Upstairs lights work but not downstairs

[Aman9180]

Plug Sockets work downstairs but not the ceiling lights in the hallway, lounge or dining room. All rooms have downlights (gu10 bulbs)

Lights and plug sockets work perfectly upstairs in all bedrooms, the kitchen and bathroom is downstairs and lights and plug sockets work perfectly.

rcd 1 - Cooker / Downstairs lights / Upstairs sockets (mcb for each)
rcd 2 - Kitchen appliances / Upstairs lights / Downstairs sockets (mcb for each)

I have checked the fuse box and nothing has tripped. I checked power to the light switch in the living room and hallway with a multi-meter and it doesn't appear that power coming to the switches. Any suggestions / help will be most appreciated. Thank you all.

 

[ericmark]

In the main lighting is radial circuits wired ceiling rose to ceiling rose but with homes using down lights some times wired switch to switch. Using a non contact voltage tester I would test each ceiling rose or switch start where lights work so you can see what results should be, then try where there is no power one loose wire can cause all lights to stop working.

 

[SUNRAY]

Have youbeen doing any work, such as changing switches?

 

[Aman9180]

Have youbeen doing any work, such as changing switches?

No, just had the kitchen cabinets removed and wall tiles removed. sockets were loosened a little to remove the tiles behind them, but all these sockets are still working.

 

[securespark]

Changed any light fittings?

 

[Aman9180]

Changed any light fittings?

no havent touched any lights or fittings, so unsure why those rooms are not working, strange !!!

 

[SUNRAY]

I'm guessing there may be a broken wire at a switch which has been disturbed or a worse possibility is a screw in the wall directly above a switch has been removed.

 

[securespark]

Can you post a picture of all the switches in the consumer unit?

 

[ericmark]

In late mothers house some months after a rewire the bedroom lights stopped working, traced to a loose wire in landing ceiling rose, I today use a non contact voltage tester seen here testing if there is voltage to the Nest power supply, the 4 bars show how much voltage detected and using one of these saves opening up ceiling roses and switches to find point where power has been lost, cheaper versions don't show how much, and simply rubbing on a jumper can make them light, so not really accurate, or reliable, but far easier to removing covers to test. The tester I have also measures using leads or clamping around the wires, but it is the NCV option which is handy with a fault like yours.

 

[Aman9180]

I think its above me therefore I will call a professional electrician to diagnose the issue. Thank you all for your replies

 

[Aman9180]

Hi all, just for an update, first electrician spent an hour testing the CU and a few light sockets and told me he needed 3 additional hours for investigation! He left in an hour and didnt give any conclusion other than there is no power to the light switch, which i knew already!

Called another electrician in, he checked the first spotlight in the kitchen , swapped over a wire and ta da all lights in the house now work! 10 min job, not a 4 hour job as the first electrician stated!

 

[ebee]

OK Good.

However, just a mention here.

If you are comparing the first against the second electrician it might be an indication of their respective methods.
However, it also might not - it could be a red haddock.
When fault finding we might look at something and say to ourselves "it`s probably gonna be about such and such" and we might be right and we might be wrong.
We go thru it bit by bit and get clues that might or might not we alter the order of the next thing we look at.
Sometimes we get there quicker than we hoped by sheer coincidence.
Sometimes a lot longer by sheer coincidence.
Sometimes we might have gained an insight because we have followed many a job done by "Fred Boggs" and know how he usually does it and know the mistakes he usually makes so fro sheer experience of Fred Bloggs we already have an inkling. Sometimes not.

What I am saying is that your 4 hours against 10 mins might be a fair comparison but there again might not be.

I was once on a job where a break in a ring final circuit had been detected, rented property, phone call made and the maintenance team was going to call round later on that day.
Two electricians turned up within twenty mins , one turns to other and whispers I`m sure xyz changed a faulty socket here a few weeks ago, go and look in our records see which one it was". the other one came back with record sheets, pointed to a socket, they opened it and said "hah" got screwdriver out and put the socket back in position within a couple of minutes, tested ring, all ok now.

I did (sarcastically ) mention to them "that was lucky it was first socket you checked just happened to have a connection come adrift! otherwise it might have taken a long while to sort the problem"

 

[Murdochcat]

Some times its the first thing you look at and other times it could be the last. I find with fault finding you have to be methodical and stick to a method

 

[SUNRAY]

Some times its the first thing you look at and other times it could be the last. I find with fault finding you have to be methodical and stick to a method

Well it will always be the last thing you look at... even if it is the first thing you look at.

 

[ebee]

Nice one Sunray