House lights not working...Help!

R

r2d2

Guest
Hi All,

Hope someone can advise...

On Halloween night I noticed a bulb blow in the kichen/dining room but paid little attention to it as I was on my way into a different room. I went to sort it out the next morning and realised that some of my lights weren't working. I checked the fusebox to see if any of the switches tripped but all seemed fine. So, I have three sets of lights in the kitchen/dining room that operate off three switches, two are not working. The hall light is not working and the lounge lights don't work either. I have replaced bulbs and tried again but I'm not getting anything. All other lights in the house are working (including two sets downstairs). I have looked at the fusebox again as I assumed a fuse must have blown even though none of the switches tripped but it doesn't exactly look 'user friendly'....I've opened it up and expected to be able to slide out the individual bits to check the fuse (Is there an actual fuse there like the old days or am I making a complete idiot of myself ??)...Anyway, the only way it seems for me to have a closer look at them is to start unscrewing them and I don't want to do that until I get some advice.

As an aside, we've never had problems with tripping until we got some garden lights installed (6 in all) earlier this year and if they are left on for more than about five minutes a fuse trips. We've tried getting the elctrician back but I reckon he might be one of those guys who changes his pay as you go mobile every three months !! Only other thing I can add is that the actual fusebox is an AEG and I have no diagram as to where each fuse relates to so I'll be searching around a bit in the dark...literally !!

I'd appreciate any help/advice.

Thanks,

r2d2
 
Do not, under any circumstances, touch anything in your fusebox with a screwdriver! Modern fuses are not like the old removeable fuses. If there's an overload or fault on the circuit, the switch "trips", turning off the relevant circuit.

Sometimes it's difficult to see the tripped switch. Check again and make sure all the switches are fully in the "on" position. To reset a tripped switch you sometimes have to flick it all the way down then all the way up again.

Sounds like you definitely need your installation checked out though. If you can't find the original electrician just get someone else in, and make sure he or she is RECI certified.
 
Hi Extopia,

I am not an electrician. However, it might be best, before you start rooting around in the fusebox endangering lives, not least your own(!), to "isolate" the problem, if you suspect the garden lights then stop using them for a few days to see if your suspicion is right. Perhaps, (and I want to emphasise that I'm no spark), the lights were wired on the same loop as the house internal lights and, perhaps, the wire used was the wrong "thickness" and this wire is, hence, as the garden lights could be a large load, (how many watts each?), overheating and this heat is interfering with the internal wires?

I'd definately get a qualified spark out to investigate.

ALERT.
 
Do you know where the garden lights were wired into the existing set-up? Sounds like a bad job was done putting these lights in, and it's possible that the source of your problem may be there. Poor connections may have overheated and burned out the link to the live that's feeding the now disfunctional lights.
Leo
 

The garden lights were wired back to a socket in the dining room so I don't think they should effect the circuit the internal lights are on....I've decided to do the smart thing and have an electrician coming over on Saturday...

Thanks,

r2d2
 
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