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Yeah - i remember when pulling the cable through holes in the roof joists that i pinched it - i was too lazy/fucked off with life at the time to properly check so i'm assuming i broke the outer insulation and the grey cables insulation which means its now touching the earth.
@Nef - my worry is yours - the cable is looped under PIR insulation sandwiched between it and the ceiling - so my mind thinks fire risk?
I really can't bring myself to re-do the ceiling though
there is a lesson here somewhere
terlg-
In theory you could insulation resistance test the individual cores and try and establish which ones are sound, but i can’t recommend it in good faith. You wouldn’t risk using a pipe you knew you had cracked just because you couldn’t see it leaking.
You shouldn’t use the uninsulated earth as a live conductor, even though you do see it. The sheath isn’t rated for use as insulation. And every point of the installation should be earthed.
Can’t really advise what I’d do without seeing the layout of the place. Is there no chance you could pull a new cable through using the old one?
Nef
Big difference between the pragmatic answer, that the neutral is derived from earth where the supply enters your house, and the real world answers. The neutral is a return path for current. You would absolutely need to sleeve the neutral with yellow/green sleeving at the visible ends to have a chance of passing regulations. I'm struggling to see what danger it poses to anyone encountering the wiring along it's run.
One thing it might change is resistance which might affect breaker operation, my guess is that would be too small to have that effect though.
It's not something that professional electricians are going to recommend you do though. Lingering in the back of my mind is the worry that the cable may break down further or you may have a bigger risk of a live screw or nail somewhere.
Lastly the regs probably don't permit it somewhere.