A cheap fan light bulb separated between the base and glass and shorted
when I was unscewing it.
Now I am not getting power at the bulb or in the wall switch.
None of the breakers appeared to be tripped and anyway I switched them
all off
and on but still no power.
Whats up ? Am I right in assuming that its a breaker, and if so how can

I identify the right one.
Thanks !

You can possibly assume it's a breaker if other things are still dead, other
than the fan-light. If so, you need to open the panel and check each circuit
breaker with a volt meter or test light


"parangles" wrote in message
oups.com...
A cheap fan light bulb separated between the base and glass and shorted
when I was unscewing it.
Now I am not getting power at the bulb or in the wall switch.
None of the breakers appeared to be tripped and anyway I switched them
all off
and on but still no power.
Whats up ? Am I right in assuming that its a breaker, and if so how can

I identify the right one.
Thanks !

Thanks . I forgot to mention that the fan still has power
but not the light circuit. ( in the wall switch)
Would the fan and the fan lights
usually be on the same, or separate breakers ?

On Oct 16, 6:50 pm, "parangles" wrote:
A cheap fan light bulb separated between the base and glass and shorted
when I was unscewing it.
Now I am not getting power at the bulb or in the wall switch.
None of the breakers appeared to be tripped and anyway I switched them
all off
and on but still no power.
Whats up ? Am I right in assuming that its a breaker, and if so how can


You could have the part of the lamp still in the base. Does the fan
work?

parangles wrote:
A cheap fan light bulb separated between the base and glass and shorted
when I was unscewing it.
Now I am not getting power at the bulb or in the wall switch.
None of the breakers appeared to be tripped and anyway I switched them
all off
and on but still no power.
Whats up ? Am I right in assuming that its a breaker, and if so how can

I identify the right one.
Thanks !

I had a similar experience once. It turned out that the livingroom
outlet I was using had its feed from a bathroom (next-to-sink) outlet
with a reset button. Whoever did the original wiring connected the
feed line to the output (instead of input) end of the bathroom outlet,
hence disconnecting supply to livingroom whenever the bathroom
receptacle tripped.

Check the reset buttons in all bathroom plugs.

parangles wrote:
Thanks . I forgot to mention that the fan still has power
but not the light circuit. ( in the wall switch)
Would the fan and the fan lights
usually be on the same, or separate breakers ?

I would suspect the switch. Check all the wire connections as well.

Now if you have only one light on the fan, I would suspect the socket
first.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

parangles wrote:
A cheap fan light bulb separated between the base and glass and shorted
when I was unscewing it.
Now I am not getting power at the bulb or in the wall switch.
None of the breakers appeared to be tripped and anyway I switched them
all off
and on but still no power.
Whats up ? Am I right in assuming that its a breaker, and if so how can

I identify the right one.
Thanks !

Probably the easiest way to identify the bad breaker (assuming there is
one) is with one of those little neon testers.

But there's also a possibility the overload resulted in an open circuit
at a weak spot in the wiring.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

On 16 Oct 2006 16:24:34 -0700, "Terry" wrote:

On Oct 16, 6:50 pm, "parangles" wrote:
A cheap fan light bulb separated between the base and glass and shorted
when I was unscewing it.
Now I am not getting power at the bulb or in the wall switch.
None of the breakers appeared to be tripped and anyway I switched them
all off
and on but still no power.
Whats up ? Am I right in assuming that its a breaker, and if so how can


You could have the part of the lamp still in the base. Does the fan
work?

A couple days ago, I spent ten minutes trying to get a spark plug into
the engine. Eventually I climbed on the engine and was able to stick
my fingers in far enough to reaize there was still a plug there.
Someone had come by while I was working and talking to him ruined my
routine.

On Oct 16, 6:50 pm, "parangles" wrote:
A cheap fan light bulb separated between the base and glass and shorted
when I was unscewing it.
Now I am not getting power at the bulb or in the wall switch.
None of the breakers appeared to be tripped and anyway I switched them
all off
and on but still no power.
Whats up ? Am I right in assuming that its a breaker, and if so how can

I identify the right one.
Thanks !

I reread your message after it was quoted again. If there is no power
at the switch then my guess would be a pinched wire that has melted.

You should not have power between the to screws on the switch. You
should check each wire on the switch to the bare wire in the box.

If you have the switch out and it is still dead then most likely it is
in the fan itself.

There is a chance that the breaker is on another circuit, but it would
be unlikely. Turning off the breaker that stops the fan will most
likely be the one to the lamp.

Thanks to all !

I have removed the complete light fixture from the fan.
There is no power in the wires to the light fixture.

I also removed the lights dimmer/switch on the wall,
and there is no power to it.

I identified the fan breaker and that is operating.

Also checked the overload breaker in the adjacent
bathrooms wall outlet and there is power in the outlet.

Removed the breaker panel cover but no burnt wires are
evident at a glance.

I agree probably some wire is burnt somewhere- but where ?

Removing the entire fan and checking the wires coming
out of the ceiling is the only idea I have left
Any other thoughts before I call an electrician ?

parangles wrote:
Thanks to all !

I have removed the complete light fixture from the fan.
There is no power in the wires to the light fixture.

I also removed the lights dimmer/switch on the wall,
and there is no power to it.

I identified the fan breaker and that is operating.

What do you mean by that? Is there voltage on the output line?



Also checked the overload breaker in the adjacent
bathrooms wall outlet and there is power in the outlet.


Are you certain it is on the line from the same breaker?

Removed the breaker panel cover but no burnt wires are
evident at a glance.

I agree probably some wire is burnt somewhere- but where ?

Removing the entire fan and checking the wires coming
out of the ceiling is the only idea I have left
Any other thoughts before I call an electrician ?


If there is voltage out of the breaker and there is no voltage at the
switch to the fan there has to be an open in a box somewhere before it.
If the one the next bathroom is indeed on the same circuit that might
be a place to start. If it has those wires that plug in the one coming
out might not be making good contact.



and if the outlet in the next bathroom is on the same line the open
could be in that box.

I identified the fan breaker and that is operating.

What do you mean by that? Is there voltage on the output line?

I identified a breaker that has two switches on it and one of
them cuts off power to the fan. It was suggested that usually the
same breaker operated the fan and the fan light.... hence the
breaker is not the problem ? I don't know what the other switch on
the dual breaker operates, or how to find out.

Also checked the overload breaker in the adjacent
bathrooms wall outlet and there is power in the outlet.

Are you certain it is on the line from the same breaker?

Someone suggested that as a possibility.
It is not on the fan breaker.


and if the outlet in the next bathroom is on the same line the open
could be in that box.

Opened it up - all wires well connected -power in switch and outlet.

If there is voltage out of the breaker and there is no voltage at the
switch to the fan there has to be an open in a box somewhere before it.


I don't know what breaker the light is on, and I don't know how to
identify it. None of the breakers are 'popped' -the fan breaker is OK.

Thanks.

parangles wrote:
I identified the fan breaker and that is operating.

What do you mean by that? Is there voltage on the output line?

I identified a breaker that has two switches on it and one of
them cuts off power to the fan. It was suggested that usually the
same breaker operated the fan and the fan light.... hence the
breaker is not the problem ? I don't know what the other switch on
the dual breaker operates, or how to find out.

Also checked the overload breaker in the adjacent
bathrooms wall outlet and there is power in the outlet.

Are you certain it is on the line from the same breaker?

Someone suggested that as a possibility.
It is not on the fan breaker.


and if the outlet in the next bathroom is on the same line the open
could be in that box.

Opened it up - all wires well connected -power in switch and outlet.

If there is voltage out of the breaker and there is no voltage at the
switch to the fan there has to be an open in a box somewhere before it.


I don't know what breaker the light is on, and I don't know how to
identify it. None of the breakers are 'popped' -the fan breaker is OK.

Thanks.

Ah, I don't read well :-). Or I don't read carefully. I see your
problem now. The fan works but light doesn't!!

I can't imagine that the light and fan would be on different circuits.

I guess you are saying the fan is not operated from the switch area.

Obviously you already identified which breaker feeds the fan. It would
tell you if the outlet in the bathroom is on the same circuit as the fan.

What is above the ceiling? An attic? Trying to think where they might
have tapped off power for the light switch.

Are there more than one set of wires in the ceiling? What I might
expect is to have a pair of wires bringing power to the light/fan box.
Then a pair of wires running to the light switch.

Ah, I don't read well :-). Or I don't read carefully. I see your
problem now. The fan works but light doesn't!!


You mentioned a DIMMER

If you shorted the output of a dimmer, it is probably toasted, it has
an electronic SCR component that is probably damaged. You probably
need a new dimmer.

Mark

Mark wrote:


You mentioned a DIMMER

If you shorted the output of a dimmer, it is probably toasted, it has
an electronic SCR component that is probably damaged. You probably
need a new dimmer.

Mark


Thanks but its not that Mark-

I also removed the lights dimmer/switch on the wall,
and there is no power to it.

parangles wrote:

Removing the entire fan and checking the wires coming
out of the ceiling is the only idea I have left
Any other thoughts before I call an electrician ?

Taking the fan out would be the next step. It is much easier to take
down with the blades off. Mark them so you can put them back in the
same place. If you change them around you could get a balance problem.

Thanks Rich


Ah, I don't read well :-). Or I don't read carefully.

Maybe my bad English (g)

Obviously you already identified which breaker feeds the fan. It would
tell you if the outlet in the bathroom is on the same circuit as the fan.

Bathroom is on a different circuit from fan

What is above the ceiling? An attic? Trying to think where they might
have tapped off power for the light switch.

Not going up there ! Too old !

Are there more than one set of wires in the ceiling? What I might
expect is to have a pair of wires bringing power to the light/fan box.
Then a pair of wires running to the light switch.


The wall switch box has two wires coming up from below
and they go up, out the top of the box .
ie visualise two wires passing through the box.
The light switch is connected to (tapped into) one leg , of one of
these wires,
and the other side of the switch is connected to a wire coming
down into the box from above
The only switch for the fan is on the fan itself.
(Google needs to make it possible to post photos here)

In article .com, "parangles" wrote:

(Google needs to make it possible to post photos here)

No, they don't. And Google has nothing to do with it anyway. This isn't a
binaries group, and most (if not all) news servers will strip attachments from
posts in non-binary groups. There are hundreds of binary groups where you can
post photos (though probably not through Google -- you'll need to download and
install a real news reader to do that).

There also are loads of places on the web where you can get free web space and
photo hosting.

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

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Doug Miller wrote:
In article .com, "parangles" wrote:

(Google needs to make it possible to post photos here)

No, they don't. And Google has nothing to do with it anyway. This isn't a
binaries group, and most (if not all) news servers will strip attachments from
posts in non-binary groups. There are hundreds of binary groups where you can
post photos (though probably not through Google -- you'll need to download and
install a real news reader to do that).

There also are loads of places on the web where you can get free web space and
photo hosting.

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

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

parangles wrote:
Thanks Rich


Ah, I don't read well :-). Or I don't read carefully.

Maybe my bad English (g)

Obviously you already identified which breaker feeds the fan. It would
tell you if the outlet in the bathroom is on the same circuit as the fan.

Bathroom is on a different circuit from fan
What is above the ceiling? An attic? Trying to think where they might
have tapped off power for the light switch.

Not going up there ! Too old !
Are there more than one set of wires in the ceiling? What I might
expect is to have a pair of wires bringing power to the light/fan box.
Then a pair of wires running to the light switch.


The wall switch box has two wires coming up from below
and they go up, out the top of the box .
ie visualise two wires passing through the box.
The light switch is connected to (tapped into) one leg , of one of
these wires,
and the other side of the switch is connected to a wire coming
down into the box from above
The only switch for the fan is on the fan itself.
(Google needs to make it possible to post photos here)



OK, That is a clear picture. The way I would see it is that the wire
that passes through the box is the fan. So your power is coming from
below. Basement or from someplace in the wall. I suppose in the wall.
So, if there is no voltage at the switch the problem is to find out
where that wire goes, the one that goes down from the switch.

At this point a map of all the outlets in the house would be useful. I
have such a thing posted inside my breaker box. I went through all the
breakers, turning them off one at a time and made a map of all the
outlets and lights and which breaker controls them.

You could do that now and perhaps find out what outlets are controlled
by the fan (light?) breaker.

That double set of wires must have been installed at the same time.
Normally there would be just the one set running through the switch.

Thanks Rich,
I've given up on this and called an electrician.
I'll post back here afterwards so anyone who's
curious can see what it was.

The map/list of outlets/breakers is a must for the future-
Good idea.

Cheers,
Chris.

On 17 Oct 2006 07:50:41 -0700, "parangles"
wrote:


I identified the fan breaker and that is operating.

What do you mean by that? Is there voltage on the output line?

I identified a breaker that has two switches on it and one of
them cuts off power to the fan. It was suggested that usually the
same breaker operated the fan and the fan light...

The ceiling fans I have seen have 4 wires, black (hot for fan), white
(neutral), blue (hot for light), and green (ground). Both fan and
light use the same wire for neutral. You would not be able to connect
fan and light to separate circuits without creating a potentially
dangerous condition.

. hence the
breaker is not the problem ? I don't know what the other switch on
the dual breaker operates, or how to find out.

Also checked the overload breaker in the adjacent
bathrooms wall outlet and there is power in the outlet.

Are you certain it is on the line from the same breaker?

Someone suggested that as a possibility.
It is not on the fan breaker.


and if the outlet in the next bathroom is on the same line the open
could be in that box.

Opened it up - all wires well connected -power in switch and outlet.

If there is voltage out of the breaker and there is no voltage at the
switch to the fan there has to be an open in a box somewhere before it.


I don't know what breaker the light is on, and I don't know how to
identify it. None of the breakers are 'popped' -the fan breaker is OK.

Thanks.
--
69 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"God was invented by man for a reason, that
reason is no longer applicable."

parangles wrote:
Thanks Rich,
I've given up on this and called an electrician.
I'll post back here afterwards so anyone who's
curious can see what it was.

The map/list of outlets/breakers is a must for the future-
Good idea.

Cheers,
Chris.

Thanks, we will be watching.

On Oct 17, 12:06 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article .com, "parangles" wrote:

(Google needs to make it possible to post photos here)No, they don't. And Google has nothing to do with it anyway. This isn't a
binaries group, and most (if not all) news servers will strip attachments from
posts in non-binary groups. There are hundreds of binary groups where you can
post photos (though probably not through Google -- you'll need to download and
install a real news reader to do that).

There also are loads of places on the web where you can get free web space and
photo hosting.

--
The best way to post a pic/screenshot is go to tinypic.com.

--
The best way to post a pic/screenshot is go to tinypic.com.

I'll post it on Comcast, my ISP, and paste a link here.


Got this fixed by an electrician moonlighting after hours.
Cost $75 - Ouch ! Wires that fed back from the fan into the wall
switch were burnt. Burnt dimmer switch also needed replacement.
Thanks to all.

On 17 Oct 2006 15:09:51 -0700, "Terry" wrote:

On Oct 17, 12:06 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article .com, "parangles" wrote:

(Google needs to make it possible to post photos here)No, they don't. And Google has nothing to do with it anyway. This isn't a
binaries group, and most (if not all) news servers will strip attachments from
posts in non-binary groups. There are hundreds of binary groups where you can
post photos (though probably not through Google -- you'll need to download and
install a real news reader to do that).

There also are loads of places on the web where you can get free web space and
photo hosting.

--
The best way to post a pic/screenshot is go to tinypic.com.

I already have a website, so I'd find it easier to post it there.
--
65 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"God was invented by man for a reason, that
reason is no longer applicable."

On Oct 21, 12:26 pm, Mark Lloyd wrote:

The best way to post a pic/screenshot is go to tinypic.com.

I already have a website, so I'd find it easier to post it there.

I have a web page too, but I still find it easier to post temporary
stuff like screenshots at tinypic. Tinypic works for people that do
and people that don't use their web page.

Also, you don't have to worry about how long to leave a temporary pic
on your web site.

On Oct 21, 9:52 am, "parangles" wrote:
--
The best way to post a pic/screenshot is go to tinypic.com.I'll post it on Comcast, my ISP, and paste a link here.

Got this fixed by an electrician moonlighting after hours.
Cost $75 - Ouch ! Wires that fed back from the fan into the wall
switch were burnt. Burnt dimmer switch also needed replacement.
Thanks to all.

You are lucky that damage was where the electrician could get to it.
You can't get anyone out to your house for less than that. $75 is a
fair price.