No power at light switch.


  #1  
Old 08-24-01, 05:04 PM
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I have a problem and I have no idea what is wrong. I went to turn the light on and I saw a flash at the fixture and heard a pop. I assumed that the fixture went bad, but when I came home and checked the fixture, it was fine but now I have no power to the switch or the light fixture. I checked all the circuit breakers and none were tripped. I am baffled I and have no idea why I am not getting any electric to this one spot and every thing else in the house is working fine. Please respond asap as this is the light in my kitchen and I have a drop light plugged in there until the problem is solved. Thanks.
 
  #2  
Old 08-24-01, 05:55 PM
J
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Exactly how did you "check the fixture" and judge it to be fine? Have you replaced the bulbs? Do all the kitchen receptacles and appliances still work?
 
  #3  
Old 08-24-01, 07:23 PM
D
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1st thing I would suspect is a blown light bulb, your orginal description when the light failed (pop) is consistent with a light bulb blowing. Change the light bulb rather or not you suspect that to be the case or not, there usually not very much , the most you will get is a spare bulb to use down the road.

Where is the light located, is there anything else not working ? I don't suspect it is on GFI, but check for one tripped anyway. How did you check for power at the switch ?
Assuming that your house wiring is grounded, using a voltmeter or voltage checker, check for power at...
each wire connected to the switch and ground (the box if metallic), one wire to ground should always be on, and the other wire on the switch to ground will on if the switch is on. You will not get a voltage reading between the 2 wires at the switch even if working as you are only connected to a live feed, in order to get a voltage reading , you must test between a live wire and a ground or neutral.

White wires at the switch can sometimes be also a live wire and not a neutral

http://homewiring.tripod.com/fixonhotswitch.html

at the end of this item on the above link it explains about white wires at switches.

Let us know and we will proceed from here.

 
 

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