do you know about electrics?

Question

my daft chap tried putting a new light fitting up in the front room last night, after dropping it and smashing it on the floor the lights downstairs wont come on apart from the pantry one which is downstairs? the landing one is off but the rest of upstairs is on?
i know we will probably have to get a sparky but has anyone any ideas

Answer 1

There are a couple of things that it could be-

1. The fuse has blown, see here for instructions on how to test it-

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/electrical_TESTING_AND_CHANGING_A_CONSUMER_UNIT_FUSE.htm

2. The circuit wire has been disturbed at the ceiling rose-

You can see a diagram of a ceiling rose on this page, about half way down-

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/lighting_circuits.htm

If you do not know what you are doing then a sparks may be your best option!

Answer 2

firstly dont attempt to fix this unless you have a test meter or at least a neon screwdriver to ensure the circuit is not live.
most lighting circuits are of the loop in type thats where the power from the preceeding light loops into the one your on then out to the next in the sequence the last one does not
if thats the case then its possible you have a wire come out stopping power to the other lights
you may also have blown a fuse or trip so check at the fusebox
do a search online for wiring a light to find helpfull diagrams to assist you as its a bit hard to explain here
Allways double check what your doing!
if you cant confirm the circuits dead then dont do it !!!!
read the infomation from the web and be familiar with the wiring before you touch it.
look at a couple of sites to get a different view on it
make sure you understand the circuitry and what you are doing
you can buy a neon screwdriver for about £1 and a cheap meter for under £10 well worth it to stay safe

Answer 3

It does seem co-incindence, I supose there could be a loose neutral causing spikes but that would likely show with table lamps flikering as well. Try the computer on a different ring. Maybe the local electricity board offer a free safety check ? Once you get him out, explain the problem and see what he can turn up. There are always rumours about council contractors doing a bad job - people love to moan wether it be about electrics, plumbing, kitchens, driveways. I would ignore those rumours and concentrate on your own issue which is one of a broken PC and xbox and a worry that there is something wrong.

Answer 4

there may have been a connection in the box in the ceiling that was jumpered to the light that won't work now. Is this in America or somewhere else? Also look for a tripped circuit breaker or a blown fuse in the main electrical panel, where ever that is located in your house.

Answer 5

downstairs are seperate from urstairs (they have their own circuits)
one light in the down stairs circuit feeds the next and so on!
so the first light to get power is your pantry , the next the front room , and now because this is disconected its not feeding the next and so on
once the front room wires are joined again "exactly as they were removed you will continue the circuit

Answer 6

The chances are that power to your other lights is via this light fitting... Check the CB/fuse but I think you'll find this is the case.
Get an electrician out, don't mess with it if you don't know what you're doing.

Answer 7

If the circuit breaker has tripped and will not reset, try switching off the switch of the replaced light and try again. Email me with exact symptoms, including details of wires in ceiling and I will attempt a diagnosis.

Answer 8

One of the wires came out of the light fixture. Just turn off the circuit-breaker and make sure the wires are attached. That will fix the series.

Answer 9

Check the fuse. You will find the fuse box in that little cupboard you seldom go into.
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Hopefully the fuses will be marked eg upstair lights, bedroom etc
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If not, take out the 5 amp fuses one by one and check if the wire is broken.
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Good luck.
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Answer 10

Probably on the same fuse or breaker switch. Seperate the bare wires so they don't touch each other or any metal and you can turn on the breaker or replace the fuse(depends on what you got)