I am going to college, yet have thoroughly embarrassed myself with a lack of general knowledge regarding the electrical system in my house. I meant to replace a broken light switch (the plastic button that switches from up to down) , and unscrewed the light cover panel. However, after unscrewing the panel, I also unscrewed the platform the light switch was located in and saw a burst of light from within. after that, not a single power outlet in my room works, and the lights wont even turn on in the nearby bathroom. What did I do wrong? And how do i fix it before my dad finds out?

 

I may have blown a fuse, due to a short circuit? Do I need t reset the circuit breaker?

 

Welcome to the forums! What did you do wrong? You worked on a live circuit. You probably won't do that again for the rest of your life. Nothing in college would have taught you what you just learned in real life.

Yes, you probably tripped a breaker. Put the switch back in place and turn the breaker back on. If you need to work on the circuit, remove the power first.

 

Thanks, did just that and its fine now. Ill keep that in mind for future repairs.