Lately, there is a "thud" sounding noise when I turn on the light switch in
the living room. The electrical has been upgraded, and it still occurs. I
forgot to ask the electrician about it when he was here.
I don't know the correct terminology, so bear with me.. but it is one of
those light switches that "turns on" an outlet, that a lamp gets plugged
into, rather than a light fixture. (There is no light fixture in the living
room ceiling or anything.. just the switch that gets turned on.)
Also, and I don't know if this is relevant either.. but there are two light
switches .. one by the front door (this is the one that makes that 'thud'
noise), and another on the wall by the hallway, that control the same
outlet. Only the one by the front door makes the noise.
Any advice/info appreciated.
Thanks
lucy

"Lucy" wrote:
Lately, there is a "thud" sounding noise when I turn on the light switch in
the living room. The electrical has been upgraded, and it still occurs. I
forgot to ask the electrician about it when he was here.
I don't know the correct terminology, so bear with me.. but it is one of
those light switches that "turns on" an outlet, that a lamp gets plugged
into, rather than a light fixture. (There is no light fixture in the living
room ceiling or anything.. just the switch that gets turned on.)
Also, and I don't know if this is relevant either.. but there are two light
switches .. one by the front door (this is the one that makes that 'thud'
noise), and another on the wall by the hallway, that control the same
outlet. Only the one by the front door makes the noise.
Any advice/info appreciated.

Does the thud come from the switch, near the switch, or from somewhere else?
Was the switch replaced when the "electrical was upgraded"? How loud is the
thud (i.e., drop a gerbil on the flood thud, drop a bowling ball on the floor
thud, something in between)?

"Andy Hill" wrote in message
...
"Lucy" wrote:
Lately, there is a "thud" sounding noise when I turn on the light switch
in
the living room. The electrical has been upgraded, and it still occurs. I
forgot to ask the electrician about it when he was here.
I don't know the correct terminology, so bear with me.. but it is one of
those light switches that "turns on" an outlet, that a lamp gets plugged
into, rather than a light fixture. (There is no light fixture in the
living
room ceiling or anything.. just the switch that gets turned on.)
Also, and I don't know if this is relevant either.. but there are two
light
switches .. one by the front door (this is the one that makes that 'thud'
noise), and another on the wall by the hallway, that control the same
outlet. Only the one by the front door makes the noise.
Any advice/info appreciated.

Does the thud come from the switch, near the switch, or from somewhere
else?
Was the switch replaced when the "electrical was upgraded"? How loud is
the
thud (i.e., drop a gerbil on the flood thud, drop a bowling ball on the
floor
thud, something in between)?
From the switch, no, the switch wasn't replaced, and as I said earlier, it
has made that noise since before it was upgraded. You put "electrical was
upgraded" in quotation marks, so I'm not sure if I'm even talking to someone
who is familiar with a service upgrade. The gerbil remark makes me almost
certain of it.

Anyone else out there with any advice as to what it could be?
Thanks,
lucy

In article , "Lucy" wrote:

"Andy Hill" wrote in message
.. .
"Lucy" wrote:
Lately, there is a "thud" sounding noise when I turn on the light switch
in
the living room. The electrical has been upgraded, and it still occurs. I
forgot to ask the electrician about it when he was here.
I don't know the correct terminology, so bear with me.. but it is one of
those light switches that "turns on" an outlet, that a lamp gets plugged
into, rather than a light fixture. (There is no light fixture in the
living
room ceiling or anything.. just the switch that gets turned on.)
Also, and I don't know if this is relevant either.. but there are two
light
switches .. one by the front door (this is the one that makes that 'thud'
noise), and another on the wall by the hallway, that control the same
outlet. Only the one by the front door makes the noise.
Any advice/info appreciated.

Does the thud come from the switch, near the switch, or from somewhere
else?
Was the switch replaced when the "electrical was upgraded"? How loud is
the
thud (i.e., drop a gerbil on the flood thud, drop a bowling ball on the
floor
thud, something in between)?

From the switch, no, the switch wasn't replaced, and as I said earlier, it
has made that noise since before it was upgraded. You put "electrical was
upgraded" in quotation marks, so I'm not sure if I'm even talking to someone
who is familiar with a service upgrade. The gerbil remark makes me almost
certain of it.

Anyone else out there with any advice as to what it could be?

You're being unnecessarily snotty. You originally wrote "the electrical has
been upgraded" without specifying exactly what you meant by that, which is why
he put that in quotes. "Electrical has been upgraded" could mean different
things to different people, and including, for example, replacing two-prong
outlets with grounded ones, upgrading service from 30A fuses to 200A breakers,
or completely rewiring the entire house. It's not clear from your original
post exactly *what* was done during this upgrade.

His question about gerbils and bowling balls was a straightforward attempt to
determine just how loud this "thud" is.

You'll get better advice if you answer that question. We can't hear the sound
from here, and without *some* indication of how loud it is, it's impossible to
suggest what might be causing it.

I have some additional questions:

Is the switch a normal toggle switch, or is it one of the pushbutton types
that were common many years ago?

What happens if you grasp the switch between thumb and finger, and try to
wiggle it?

Have you removed the cover plate and made a visual inspection, looking for
anything obviously loose or broken? If so, what did you see? If not, why not?

And finally... since switches cost about thirty-nine cents at Home Depot, why
on earth haven't you just replaced the darn thing? It's *not* rocket science.
Anyone who knows how to use a screwdriver can replace a switch. Turn off the
breaker that controls that circuit, draw a picture of where the wires
are connected, remove the switch, take it to a hardware store, and get another
one just like it. Then install the new switch, reconnecting the wires the same
way they were before, put the cover plate back on, turn the breaker back on,
and you're in business.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

"Lucy" wrote:
"Andy Hill" wrote in message
.. .
"Lucy" wrote:
Lately, there is a "thud" sounding noise when I turn on the light switch
in
the living room. The electrical has been upgraded, and it still occurs. I
forgot to ask the electrician about it when he was here.
I don't know the correct terminology, so bear with me.. but it is one of
those light switches that "turns on" an outlet, that a lamp gets plugged
into, rather than a light fixture. (There is no light fixture in the
living
room ceiling or anything.. just the switch that gets turned on.)
Also, and I don't know if this is relevant either.. but there are two
light
switches .. one by the front door (this is the one that makes that 'thud'
noise), and another on the wall by the hallway, that control the same
outlet. Only the one by the front door makes the noise.
Any advice/info appreciated.

Does the thud come from the switch, near the switch, or from somewhere
else?
Was the switch replaced when the "electrical was upgraded"? How loud is
the
thud (i.e., drop a gerbil on the flood thud, drop a bowling ball on the
floor
thud, something in between)?
From the switch, no, the switch wasn't replaced, and as I said earlier, it
has made that noise since before it was upgraded. You put "electrical was
upgraded" in quotation marks, so I'm not sure if I'm even talking to someone
who is familiar with a service upgrade. The gerbil remark makes me almost
certain of it.

Anyone else out there with any advice as to what it could be?

Sorry, I thought this was an electrical question. Doormats are out at the end
of the short pier. Just keep walking -- you'll find them.