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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

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
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker


"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


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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 5:16*pm, Jo wrote:
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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.

If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV

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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 4:38*pm, "RBM" wrote:
"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



So when you say in the "off" postion do you mean so that the lights
aren't on or do you mean there is actually an off position? There are
actually three switches there for three different lights. Then there
is another switch in the hallway for one of those lights. Then there's
a switch at the top of the stairs for two of those lights. So
depending on how you flip the switches, there is no actual "off"
position. So I assume you mean "off" as in the lights aren't on.

How complicated is this problem? Would it be as simple as removing the
plate and checking and fixing what's behind it?

Thanks,
Jo
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 5:57*pm, Jo wrote:
On Apr 23, 4:38*pm, "RBM" wrote:





"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


So when you say in the "off" postion do you mean so that the lights
aren't on or do you mean there is actually an off position? There are
actually three switches there for three different lights. Then there
is another switch in the hallway for one of those lights. Then there's
a switch at the top of the stairs for two of those lights. So
depending on how you flip the switches, there is no actual "off"
position. So I assume you mean "off" as in the lights aren't on.

How complicated is this problem? Would it be as simple as removing the
plate and checking and fixing what's behind it?

Thanks,
Jo- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


FiRST, unplug everything, reset breaker and see if it trips again!

Most shorts are lugged in things so elminate them first!


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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 5:57*pm, Jo wrote:
On Apr 23, 4:38*pm, "RBM" wrote:





"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


So when you say in the "off" postion do you mean so that the lights
aren't on or do you mean there is actually an off position? There are
actually three switches there for three different lights. Then there
is another switch in the hallway for one of those lights. Then there's
a switch at the top of the stairs for two of those lights. So
depending on how you flip the switches, there is no actual "off"
position. So I assume you mean "off" as in the lights aren't on.

How complicated is this problem? Would it be as simple as removing the
plate and checking and fixing what's behind it?

Thanks,
Jo- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


plugged in things, typo sorry
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker


"Jo" wrote in message
...
On Apr 23, 4:38 pm, "RBM" wrote:
"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



So when you say in the "off" postion do you mean so that the lights
aren't on or do you mean there is actually an off position? There are
actually three switches there for three different lights. Then there
is another switch in the hallway for one of those lights. Then there's
a switch at the top of the stairs for two of those lights. So
depending on how you flip the switches, there is no actual "off"
position. So I assume you mean "off" as in the lights aren't on.

How complicated is this problem? Would it be as simple as removing the
plate and checking and fixing what's behind it?

Thanks,
Jo

Whichever switch you touched, that made the breaker trip, leave in the "pre
short" position. If there is a corresponding switch, to that one, that
operates the same light(s), don't touch that one either. Put tape on them,
so noone else touches them as well. The other switches and outlets on that
circuit should be fine. No, it's not necessarily going to be a problem at or
behind the switch plate. More than likely, it's a problem with one of the
lights that the switch operates, especially if it's an outdoor light


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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker


"bob haller" wrote in message
...
On Apr 23, 5:16 pm, Jo wrote:
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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.

If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV


First of all Haller, she just said, the breaker tripped when she turned on a
light switch. Unless her light switch operates a table lamp, the problem
isn't going to be with anything "plugged in".
Second, if you did have a short in something plugged in, and followed your
advice, by unplugging everything, resetting the breaker, then plugging
things back in, you'd get a face full of hot sparks when you tried to plug
in the shorted device. No wonder everyone who you've helped with electrical
problems, has had fires in their houses, you're a menace


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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 6:26*pm, "RBM" wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message

...
On Apr 23, 5:16 pm, Jo wrote:





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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.

If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV

First of all Haller, she just said, the breaker tripped when she turned on a
light switch. Unless her light switch operates a table lamp, the problem
isn't going to be with anything "plugged in".
Second, if you did have a short in something plugged in, and followed your
advice, by unplugging everything, resetting the breaker, then plugging
things back in, you'd get a face full of hot sparks when you tried to plug
in the shorted device. No wonder everyone who you've helped with electrical
problems, has had fires in their houses, you're a menace- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


She earlier mentioned her TV is plugged into that circuit, so its not
just lights, she was concerened the breaker tripping might damage her
tv... and the most common shorts are small appliances.

I seriously doubt anyone would get a faceful of sparks, plugs are
designed to prevent that.....

she could plug each item into a terminal strip and use the strips
switch to power on test each plugged in appliance.

please document anyone who has had a home fire from my advice!!!

and to the OP no its not just a matter of removing a cover
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 6:26*pm, "RBM" wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message

...
On Apr 23, 5:16 pm, Jo wrote:





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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.

If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV

First of all Haller, she just said, the breaker tripped when she turned on a
light switch. Unless her light switch operates a table lamp, the problem
isn't going to be with anything "plugged in".
Second, if you did have a short in something plugged in, and followed your
advice, by unplugging everything, resetting the breaker, then plugging
things back in, you'd get a face full of hot sparks when you tried to plug
in the shorted device. No wonder everyone who you've helped with electrical
problems, has had fires in their houses, you're a menace- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


her words.

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.



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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker


"bob haller" wrote in message
...
On Apr 23, 6:26 pm, "RBM" wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message

...
On Apr 23, 5:16 pm, Jo wrote:





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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.

If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV

First of all Haller, she just said, the breaker tripped when she turned on
a
light switch. Unless her light switch operates a table lamp, the problem
isn't going to be with anything "plugged in".
Second, if you did have a short in something plugged in, and followed your
advice, by unplugging everything, resetting the breaker, then plugging
things back in, you'd get a face full of hot sparks when you tried to plug
in the shorted device. No wonder everyone who you've helped with
electrical
problems, has had fires in their houses, you're a menace- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -


her words.

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.


OK, let me translate "her words" for you. Other outlets, including the one
her TV is plugged into, are on the same circuit as the faulty light switch.
She is asking if it is safe to use those outlets, provided she doesn't turn
on the "faulty switch"


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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On 4/23/2011 5:16 PM, Jo wrote:
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


Had a similar problem once. Turned out the box was cockeyed in the wall,
and they 'englished' the switch to get it as close to vertical as
possible. This was a large switch with a dimmer, so clearance was
marginal anyway. The screws holding switch to box had worked loose, and
the hot screw got close enough to the box to short out and trip breaker.
FWIU, this is a common problem when boxes are too deep in wall, and they
'float' the device on the drywall with the mounting ears, or on a stack
of washers or twist of wire, instead of using a proper extension ring.

The fact that it happened right when switch was touched, tells me that
it is most likely the switch. If it was me, I'd open that up, and since
they are so cheap, probably replace it just for giggles, in case it has
an internal fault. Of course, if OP has to pay somebody to do that, they
should have them check out the entire string, since a 1-hour service
call probably cost the same as a 5-minute call.

--
aem sends...
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On 04/23/2011 08:24 PM, aemeijers wrote:
On 4/23/2011 5:16 PM, Jo wrote:
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


Had a similar problem once. Turned out the box was cockeyed in the wall,
and they 'englished' the switch to get it as close to vertical as
possible. This was a large switch with a dimmer, so clearance was
marginal anyway. The screws holding switch to box had worked loose, and
the hot screw got close enough to the box to short out and trip breaker.
FWIU, this is a common problem when boxes are too deep in wall, and they
'float' the device on the drywall with the mounting ears, or on a stack
of washers or twist of wire, instead of using a proper extension ring.

The fact that it happened right when switch was touched, tells me that
it is most likely the switch. If it was me, I'd open that up, and since
they are so cheap, probably replace it just for giggles, in case it has
an internal fault. Of course, if OP has to pay somebody to do that, they
should have them check out the entire string, since a 1-hour service
call probably cost the same as a 5-minute call.


If screw to box clearance is in any way questionable (or if I've used
Madison hangers) I always like to wrap the device with a length of
electrical tape to prevent just this problem.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 8:28*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
On 04/23/2011 08:24 PM, aemeijers wrote:



On 4/23/2011 5:16 PM, Jo wrote:
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


Had a similar problem once. Turned out the box was cockeyed in the wall,
and they 'englished' the switch to get it as close to vertical as
possible. This was a large switch with a dimmer, so clearance was
marginal anyway. The screws holding switch to box had worked loose, and
the hot screw got close enough to the box to short out and trip breaker..
FWIU, this is a common problem when boxes are too deep in wall, and they
'float' the device on the drywall with the mounting ears, or on a stack
of washers or twist of wire, instead of using a proper extension ring.


The fact that it happened right when switch was touched, tells me that
it is most likely the switch. If it was me, I'd open that up, and since
they are so cheap, probably replace it just for giggles, in case it has
an internal fault. Of course, if OP has to pay somebody to do that, they
should have them check out the entire string, since a 1-hour service
call probably cost the same as a 5-minute call.


If screw to box clearance is in any way questionable (or if I've used
Madison hangers) I always like to wrap the device with a length of
electrical tape to prevent just this problem.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel



+1

That is a general courtesy to the next guy who has to work on it
anyway...

~~ Evan
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 9:03*pm, Evan wrote:
On Apr 23, 8:28*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:





On 04/23/2011 08:24 PM, aemeijers wrote:


On 4/23/2011 5:16 PM, Jo wrote:
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


Had a similar problem once. Turned out the box was cockeyed in the wall,
and they 'englished' the switch to get it as close to vertical as
possible. This was a large switch with a dimmer, so clearance was
marginal anyway. The screws holding switch to box had worked loose, and
the hot screw got close enough to the box to short out and trip breaker.
FWIU, this is a common problem when boxes are too deep in wall, and they
'float' the device on the drywall with the mounting ears, or on a stack
of washers or twist of wire, instead of using a proper extension ring..


The fact that it happened right when switch was touched, tells me that
it is most likely the switch. If it was me, I'd open that up, and since
they are so cheap, probably replace it just for giggles, in case it has
an internal fault. Of course, if OP has to pay somebody to do that, they
should have them check out the entire string, since a 1-hour service
call probably cost the same as a 5-minute call.


If screw to box clearance is in any way questionable (or if I've used
Madison hangers) I always like to wrap the device with a length of
electrical tape to prevent just this problem.


nate


--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel


+1

That is a general courtesy to the next guy who has to work on it
anyway...

~~ Evan- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Everyone has overlooked the possibility that the "light" that the OP
is turning on may contain a faulty electric light bulb. If she is
turning on the lights by turning on a light switch by her front door,
and the bulb in the fixture that she expects to light up when she
turns on the switch has failed and developed an internal short, she
will get exactly the situation described. Haven't many of us seen a
breaker trip when a light bulb fails??? Disconnecting all applianes
that are plugged in, that are on the same circuit, will not solve the
problem if a bulb in a ceiling hallway fixture, for example, has a
shorted light bulb.


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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:16:21 -0700 (PDT), Jo
wrote:

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.


There is some problem in the wires to that light, or the light fixture
itself.

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.


I don't know what you mean by piggybacked?? But I gather everything
was working until the other night, so I'm curious to know what you
mean, but I doubt it's the problem.

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?


I doubt very much if there will be. The off position he mentioned was
the position before you tried to turn the light on. If you have 3-way
switches**, two switches controlling the same light, leave both of
them the way they were. If you turned one on and blew the breaker,
and didn't turn it back off, turn it back off and leave it that way.
(Most people automatically turn a switch off if something goes wrong
when they turn it on, if they know something went wrong. You hear the
weird noise, so you probably already turned it off. You'll know when
you reset the breaker.

** They call them 3-way, but they are really 2-way, so don't wonder
which is the third way.

My TV is
plugged into one of those outlets, so I want to make sure it doesn't
get damaged somehow.


It will be okay.

It's not especially likely that the problem will be behind the wall
switch. You could take off the plate if you want, and look for soot
or black marks on the inside of the plate, or anywhere near the switch
in question. That woudl be clue there was a problem in that area, but
I really don't expect it. Is your house more than 60 years old? when
did they still use cloth insulated wires. 80 years ago? That kind of
insulation can go bad and fall off just sitting around in the wall for
80 years, but even then the wires wouldn't be touching each other.

It's more likely it's in the light fixture, which gets rained and
snowed on, at the wires or the socket. I've never had a burned-out
light bulb cause a short circuit, which is what you have. When my
bulbs burn out, they just "open" and I have an open circuit, which is
like having one more switch in the circuit which is turned off. It's
like having a water pipe with a valve closed. A short circuit is like
having a water pipe with a hole in it, except with electricity, the
leaking wire has to touch something that conducts electricity and is
connected to a return path. Water will just go anywhere.

It wouldn't hurt to unscrew the light bulb some, or even to change the
bulb, but I wouldn't throw away the old bulb without testing it in a
lamp. It's probably fine.

Thanks,
Jo


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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

IT SEEMS YOU HAVE SEVERAL TWO WAY SWITCH CIRCUITS AND A REGULAR
SWITCHED CIRCUIT IN A GANG BOX THAT CONTROLS THE LIGHTS IN THREE
SEPERATE LOCATIONS.

GET SOMEONE WITH CREDENTIALS TO TROUBLESHOOT IT FOR YOU, IF OPENING
AND CHECKING FOR LOOSE WIRES DOESNT REVEAL ANYTHING SERVICEABLE BY
YOU.

PAT ECUM
TGITM CO INC.
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 24, 6:02*am, The Ghost in The Machine
wrote:
IT SEEMS YOU HAVE SEVERAL TWO WAY SWITCH CIRCUITS AND A REGULAR
SWITCHED CIRCUIT IN A GANG BOX THAT CONTROLS THE LIGHTS IN THREE
SEPERATE LOCATIONS.

GET SOMEONE WITH CREDENTIALS TO TROUBLESHOOT IT FOR YOU, IF OPENING
AND CHECKING FOR LOOSE WIRES DOESNT REVEAL ANYTHING SERVICEABLE BY
YOU.

PAT ECUM
TGITM CO INC.


I agree with this.

My point though.......

If the light switch has any outets on it with anything plugged in,
UNPLUG ALL THAT STUFF! and see if the problem goes away.

I have several switches here that turn on not just lights but outlets
too.

One is at the front door, it tuns on the outlets for the living room
lights, all floor and table lamps since theres no cieling fixture, the
living room switch is ganged, with a lamp outside the front door and a
switch for a driveway flood light.

OP may have ganged switches like that, they are pretty common so
something plugged into a outlet thats switch controlled could have a
short. In my case a living room light.......

incidently this has occured here
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 23, 8:03*pm, "RBM" wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message

...
On Apr 23, 6:26 pm, "RBM" wrote:





"bob haller" wrote in message


....
On Apr 23, 5:16 pm, Jo wrote:


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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.


If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV


First of all Haller, she just said, the breaker tripped when she turned on
a
light switch. Unless her light switch operates a table lamp, the problem
isn't going to be with anything "plugged in".
Second, if you did have a short in something plugged in, and followed your
advice, by unplugging everything, resetting the breaker, then plugging
things back in, you'd get a face full of hot sparks when you tried to plug
in the shorted device. No wonder everyone who you've helped with
electrical
problems, has had fires in their houses, you're a menace- Hide quoted
text -


- Show quoted text -


her words.

*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.

OK, let me translate "her words" for you. Other outlets, including the one
her TV is plugged into, are on the same circuit as the faulty light switch.
She is asking if it is safe to use those outlets, provided she doesn't turn
on the "faulty switch"- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


That was how I read it too. The switch controls the lights by the
front door. Most people don't have the TV on a switch at all, let
alone one the same one that controls the lights by the front door.

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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

"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.


Could be the "straw...".

You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker
will trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.

Try turning something off on that circuit and see if the light then
works.

If that is the case, plug something from that circuit into another
circuit or have an electrician install a new outlet on a separate
circuit in that room for the TV. That will off-load the circuit...



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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker


"Bill" wrote
You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker will
trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


New TVs use lots LESS than older TVs if you are comparing LCD versus the old
CRT.

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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 24, 11:06*am, "Bill" wrote:
"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.


Could be the "straw...".

You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker
will trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.

Try turning something off on that circuit and see if the light then
works.

If that is the case, plug something from that circuit into another
circuit or have an electrician install a new outlet on a separate
circuit in that room for the TV. That will off-load the circuit...


I've been an electrician for over forty years and I've never seen an
overload of the type you are hypothesizing trip a breaker as soon as
the load was energized. I haven't seen every fault type there is to
see yet but that doesn't seem the most likely cause of the problem as
described.
--
Tom Horne
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 24, 11:24*am, Tom Horne wrote:
On Apr 24, 11:06*am, "Bill" wrote:





"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.


Could be the "straw...".


You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker
will trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


Try turning something off on that circuit and see if the light then
works.


If that is the case, plug something from that circuit into another
circuit or have an electrician install a new outlet on a separate
circuit in that room for the TV. That will off-load the circuit...


I've been an electrician for over forty years and I've never seen an
overload of the type you are hypothesizing trip a breaker as soon as
the load was energized. *I haven't seen every fault type there is to
see yet but that doesn't seem the most likely cause of the problem as
described.
--
Tom Horne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


The dead give away here is the fact that Jo
said in the original post that the switch makes a noise when she
turns it on and trips the breaker. Hard to explain how if the light
is just one load too much, it makes a noise and instantly trips
the breaker. That is however explained by a short in the light
circuit.
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:14:12 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:


"Bill" wrote
You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker will
trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


New TVs use lots LESS than older TVs if you are comparing LCD versus the old
CRT.


Not so, if your new TV is a plasma. I was rather surprised when I put my
PowerAngel on ours - ~500W! The 25" CRT set it replaced was around 150W.
....though even this wouldn't cause this problem.
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wrote in message
...
On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:14:12 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Bill" wrote
You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker will
trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


New TVs use lots LESS than older TVs if you are comparing LCD versus the
old
CRT.


Not so, if your new TV is a plasma. I was rather surprised when I put my
PowerAngel on ours - ~500W! The 25" CRT set it replaced was around 150W.
...though even this wouldn't cause this problem.



Maybe some of the older ones.
An LG 55" LED uses 85W according to their specs
A 50" Plamsa is rated at 145 watts
Info is from the LG web site



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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On 4/24/2011 11:06 AM, Bill wrote:
"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.


Could be the "straw...".

You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker will
trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.

Try turning something off on that circuit and see if the light then works.

If that is the case, plug something from that circuit into another
circuit or have an electrician install a new outlet on a separate
circuit in that room for the TV. That will off-load the circuit...


I still think it is the switch, or maybe a fried light fixture, creating
a dead short. A breaker trip due to load wouldn't be 'instant' like OP
implied. Check the cheap and simple stuff first.

--
aem sends...
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"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

"Bill" wrote
You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker
will trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


New TVs use lots LESS than older TVs if you are comparing LCD versus
the old CRT.


191-474 watts
50-56" Plasma television

210-322 watts
50-56" LCD television

150-206 watts
50-56" DLP television

188-464 watts
42" Plasma television

91-236 watts
42" LCD television

98-156 watts
32" LCD television

55-90 watts
19" CRT television

And why did California make new this new TV energy use law???
http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/20...gulations.html

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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:31:35 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:14:12 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Bill" wrote
You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker will
trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.

New TVs use lots LESS than older TVs if you are comparing LCD versus the
old
CRT.


Not so, if your new TV is a plasma. I was rather surprised when I put my
PowerAngel on ours - ~500W! The 25" CRT set it replaced was around 150W.
...though even this wouldn't cause this problem.



Maybe some of the older ones.
An LG 55" LED uses 85W according to their specs
A 50" Plamsa is rated at 145 watts
Info is from the LG web site


It's three years old (46").
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On Apr 24, 1:33*pm, "
wrote:
On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:31:35 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:14:12 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Bill" wrote
You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker will
trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


New TVs use lots LESS than older TVs if you are comparing LCD versus the
old
CRT.


Not so, if your new TV is a plasma. *I was rather surprised when I put my
PowerAngel on ours - ~500W! *The 25" CRT set it replaced was around 150W.
...though even this wouldn't cause this problem.


Maybe some of the older ones.
An LG 55" LED uses 85W according to their specs
A 50" Plamsa is rated at 145 watts
Info is from the LG web site


It's three years old (46").- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Where is the OP - Jo, there are a lot of questions to be answered.
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On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:53:54 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

On Apr 23, 5:16Â*pm, Jo wrote:
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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.

If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV

If the switch makes a noise when turned on and the breaker pops it is
NOT anything not controlled by the switch..

I'm ASSuming this is an exterior light?. Wall mounted? Most likely
needs replacement - but the wiring needs to be checked as well. If
you are handy, turn off the breaker, and remove the light. Check the
wiring closely, and with the wires "nutted off" (put wire nuts on the
end of each wire to be sure they cannot ptouch anything) see if it
pops the breaker again after turning the breaker on and then flipping
the switch on.


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On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:57:00 -0700 (PDT), Jo
wrote:

On Apr 23, 4:38Â*pm, "RBM" wrote:
"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



So when you say in the "off" postion do you mean so that the lights
aren't on or do you mean there is actually an off position? There are
actually three switches there for three different lights. Then there
is another switch in the hallway for one of those lights. Then there's
a switch at the top of the stairs for two of those lights. So
depending on how you flip the switches, there is no actual "off"
position. So I assume you mean "off" as in the lights aren't on.

How complicated is this problem? Would it be as simple as removing the
plate and checking and fixing what's behind it?

Thanks,
Jo

Which light pops the breaker - and is it a lamp that is only
controlled by one switch??

I say call an electrician or an experienced electrical handyman to
check it out - see my previous post.
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On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:54:07 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

On Apr 23, 6:26Â*pm, "RBM" wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message

...
On Apr 23, 5:16 pm, Jo wrote:





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


First UNPLUG everything thats dead with the breaker trpped, and see if
the light then comes on.

If the light then works normally plug one item in at a time till the
breaker trips again, that item is the one with a problem, its highly
possible its the TV

First of all Haller, she just said, the breaker tripped when she turned on a
light switch. Unless her light switch operates a table lamp, the problem
isn't going to be with anything "plugged in".
Second, if you did have a short in something plugged in, and followed your
advice, by unplugging everything, resetting the breaker, then plugging
things back in, you'd get a face full of hot sparks when you tried to plug
in the shorted device. No wonder everyone who you've helped with electrical
problems, has had fires in their houses, you're a menace- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


her words.

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.

You english comprehension or your electrical comprehension are
lacking.

There are more than oneSUB-CIRCUITS on the breaker. The TV and other
stuff are on the same breaker - which IS a circuit, but the TV is not
on the switched sub-circuit. (he/she described it as "piggybacked")

The question was, can the REST of the circuit be used safely if the
light switch is left off - and the answer is a "qualified" yes.

The "somehow" is the critical verbage - they are connected in that
they share the same breaker - but they are not "downstream" of the
switch.
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On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:45:18 -0400, mm
wrote:

On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:16:21 -0700 (PDT), Jo
wrote:

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.


There is some problem in the wires to that light, or the light fixture
itself.

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.


I don't know what you mean by piggybacked?? But I gather everything
was working until the other night, so I'm curious to know what you
mean, but I doubt it's the problem.

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?


I doubt very much if there will be. The off position he mentioned was
the position before you tried to turn the light on. If you have 3-way
switches**, two switches controlling the same light, leave both of
them the way they were. If you turned one on and blew the breaker,
and didn't turn it back off, turn it back off and leave it that way.
(Most people automatically turn a switch off if something goes wrong
when they turn it on, if they know something went wrong. You hear the
weird noise, so you probably already turned it off. You'll know when
you reset the breaker.

** They call them 3-way, but they are really 2-way, so don't wonder
which is the third way.

My TV is
plugged into one of those outlets, so I want to make sure it doesn't
get damaged somehow.


It will be okay.

It's not especially likely that the problem will be behind the wall
switch. You could take off the plate if you want, and look for soot
or black marks on the inside of the plate, or anywhere near the switch
in question. That woudl be clue there was a problem in that area, but
I really don't expect it. Is your house more than 60 years old? when
did they still use cloth insulated wires. 80 years ago? That kind of
insulation can go bad and fall off just sitting around in the wall for
80 years, but even then the wires wouldn't be touching each other.

It's more likely it's in the light fixture, which gets rained and
snowed on, at the wires or the socket. I've never had a burned-out
light bulb cause a short circuit, which is what you have. When my
bulbs burn out, they just "open" and I have an open circuit, which is
like having one more switch in the circuit which is turned off. It's
like having a water pipe with a valve closed. A short circuit is like
having a water pipe with a hole in it, except with electricity, the
leaking wire has to touch something that conducts electricity and is
connected to a return path. Water will just go anywhere.

It wouldn't hurt to unscrew the light bulb some, or even to change the
bulb, but I wouldn't throw away the old bulb without testing it in a
lamp. It's probably fine.

Thanks,
Jo

I have had bulbs short internally - much more common in low voltage
bulbs like automotive tail lamps etc - higher current per watt of
output and more vibration may have something to do with it - but #1157
dual fillament bulbs are well known for this failure mode.

I HAVE had it happen on 115 volt (or 120 - whatever you want to call
them) bulbs - the most recent one being a tri-light.
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 03:45:34 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

On Apr 24, 6:02Â*am, The Ghost in The Machine
wrote:
IT SEEMS YOU HAVE SEVERAL TWO WAY SWITCH CIRCUITS AND A REGULAR
SWITCHED CIRCUIT IN A GANG BOX THAT CONTROLS THE LIGHTS IN THREE
SEPERATE LOCATIONS.

GET SOMEONE WITH CREDENTIALS TO TROUBLESHOOT IT FOR YOU, IF OPENING
AND CHECKING FOR LOOSE WIRES DOESNT REVEAL ANYTHING SERVICEABLE BY
YOU.

PAT ECUM
TGITM CO INC.


I agree with this.

My point though.......

If the light switch has any outets on it with anything plugged in,
UNPLUG ALL THAT STUFF! and see if the problem goes away.


Big if though. Does not sound like ANY of the receptacles are switched
- only several lighting circuits.

I have several switches here that turn on not just lights but outlets
too.

One is at the front door, it tuns on the outlets for the living room
lights, all floor and table lamps since theres no cieling fixture, the
living room switch is ganged, with a lamp outside the front door and a
switch for a driveway flood light.

OP may have ganged switches like that, they are pretty common so
something plugged into a outlet thats switch controlled could have a
short. In my case a living room light.......

incidently this has occured here




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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 08:06:29 -0700, "Bill"
wrote:

"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.


Could be the "straw...".

You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker
will trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


Actually, they use SIGNIFICANTLY LESS.
Try turning something off on that circuit and see if the light then
works.

If that is the case, plug something from that circuit into another
circuit or have an electrician install a new outlet on a separate
circuit in that room for the TV. That will off-load the circuit...


A whole lot of wasted time and effort - you can bank on it.

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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:14:12 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Bill" wrote
You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker will
trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


New TVs use lots LESS than older TVs if you are comparing LCD versus the old
CRT.

Plasma too.
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 22:42:48 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 08:06:29 -0700, "Bill"
wrote:

"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.


Could be the "straw...".

You can only use so much electricity per circuit, then the breaker
will trip. New TV's use a little more electricity than older TV's.


Actually, they use SIGNIFICANTLY LESS.


Per inch, sure, but large plasma TVs suck a lot of juice.

Try turning something off on that circuit and see if the light then
works.

If that is the case, plug something from that circuit into another
circuit or have an electrician install a new outlet on a separate
circuit in that room for the TV. That will off-load the circuit...


A whole lot of wasted time and effort - you can bank on it.

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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Apr 24, 6:45*am, bob haller wrote:
On Apr 24, 6:02*am, The Ghost in The Machine
wrote:

IT SEEMS YOU HAVE SEVERAL TWO WAY SWITCH CIRCUITS AND A REGULAR
SWITCHED CIRCUIT IN A GANG BOX THAT CONTROLS THE LIGHTS IN THREE
SEPERATE LOCATIONS.


GET SOMEONE WITH CREDENTIALS TO TROUBLESHOOT IT FOR YOU, IF OPENING
AND CHECKING FOR LOOSE WIRES DOESNT REVEAL ANYTHING SERVICEABLE BY
YOU.


PAT ECUM
TGITM CO INC.


I agree with this.

My point though.......

If the light switch has any outets on it with anything plugged in,
UNPLUG ALL THAT STUFF! and see if the problem goes away.

I have several switches here that turn on not just lights but outlets
too.

One is at the front door, it tuns on the outlets for the living room
lights, all floor and table lamps since theres no cieling fixture, the
living room switch is ganged, with a lamp outside the front door and a
switch for a driveway flood *light.

OP may have ganged switches like that, they are pretty common so
something plugged into a outlet thats switch controlled could have a
short. In my case a living room light.......

incidently this has occured here


THAT IS A POSSIBILITY...... AFTER A STRONG THUNDER STORM WERE
LIGHTNING SENT SURGES THROUGHOUT A COMMUNITY SOME CIRCUITS WERE
TRIPPED INSIDE A HOME...
AFTER RESETTING THE BREAKERS, ONE OF THEM WOULDN'T RESET.

SO WE SUSPECTED A DAMAGED CB, BUT AFTER REMOVING IT FROM THE CIRCUIT
AND TESTING THE LINE, WE FOUND IT LEAD TO AN OUTLET WITH AN OUTLET
STRIP "SURGE SUPPRESSER" CONNECTED, WE FOX & HOUNDED IT & FOUND IT
WITH THE TRACER.....THAT TURNED OUT TO BE THE CULPRIT....WE UNPLUGGED
IT AND THE CIRCUIT WAS FINE...THE EQUIPMENT ON THE OUTLET STRIP WAS
TOAST TOO....LUCKILY THEIR TV WHICH WAS ON A DIFFERENT STAND ALONE
CIRCUIT SURVIVED THE STORMS SURGES.....GO FIGURE.

GOOD LUCK HUNTING FOR THE PROBLEM THERE.

PAT ECUM
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Default Turning lights on trips circuit breaker

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 22:39:54 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:45:18 -0400, mm
wrote:

On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:16:21 -0700 (PDT), Jo
wrote:

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.


There is some problem in the wires to that light, or the light fixture
itself.

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.


I don't know what you mean by piggybacked?? But I gather everything
was working until the other night, so I'm curious to know what you
mean, but I doubt it's the problem.

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?


I doubt very much if there will be. The off position he mentioned was
the position before you tried to turn the light on. If you have 3-way
switches**, two switches controlling the same light, leave both of
them the way they were. If you turned one on and blew the breaker,
and didn't turn it back off, turn it back off and leave it that way.
(Most people automatically turn a switch off if something goes wrong
when they turn it on, if they know something went wrong. You hear the
weird noise, so you probably already turned it off. You'll know when
you reset the breaker.

** They call them 3-way, but they are really 2-way, so don't wonder
which is the third way.

My TV is
plugged into one of those outlets, so I want to make sure it doesn't
get damaged somehow.


It will be okay.

It's not especially likely that the problem will be behind the wall
switch. You could take off the plate if you want, and look for soot
or black marks on the inside of the plate, or anywhere near the switch
in question. That woudl be clue there was a problem in that area, but
I really don't expect it. Is your house more than 60 years old? when
did they still use cloth insulated wires. 80 years ago? That kind of
insulation can go bad and fall off just sitting around in the wall for
80 years, but even then the wires wouldn't be touching each other.

It's more likely it's in the light fixture, which gets rained and
snowed on, at the wires or the socket. I've never had a burned-out
light bulb cause a short circuit, which is what you have. When my
bulbs burn out, they just "open" and I have an open circuit, which is
like having one more switch in the circuit which is turned off. It's
like having a water pipe with a valve closed. A short circuit is like
having a water pipe with a hole in it, except with electricity, the
leaking wire has to touch something that conducts electricity and is
connected to a return path. Water will just go anywhere.

It wouldn't hurt to unscrew the light bulb some, or even to change the
bulb, but I wouldn't throw away the old bulb without testing it in a
lamp. It's probably fine.

Thanks,
Jo

I have had bulbs short internally - much more common in low voltage
bulbs like automotive tail lamps etc - higher current per watt of
output and more vibration may have something to do with it - but #1157
dual fillament bulbs are well known for this failure mode.

I HAVE had it happen on 115 volt (or 120 - whatever you want to call
them) bulbs - the most recent one being a tri-light.


That's amazing. It sounds like at least 4 separate bulbs. In the
1157, the struts that hold the filament at each end are 1/2 inch
apart. How could they ever touch each other? I've never seen the
inside glass break.

Tri-light? A two filament bulb, with three settings?

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