Electricity Help Please?
Question:The ceiling fan light in the office of my house worked perfectly yesterday during the day. At night, when I turned it on, the light didn't come on, but the fan works fine. I tried changing the light bulb to see if it was burnt and I tried tugging on the pull chain for the light dozens of times, but nothing is working!! Does anyone know how to fix this problem without me having to call an electrician?
Answers:
In this case I would call an electrician. There are several things that could be wrong and if you do not diagnose the problem properly you could be shocked or electrocuted if not burn down your house. If you remove the wall switch and replace it and you get the wires mixed up you could have trouble. Maybe check your electrical panel and see if any breakers are tripped. It would be rare to find a single breaker for a fan but I have seen stranger things. Hope this helps and good luck, Roy
the wiring to the light has come undone. You will have to remove the cover and twist the wires together and cover with a screw cap and replace the cover. Uh, turn off the power first please
The light switch probably broke. You can find replacement switches at most home center stores. Make sure you kill the power to the fan before you attempt the repair.
Take it down. Most are hooked to a wire so it won't fall when you take out the screws. Check the wiring tighten all the wire nuts,You have a loose wire.
When you replaced the bulb, did you first try the bulb in another lamp to make sure it worked. I recently have purchased bulbs which were burned out.
Look at the center of the lamp socket to see if it is burned. If it is burnt, you will not get good connection and the lamp will not light. Also check the threads for burning or corrosion. If threads are corroded, the new bulb will not screw in far enough to make contact with the center electrode.
For $5-10 you can purchase a volt meter to check if you are getting power to the socket. Put one probe on center contact and the other on the threads. Be very careful not to let the two probes touch as this will cause a short circuit.
I find it unlikely that the wire connections suddenly became undone or loosened so that no power if flowing through them.
I do think, since the temperature is warmer now, that it is probably movement of metal that has broken contact. The two obvious places for this to happen is in the socket itself or at the switch.
What i think, with the power off pry up a very, very little on that metal tap inside the light socket - you want to raise it just a little bit so it makes contact with the bottom of the bulb.
Restore power and test it again, if not then I'd say its the switch. But make sure you use a wire brush to scrub down the sides of that socket while the power is off- just in case there is corrosion caused by moisture.
I install and troubleshoot fans all the time. In my experience the stupid little cheap switch stoped working.
If you have pwr to the fan but no pwr to the light it is very unlikely a wire disconnected itself all by itself.
It is also highly unlikely that a new bulb doesn't work.
Little fairies or gremlins didn't get in there and unplug something either.
Pull the light fixture, go to the store and get a new light fixture. Don't buy the stupid little switch cuz they are too hard to mess with. Light kits are so cheap I might even buy one for you.
Problem solved.
if the fan is working its probably the light switch, get a new one in home depot,or electrical store.
replace the switch, then check to see if the wires have come undone
Sounds like the toggle switch (the device that the chain is attached to which enables the light to turn on & off) needs to be replaced. Cost = ~$4.00 at any home center & simple to replace. IMPORTANT: Make certaint that you turn off the power to the fixture before attempting to replace the switch
Takes about ten minutes. Good luck.
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