One recessed light does not work!!!

Hi all. This is my first post to this group - glad to have found it. I just purchsed a house and when I went for the final walk through, I noticed that one of the kitchen bulbs was not working in the recessed lighting. I though nothing of it as I assumed it was a burnt out bulb. Anyway, now that I've sign all the papers, I went to replace the bulb only to find out that the new bulb still doesn't work! I tested the wires coming into the fixture and it appears that there is no juice flowing to the fixture. This is my first house and I am in need of some assistance. I've replaced bad ballasts at my work but those lights were not recessed lighting like the ones in my kitchen. Oh yeah, the house is about 3 years old (not sure if that makes a difference as to what kind of wiring might be used).

Thanks all!

M

 

I am not able to tell for sure -- is this a fluorescent fixture or not? My guess is yes, but ...

The main method of analysis in this type of problem is to figure out where the power stops. First test for voltage at the fixture wires, then test the wires feeding the fixture (remove the fixture if necessary to get at them), then test the wires at the switch (if the switch box has a white wire not connected to the switch). Working backwards, you can usually find the problem.

Start the process and report in detail what you find, and we can make suggestions as to what to try next.

 

Well, I pulled the fixture and tested the wires. They were not hot. Therefore, I am assuming that there is a problem from the source where the wires are coming from. However, the wires go straight into the wall and I don't know where they go from there. Is there a some sort of way I can find out?

Thanks,

Mike

 

Assuming you did the test with both the switch and the breaker in the on position, the next place to test is the switch. Can you figure out which switch is meant to control this light?

Also tell me whether you found one black and one white wire in the ceiling where the fixture was, or two black and two white wires.

 

Let's see, there was a black and a white wire, only one set (2 wires total). I tested them and nothing happened. The light switch controls 6 lights all together and the other 5 were on. The 2 wires go into the ceiling wall somewhere, but I don't know where.

Mike

 

Ah, the other five lights is an important piece of information that I didn't have before. Assuming you did a proper voltage test, chances are that there is a loose connection in one of the other five light boxes (probably the one closest to the malfunctioning light). You may need to inspect them all.