On Sun, 09 Sep 2007 12:33:00 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
mm wrote:

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 06:37:05 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article .com,
" wrote:

We have remodeled our home recently, we have a room where the lights
are not coming on. It is all new wiring. I tested the sockets to see
if there is a live current when light switch is on and no current when
off and that seems to be okay. I thought maybe the bubs were bad but
no the problem either.Do you think some wires are wrong on one of the
canned lights somewhere or what can be causing the lights to not go
on?

Thanks in advance?

If the fixtures are old, the center tab may be collapsed so that it
doesn't make contact with the bottom of the bulb.

More likely, something's simply wired incorrectly. A meter could tell
you that if you knew how to use it. But, there's a significant
difference between current and voltage. Without some fundamental
understanding of that, a multimeter is almost useless at best, worse
than useless at worst.

Here's a fun self-test. Connect your voltmeter to a working light
switch, one probe on each wire or screw. Measure the voltage when the

There's an easier one for him to do before that. A working light
socket, like you way, when it is on and when it is off.

And OP, by OK do you mean 110 volts AC when on and nothing when off.

And please stop saying current when you should know that you're
talking about voltages. Ask about that if you don't understand.

light it on, and again when it's off. If you can explain your
experimental results, you're qualified to do some basic troubleshooting
of electrical issues around the house.

Agreed that the light socket test is easier than the switch test, but
those results would "make sense" to someone who doesn't understand basic
circuits. The switch test, OTOH, would likely baffle someone who hasn't
thought these things through. Hopefully encourage further learning.

Aha! Very cunning. I won't interrupt again on this point.