I live in a flat and recently my sons' bedroom light suddenly went out. To cut a long story short we checked the obvious problems, bulb, loose wire, etc., but I then noticed that the hall light outside the bedroom was also not working. I took off the light switch in the hall and noticed (we've got old-fashioned wiring in our place) that there were three red wires leading into the socket: one was connected to the top switch terminal, the other two to the bottom one. I checked the wires with a mains tester screwdriver and all of them were dead. Does anyone know what I should try next?
Lights Not Working
- Thread starter jane.h
- Start date
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All the other lights in the flat work: bedroom 2, kitchen, bathroom, living room, small hall. There is only one fuse for the lights in the electric fuse box, does this mean there is only one circuit for the lights? Sorry if I sound thick, I don't have much experience in these matters.
Not the answer to your question, but you have to be careful if relying on one of those screwdrivers to tell you if a circuit is dead or not as they are not that reliable. If it lights up then there is definitely power, but that's about as far as it goes, so don't go touching anything on the basis you think its dead.......
If you are interested in getting deeper in your electrics, you should invest about a tenner in a cheap multimeter...
If you are interested in getting deeper in your electrics, you should invest about a tenner in a cheap multimeter...
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Dont trust your mains screwdriver tester, they are toys and should be binned, purchase a proper test meter. I guess you are not competent so disconnect the fuse and check all the ceiling rose connections, sound like you have lost the feed for the rest of the radial circuit. If all conectioins ok, possibly you will have to trace the wires in the roofspace if you have access. If still not found anything, call a professional as your boy would like his Mum for Christmas.
You'll have a break in the radial lighting circuit, this will be between the last light on the circuit thats working, and the first light on the circuit thats not working...
You'll have to help me out here as I do not know the layout of your flat, the lighting circuit should start withn the light nearest the fuse box, and end with the light furthest away, the last two will be the ones that arn't working.
Can you get to the space above your ceiling, are you in the top flat or anything
You'll have to help me out here as I do not know the layout of your flat, the lighting circuit should start withn the light nearest the fuse box, and end with the light furthest away, the last two will be the ones that arn't working.
Can you get to the space above your ceiling, are you in the top flat or anything
I am in a top floor flat...but unfortunately the flats have a flat roof, and so no loft, making the problem worse. I think I should mention, though, that before the bedroom light went off, the hall light was always a bit dodgy. When I decorate and reconnect the light switch after wallpapering, I always had to push the wires up a bit to get the light working. This, obviously, doesn't do the trick any more. Do you think maybe one of the wires has a break in it?
Your problem is almost certainly the hall switch.
In your installation the switches have been used to distribute the live feed.
Each switch will have 3 red wires except the last in the chain.
Disconnect the power at the fuse board and carefully remove the hall switch. The terminal that has two reds connected to it has a loose terminal screw. Tighten this screw, check/tighten the other screw, replace the switch on the wall and restore power.
I don't need to tell you to do this in the daytime or provide supplemerntary lighting!!!
In your installation the switches have been used to distribute the live feed.
Each switch will have 3 red wires except the last in the chain.
Disconnect the power at the fuse board and carefully remove the hall switch. The terminal that has two reds connected to it has a loose terminal screw. Tighten this screw, check/tighten the other screw, replace the switch on the wall and restore power.
I don't need to tell you to do this in the daytime or provide supplemerntary lighting!!!
Then its the feed from the previous switch.
You will need to check them all in series.
You will need to check them all in series.
Hi again, my thanks to everybody who posted replies to my problem, it was very helpful and really appreciated. The fault I've now found out was due to a broken wire in the living room dimmer switch. It was not obvious straight away but caused the break in the circuit, which I have now fixed.
Thanks again everybody
Jane H
Thanks again everybody
Jane H
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