How can the light switch be off but electricity is on and so is the light?
Question:I am in wired hell, everytime I turn on the breaker it blows when I flip on the switch to one of the lights, not tough, however, at the same time when the breaker is on so is the light. This leaves me to assume that the light switch just acts as a means to blow the breaker. what's going on?!
Answers:
1. Ensure all power to switch is off. Best to use the circuit breaker.
2. Remove switch. Use electrical tape to individually tape the separate groups of wires together first (but not at the ends, just so you can remember how to reconnect them later)
3. Remove the separate groups of wires from the switch. Tape up the ends. Switch on the circuit breaker. Does it trip?
3a. If does not trip, turn off circuit breaker again. Then reconnect the wires to the switch (remembering how to connect them!!). You might want to restrip some of the wires or trim them shorter or do whatever is necessary to ensure the wires go into the switch properly. Switch on the circuit breaker again. Does it trip? If still yes, replace the switch.
3b. If trip, then get an electrician. You've most probably got a short somewhere along the line if you've not recently done any wiring work by yourself.
You need an electrician. This isn't something that the average person can solve. Good luck.
My guess is the light switch is bad.
It might be a bad switch or a three way switch if it's a three way look for another switch that operates that light if it's in a bedroom chances are it's just a bad switch make sure when changing the switch you shut the power off to the switch
I doubt the switch is bad. If the switch is bad, two things can happen. Either the light will stay on or the light will stay off. It will not blow the circuit breaker.
If the breaker is blowing, that means there is a short circut somewhere between the switch and the light. In an old house (30+ years) its a 50-50 chance the wires are rotted or eaten by insects/rodents OR the fixture is bad/miswired/shorted out.
In a newer house, it's less likely to be the wires and more likely to be the fixture.
The first answerer is right. If you are not experienced in electrical repairs, you are taking a lot of personal safety risks in trying to fix it yourself. It's also a fire hazard to leave it as it is.
My advice: Call an electrician if the house is more than 30 years old. An experienced handy man should be OK for a newer house.
Your light switch could be shorted, but if you have more than one switch that control the same light yoou could have a short in the other switches or wiring...
A short would be 2 wires or the switch connects itself when you don't want it to
Shut off power to circuit/CB and use a meter to check for wrong grounds or shorts
Sound like the switch is either bad or you are cross wired. If you have any experince you can unhook the power to the switch and tape off or wire nut the wires. Then turn on the power again. If it still pops then you probably have a wire crossed. It sound like maybe you have power through the switch but only enough to pop the beaker.
If it still pops open a neighboring box and see how the wires are hooked up there and duplicate the color to the post on the bad one!
Good luck
Faulty switch or a short somewhere
you may have it wired backwards, reversing the poles.
Your switch or some part of the wire between the switch and the light is creating a short circuit. Shorts can have several causes: direct short (mis-wired), a nail driven into a wall could have hit wire(s), rodents will sometimes gnaw away the insulation exposing bare wires, if they touch you have a short, or sometimes if a wire is subject to vibration (ceiling fan, eg.) insulation will wear away and cause a short, the light fixture could also be faulty, Your best and safest bet is to get a qualified electrician. This person should be able to troubleshoot, isolate and repair the short circuit. Someone who does not know what they are doing could either get hurt or cause a fire. Also, do not continue turning the breaker on, the fact that it trips or "blows" indicates you have a problem that is a potential fire hazard..
Your switch is creating a dead short. You have made the wrong connection in either the light box or the switch box. You don't know what you're doing, should stop doing it, and get an electrician, before you have a fire.
You need an electrician now, or a fireman soon.
IT IS VERY POSIBLE THAT SOMEONE AT SOMETIME REPLACED THE OLD SINGLE POLE /SINGLE THROW LIGHT SWITCH WITH A 3-WAY SWITCH AND WIRED IT UP WRONG.A 3-WAY SWITCH CAN SUBSTITUTE A SINGLE POLE SWITCH IF IT'S WIRED PROPERLY.ON A 3-WAY THERE IS A "COMMON SCREW" AND TWO "TRAVELER CONNECTION SCREWS"..IF THE REPLACEMENT WAS MADE ON THE TWO TRAVELERS, IT WOULD CAUSE A SHORT AND BLOW OUT YOUR CIRCUIT BREAKER WHEN YOU THROW THE SWITCH.THE CONNECTION SHOULD BE MADE ON THE "COMMON SCREW" AND ONE OF THE TRAVELER SCREWS" ( IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH ONE, IT'LL JUST MEAN THAT THE EXTRA SCREW IS NOT BEING USED..ALSO REMEMBER TO WRAP AT LEAST 3 TURNS OF ELECTRICAL TAPE AROUND THE SWITCH BEFORE PUSHING IT BACK INTO THE OUTLET BOX TO PREVENT THE SCREWS FROM TOUCHING THE BOX AND GROUDING OUT WHILE YOU ARE SETTING IT INTO THE BOX....IF THE LIGHT IS CONTROLLED FROM 2 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS(SUCH AS THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF A STAIRWAY, THEN A 3-WAY IS CALLED FOR ON THAT TYPE OF SITUATION...HERE AGAIN , IF IT IS WIRED WRONG IT CAN OPERATE IN ONE POSITION AND SHORT OUT IN THE SECOND POSITION..THE HOT WIRE(MOST LIKLY THE BLACK WIRE) SHOULD ALWAYS BE CONNECTED TO THE "COMMON SCREW" TERMINAL OF THE 3-WAY SWITCH, AND THE TRAVELERS ARE WIRED TO THE TRAVELERS ON THE OPOSITE SWITCH..THEN THE "COMMON OF "THAT SWITCH" SHOULD GO TO THE LIGHT..WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING SOUNDS LIKE A 3-WAY SWITCH THAT HAS BEEN WIRED WRONG..IF IT IS NOT A 3-WAY...LOOK FOR A LOOSE WIRE CONNECTION SOME-WHERE AND A WIRE THAT MAY BE TOUCHNG AGAINST THE BOX OR OTHER GROUNDED PART OF THE SYSTEM. IF YOU STILL CAN'T RESOLVE THE PROBLEM THEN YOU SHOULD CALL IN A LICENCED ELECTICIAN TO CHECK IT OUT AND CORRECT IT.!
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