Why do my Lights Keep "fusing"?

Question

Well the lights dont, but again this morning when I turned the kitchen lights on, (Halogen Spots) they tripped the fuse. Also the Lounge lights go off at the same time so presume they are on the same circuit? My Fuses are those big fat brown things that you pull out, unscrew and they have a big round fuse in.

Same thing happened about 2 months ago and I replaced that particular fuse with one that has a "on/off" switch.

Could my ex husband have rigged the house to finish me off? lol!

Answer 1

It sounds like you have an overloaded circuit, although there could be other electrical problems as well. If you still have a fuse box (not a panel with circuit breakers), your house and its wiring are old. Most old houses were wired with fewer circuits than today's homes. Many homeowners will add to the existing circuits rather than installing new additional circuits when they want to add new lights, outlets,or appliances. This can create an overload which can trip the breaker or blow a fuse when enough loads on any given circuit are turned on at the same time. There are a few things that you can do. The next time the fuse blows, look to see exactly what is off. Are there any heaters or other heavy loads on that (failed) circuit? Electric heaters use a lot of power. Do not use long skinny extension cords. Do not use lots of surge protectors or power strips with a million appliances plugged into them. If you determine that there are too many things plugged into the one circuit, try to plug some of the loads into another circuit to see if that will help. Is it only the lights that are off? How many lights and what are the wattages of the bulbs? You can reduce the lighting load by using lower wattage bulbs, or better yet, replace as many of the old bulbs with the new low wattage compact flourescent bulbs or LED lamps. Do NOT replace the fuse with a larger amp rated fuse as this is a big mistake and very dangerous. If reducing the lighting load does not eliminate the problem, and this problem persists, you really should call a licensed electrician to help you resolve the problem. The electrician can check for proper voltageand test the amperage at the fuse box. Good luck. PS...make sure that you have good working smoke alarms

Answer 2

It may be that the problem is that your electric wiring and fuse system is very old. Those big fat brown things tell you that your system is old or at least an old style. Back when those things were installed they supported a 60 amp household. Households now use 500 amps and up. When a fuse blows you are overloading the circuit. If it didn't or doesn't blow you will overheat your wires and burn your house down. You have too much on one circuit. Check anything plugged in to see if the wires feel warm. If they do, unplug them immediately. Be very careful and only turn on one set of lights or the other and be careful what you plug in until you find a good lookin' electrician to date. Try to find one quickly.

Answer 3

if you replaced the fuse with a circuit breaker..... then turn off the lights on the circuit. Then switch the breaker to "on". Then 1st switch on the lounge lights ( if the breaker doesn't trip ) then turn on the kitchen ( if the breaker trips ) then you have an overload. Halogens burn hotter than most lamps ( more drain on the circuit) you may need to use different lamps. An electrician can put a meter on the line to let you know if you are drawing too much.

Answer 4

Sound like too much on the same fuse.

Try switching on lights and flick the switch that keeps tripping at the fuse box.

Note the lights that this fuse works and count up the wattage of the bulbs affected. Divide this by 240volts (if in th UK) and this should leave you with the required size of fuse required (in amps)

If the fuse in the box is less then upgrade the fuse.

Answer 5

Could be a wiring issue, could simply have too many light on the same circuit. Make sure the fuses are on tight, call an electrician!

Answer 6

Plz get an electrician in to check the wiring. Or ask someone at the fire department to do it if you can't afford the electrician. One of my light fixtures exploded one time and I called the non-emergency fire dept number and they came gladly and told me my wiring in that fixture was old. And they capped off the wires.

I thanked them a lot for coming and they said"We would rather come to prevent a fire than to die fighting one". I never thought of it that way before !

Answer 7

sounds like you have a bad fuse if your in council property ring ur council.if not ring a electirican you might need too have a new re-wire in your home...