripped that circuit.
Heating · Programmer
Check the programmer and thermostat
The boiler only heats when it is being asked to.
Set the programmer or timer to heating / on now.
Turn the room thermostat up a few degrees above the room temperature.
Wait a couple of minutes to see if the boiler tries to fire.
Heating · Gas
Is the gas turned on?
If the supply is off, the boiler cannot fire.
The meter handle should be in line with the pipe, not across it.
If you can see a valve on the pipe under the boiler, that should be in line with the pipe too.
Heating · Power
No power at the boiler
Check the switch or fused spur next to the boiler.
Then check the consumer unit for a tripped switch on that circuit. If you can smell burning or see sparking, use the electrical safety steps on the first page.
Open each one, run the short check, then come back here. Ticked items are done.
You can do these in any order. Fault code and Pressure open the full checks for those problems. If there is still no hot water after the ones you can complete, contact NWGC.
If the problem does not fit one label, work through Heating, Hot water, Pressure, Radiators and Error code. Those cover most of what we can safely guide you through at home.
If you would rather not do that, or you have already tried, contact NWGC and we will take it from there.
A little over 1.5 bar can be normal when the heating is on. Much higher, or above about 2.5 bar, needs an engineer.
Do not drain the system yourself unless the manufacturer tells you exactly how. Do not open radiator valves to “let some out” unless you know that job.
If it drops again after a top-up, water is leaving the system. That is usually a leak on a pipe or radiator, or the boiler relief pipe dumping water outside.
Do not keep filling it. Check for a leak next, then contact us if you cannot see one or it keeps falling.
Stop topping the system up. If water is near electrics, treat that as an electrical risk. If it is a serious leak, use the water safety steps from the first page.
A drip from the small pipe outside is the pressure relief valve — the boiler has dumped water. That needs an engineer, not another fill.
