Happy Thanksgiving Everyone,

I am new to the site and have an electrical issue that has me scratching my head. Recently, the ceiling light in one of the bedrooms went out and my recessed hallway lights also went out .I didn't experience this myself. My son told me that the lights are off. First thing I thought was what a coincidence. I will just replace the bulbs.

I replaced the bulb for my son's room and noticed that it didn't turn on. So I went to my circuit breakers and noticed one breaker was for his room and the hallway. So much for coincidence I thought. I flipped the breaker off and back on and still no lights. So I concluded that I needed a new breaker. After seeing that it was really easy to replace, I got a new breaker and replaced it myself. I think you've already figured out what I am going to say next. The circuit is still not working.

I am thinking to get a multitester as one video suggested. But based on what I have described so far, did any light bulbs go on? Pun intended.

Thanks for any advice,

Manny

 

Welcome to the forums.

Very rarely do circuit breakers go bad. You need to identify everything on the affected circuit. The problem will be at the last working location or the first dead location. A typical problem is using the push-in wire connectors on the back of devices. With age..... these push-ins loose their strength and the wires are loose or fall out.

 

Thank you for the welcome and the reply PJmax. I'm not an electrician so I'm not sure what you mean by "push-ins". We remodeled about 10 years ago and have not had any issues other than replacing bulbs. Are you suggesting to pull the ceiling fixture and inspect the wires?

I was going to go back to the breaker today and make sure I have everything snug.

Manny

 

Push-ins are wires inserted into the back of a receptacle or switch instead of around the screw. Are all receptacles on the circuit working?

 

A circuit starts at the panel and then connects to receptacles and lights. Very rarely does the entire circuit go dead. If the entire circuit was dead.... then it could be at the breaker.

You need to identify everything on the problem circuit. Typically several things work and several don't. The problem is the link between the two is broken. It can be that a wire is loose at the last working device or at the first non working device. It can be at a switch, a light or a receptacle. Anywhere where wires are connected. Once you identify what's on the circuit...... you look at the closest two devices that work and don't work. That's where you start looking. The diagram below explains it.

 

That's just it. The entire circuit is dead. The hallway lights, on 1 switch, and the bedroom ceiling light are the only things on the circuit and both don't work. So from your diagram, my problem might be at the very first thing the circuit runs into.

Thanks for the "push-in" clarification.