"Jo" wrote in message
...
The other night I went to turn on the lights at the light switch by my
front door and it made some noise and the lights wouldn't come on.
Some of the electrical outlets in the neigboring room wouldn't work
either. It tripped the circuit breaker so I reset it. I tried again to
turn the lights on at the switch and it tripped the circuit breaker
again. When it does this, the light switch makes a weird noise.

Does anyone know what might be wrong here? I know the wiring in the
house is piggybacked, if that makes a difference. And should there be
any problems using the electrical outlets that are somehow connected
to the light switch, as long as I leave the lights off? My TV is
plugged into one of those outlets, so I want to make sure it doesn't
get damaged somehow.


Thanks,
Jo

** There is a short circuit on the load side of that switch. Whatever light,
that switch controls, or the wiring leading to it, has a problem. If you
want to use other things on that circuit, just tape the switch "off", and
there won't be any problem using other things on that circuit. Have the
short checked by someone who is experienced in these matters