Lights just went out on one circuit

I was switching on the overhead light in the master bedroom when it flickered a few times and then went out. Since then, all of the other overhead lights in the master bath, master dressing room, and guest bedroom are all out, as are the closet lights. This is bizarre...any ideas? All of these lights are in a line in the same area of the house, and the wiring in the attic seems to be continuous so I am assuming they are all on the same circuit (how would I know? They don't work!) I have a simple Radio Shack voltmeter but that is about it for troubleshooting equipment. Any ideas?

 

Did you check the circuit breakers? That is the first step.

 

As soon as you use the word "bath", the GFCI bells start ringing loudly. If you know what a GFCI is, then reset all of them. Be sure to reset that one in the garage too.

 

I have checked the circuit breakers and the GFCI's in both bathrooms, and none were tripped. I have one circuit breaker that only affects (right now) the overhead light and closet light in my daughter's room and the closet light in the guest room which is immediately next to my daughter's room. I am assuming the circuit that the non-working lights are on is the same circuit as my daughter's bedroom , because there are so few lights (right now) that switch off when this circuit breaker is tripped. The guest room closet backs up to my daughter's closet, and the guest room closet light works, but the ceiling fan/light fixture in the same room does not. I have checked all other circuit breakers, but I still have a couple that do not seem to do anything. However, the wiring in the attic also seems to indicate that these are wired together in succession.

My next step is to try to replace the wire from the closet fixture that works in the guest room to the ceiling fan/light that does not work. The only problem is that I have to completely remove the ceiling fan fixture just to get to the junction box.

What I don't understand is, how can it work one minute and not work the next? I have visually looked over the wires in the attic, and have not found any signs of damage, and I don't think I have rats.

Thanks for the help.

 

When you say you "checked" the circuit breakers, does this mean you shut them off and back on? If not. do so. And check the garage outlet.

 

The circuit box was poorly labeled, so I took the opportunity to try and figure out the entire house. In the process, every circuit breaker (except for the 50 amp which is obviously for the oven and the 30 amp which was correctly labeled for the Air Conditioner) was switched off and back on.

The garage ??? There are no GFCI's in this area, and these lights are on a different (and separate) circuit - I know that for sure. What else is there about the garage that I am missing?

 

Garage receptacles are GFCI protected, usually by a GFCI receptacle. The garage GFCI usually protects other outlets inside the house. They are often overlooked because they get hidden behind stuff stored there.

If the answer is neither GFCI nor breaker, then it is likely a loose connection. It'll take patience to find it since you may need to look in a lot of boxes.

 

The most positive test for a circuit-breaker is a check for 120 volts between each circuit-breaker terminal and the Neutral terminal bar. I suggest this test before you resort to seaching for open connections in the circuit.Switching ON a defective fixture could trip a circuit-breaker. Good Luck!!!!!