NO UPSTAIRS LIGHTS! Light switch stuck in middle position.

Hi,

I just switched a light on and the bulb blew. I replaced the bulb, switched it on and it appeared to blow again.

However, I now can't move the wall light switch back to the 'off' position; it won't move past the middle point. The circuit breaker for the light (and all the upstairs lights) continually flicks back (together with some internal sparks) to the 'tripped'/'off' position when I try to switch it back.

Has the wall light switch shorted causing the fuse to be permanently 'tripped'?

Does the wall switch need replacing and is it an easy job?

The circuit breakers are labelled General Electric and are grouped in two lots.
On the left:
A large '100A' 'double' switch/circuit breaker, followed by 4 smaller, single switches (labelled as up lights, down lights, etc.)

On the right:
5 single circuit breakers/switches (labelled up sockets, down sockets, etc.) and a larger switch (but still a single switch) with a mention of 80A.

Only one of the circuit breakers is permanently tripped and it corresponds to the on/off wall light switch stuck in the middle position. None of the lights corresponding to that circuit breaker will come on.

The light in the room is controlled by just this one switch, i.e. it isn't a 'hall' or 'landing' light.

Can anyone offer any advice?

I'll probably have to call someone out, but I'd like some advance warning as to the cause of the problem.

Thanks.

It sounds like the switch mechanism has melted. Its unlikely that this, in itself, would cause the breaker to not reset.

Changing the switch should be easy - so long as you make careful note of what wire goes where first.

Try removing all suspect llamps (even if they look like they have 'blown' and then try if the breaker can be reset.

It could be that the light you switched on did not blow but shorted out because of an internal fault and because of this, the switch was damaged and is now stuck in the middle position. The reason it won't reset could be that the switch is still making contact & when you reset, it is tripping as the fault is still in circuit.

I had a phonecall a couple of years ago because of a similar complaint the mcb for the lights would not reset,I traced it to a light fitting that had a wet slimey substance all over it.
So i replaced it with a new one a month later they were back on the phone to say it had gone again.
When i had a look it was the same again and what i found out their dogs were peeing on the bedroom floor above and of course that was the cause,I did ask them on the first visit but they said it was not the dogs but i dubious about that.
I tried to clean it but it was no good a check with a mutimeter still showed a low resistance reading so it was another new fitting and a new switch because that was blown as well.
So they stopped the dogs going upstairs and no more trouble.


andy

Thanks.

I have someone coming over to replace the switch.

Would replace it myself if I knew for certain the switch was the problem and nothing else, but can't take the risk.

Cool.

Do please feedback what the actual problem was.

Hi,

It turns out the root cause of the problem was the ceiling light.

The wall switch had indeed melted or shorted or something and had to be replaced, but when the sparky did that, reset everything (which was a right palaver because of the new regs you have to follow) and flicked the switch, the circuit breaker tripped again. He had to remove the ceiling light, which fixed it.

A curious result of the short cicuit in the up lights circuit - which vanished when the shorted light was removed - was that all the TVs in the house became unwatchable - all the pictures were 'snowy' and the sound was unlistenable. I can only hazard a guess why the short caused the TV interference: the interference in the up light circuit caused interference in the mains sockets circuit (although everything else, plugged in to the mains, was O.K.); the aerial sockets cabling, around the house, is more susceptible to interference; the circuit breaker board caused the interference in the aerial socket circuit, if 'interference' is was it was; or something else, probably. Maybe someone can explain?

Anyway, the sparky replaced the switch and removed the light for free and will only charge me to fit a new light, once I find one.

Thanks for everyone's help.

I found a couple of interesting articles about the introduction of Part P regs, which I think is what electricians now have to abide by:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1490021/Christopher-Booker's-notebook.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1518297/Christopher-Bookers-notebook.html

Crimea said:

all the TVs in the house became unwatchable - all the pictures were 'snowy' and the sound was unlistenable.

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TV amp in the loft powered from the lighting circuit. No power to lighting circuit = amplifier does not work.

Crimea said:

reset everything (which was a right palaver because of the new regs you have to follow)

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He was pulling your plonker.

But if he exaggerated and stretched the time to "reset everything" because of "new regs" in order to charge you more then he defrauded you - it was nonsense.

A curious result of the short cicuit in the up lights circuit - which vanished when the shorted light was removed - was that all the TVs in the house became unwatchable - all the pictures were 'snowy' and the sound was unlistenable. I can only hazard a guess why the short caused the TV interference: the interference in the up light circuit caused interference in the mains sockets circuit (although everything else, plugged in to the mains, was O.K.); the aerial sockets cabling, around the house, is more susceptible to interference; the circuit breaker board caused the interference in the aerial socket circuit, if 'interference' is was it was; or something else, probably. Maybe someone can explain?

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How about an explanation which has nothing to do with short circuits causing interference, and has everything to do with a TV booster/distribution amp sitting in the loft powered from the upstairs lighting circuit - when this was made to work again the booster got its power back.

I found a couple of interesting articles about the introduction of Part P regs, which I think is what electricians now have to abide by:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1490021/Christopher-Booker's-notebook.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1518297/Christopher-Bookers-notebook.html

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Interesting?

1) Hardly news - Part P is over 4 years old now.

2) Christopher Booker is so rabidly anti-EU that he will stop at nothing, not even outright lies, to promote his views. He is an utter disgrace - there's more b****cks in those articles than there is in the entire stock of the largest gay porn shop in the world.

3) If you believe a thing he writes you are either a complete fool or as big a lying cheating bigot as he is.

Oh dear, ban-all-sheds, you shouldn't let your anger get the better of you.

Let me start by pointing out the electrician wasn't 'pulling my plonker' as he didn't charge me for any of the work and won't, until he fits a new light, as I explained in my post. I guess you missed that part, as your anger was all-consuming.

Also, I don't see the reason to be so condescending when I offer my explanations for the TVs not working. The electrician didn't explain the reason because I didn't explain the fault; not having the time for any further time-consuming investigations as to the cause, should that have been necessary. In my opinion they were perfectly intelligent and reasonable hypotheses. I guess your anger was still all-consuming.

Now, on to Christopher Booker:

To anyone who reads his articles, in The Sunday Telegraph, it is abundantly clear that his ire is aimed at what the EU has become and how the British people were misled, when voting to join it , by the great traitor, Ted Heath. To anyone with eyes to see, it is all-too-clear that the EU is an un-democratic, anti-democratic, rabidly corrupt, Stalinist behemoth, sucking out the life and freedom from Britain, together with £6 billion/year. We'd be better off out (see below).

To view his detailed criticism (as opposed to Europhiles' wishy-washy reasons to like the EU) as bigotry is the last recourse of someone who cannot offer any positive view of the EU's 'achievements'. In 10 years of reading his articles I haven't been presented with one whiff of bigotry - whether racist or xenophobic and no-one can provide any evidence to the contrary.

But, I guess, for not thinking he's racist or xenophobic, I must be.

Let people make up their own minds:

"Better Off Out"
http://www.tfa.net/betteroffout/

Christopher Booker
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/

By the way: thanks, Flameport, for your answer.

To any moderators: I won’t add any more to this post as I realise this is not the place for this discussion.

Crimea said:

Oh dear, ban-all-sheds, you shouldn't let your anger get the better of you.

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Anger?

Let me start by pointing out the electrician wasn't 'pulling my plonker' as he didn't charge me for any of the work and won't, until he fits a new light, as I explained in my post. I guess you missed that part, as your anger was all-consuming.

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Well let's hope he doesn't then, because there is nothing in the regulations (new or old) that makes "resetting" things a "right palaver".

Also, I don't see the reason to be so condescending when I offer my explanations for the TVs not working. The electrician didn't explain the reason because I didn't explain the fault; not having the time for any further time-consuming investigations as to the cause, should that have been necessary. In my opinion they were perfectly intelligent and reasonable hypotheses. I guess your anger was still all-consuming.

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Anger?

Condescension?

You're deranged.

Now, on to Christopher Booker:

blah blah blah

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I could, if I thought you'd believe a word of it, go through those laughable rants you linked to showing you factual error after factual error where he tries to claim that Part P was some great EU conspiracy, but life's too short.

To any moderators: I won’t add any more to this post as I realise this is not the place for this discussion.

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So why did you bring it up then?

Out of all the possible material that's been written about Part P in the past 4+ years why did you choose to link to those years-old ones, which are absolute nonsense with respect to it? (And they really are full of the most ridiculous claptrap).

And why did you then bring forth all that pathetic blah blah blah above, if you think this isn't the place for it?

Actually - those 3 questions were rhetorical - I know why - it's because you're a complete fool AND a lying cheating bigot...