Hey guys,

I have a light fixture on a 2-way switch that suddenly died. After
doing some troubleshooting, I found out that when I turned the switch
"on", the hot wire would go dead. When I turned the switch "off", the
hot wire would be hot. I tried swapping the switch with a known good
one, but the behavior persists. I have replaced the light fixture, and
it has not resolved the issue. Also, one thing that did resolve the
symptom was leaving the light fixture disconnected, and the hot wire,
going from the switch to the fixture, hang loose. When nothing was
connected, the wire would be hot when the switch was "on."

Any ideas on how to resolve this?

Cheers,
Trevor

On Tue, 9 Mar 2010 19:14:46 -0800 (PST), pcgeek86
wrote:

Is your switch upside down? The terminals should be on your right.

Hey guys,

I have a light fixture on a 2-way switch that suddenly died. After
doing some troubleshooting, I found out that when I turned the switch
"on", the hot wire would go dead. When I turned the switch "off", the
hot wire would be hot. I tried swapping the switch with a known good
one, but the behavior persists. I have replaced the light fixture, and
it has not resolved the issue. Also, one thing that did resolve the
symptom was leaving the light fixture disconnected, and the hot wire,
going from the switch to the fixture, hang loose. When nothing was
connected, the wire would be hot when the switch was "on."

Any ideas on how to resolve this?

Cheers,
Trevor

On Mar 9, 11:40*pm, Jesse wrote:
On Tue, 9 Mar 2010 19:14:46 -0800 (PST), pcgeek86
wrote:

Is your switch upside down? The terminals should be on your right.



Hey guys,

I have a light fixture on a 2-way switch that suddenly died. After
doing some troubleshooting, I found out that when I turned the switch
"on", the hot wire would go dead. When I turned the switch "off", the
hot wire would be hot. I tried swapping the switch with a known good
one, but the behavior persists. I have replaced the light fixture, and
it has not resolved the issue. Also, one thing that did resolve the
symptom was leaving the light fixture disconnected, and the hot wire,
going from the switch to the fixture, hang loose. When nothing was
connected, the wire would be hot when the switch was "on."

Any ideas on how to resolve this?

Cheers,
Trevor- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Do you mean you have two switches that control the light? If only
one, have you checked the connection to the neutral from the light
fixture?

On Mar 9, 7:14*pm, pcgeek86 wrote:
Hey guys,

I have a light fixture on a 2-way switch that suddenly died. After
doing some troubleshooting, I found out that when I turned the switch
"on", the hot wire would go dead. When I turned the switch "off", the
hot wire would be hot. I tried swapping the switch with a known good
one, but the behavior persists. I have replaced the light fixture, and
it has not resolved the issue. Also, one thing that did resolve the
symptom was leaving the light fixture disconnected, and the hot wire,
going from the switch to the fixture, hang loose. When nothing was
connected, the wire would be hot when the switch was "on."

Any ideas on how to resolve this?

Cheers,
Trevor

Are you sure you’re not confusing the neutral for the hot? Sometimes
you can get a voltage from the neutral that can make it seem like the
hot until you connect it to a load.

"pcgeek86" wrote in message
...
Hey guys,

I have a light fixture on a 2-way switch that suddenly died. After
doing some troubleshooting, I found out that when I turned the switch
"on", the hot wire would go dead. When I turned the switch "off", the
hot wire would be hot. I tried swapping the switch with a known good
one, but the behavior persists. I have replaced the light fixture, and
it has not resolved the issue. Also, one thing that did resolve the
symptom was leaving the light fixture disconnected, and the hot wire,
going from the switch to the fixture, hang loose. When nothing was
connected, the wire would be hot when the switch was "on."

Any ideas on how to resolve this?

Cheers,
Trevor

Look carefully at the switch. A single pole single throw switch usually is
marked "OFF" and "ON". A single pole double throw switch has no such
markings as the switch at the top of the stairs (or at one end of the
hallway)can either be up or down with the fixture is on depending on the
position of the switch at the bottom of the stairs (or at the other end of
the hallway).


--

__
Roger Shoaf

Important factors in selecting a mate:
1] Depth of gene pool
2] Position on the food chain.

I have a light fixture on a 2-way switch that suddenly died. After
doing some troubleshooting, I found out that when I turned the switch
"on", the hot wire would go dead. When I turned the switch "off", the
hot wire would be hot. I tried swapping the switch with a known good
one, but the behavior persists. I have replaced the light fixture, and
it has not resolved the issue. Also, one thing that did resolve the
symptom was leaving the light fixture disconnected, and the hot wire,
going from the switch to the fixture, hang loose. When nothing was
connected, the wire would be hot when the switch was "on."

Any ideas on how to resolve this?


*Stop using a meter to check voltage. Use a pigtail socket and bulb
instead. You may have a problem with the neutral (White wire). Check every
connection on that circuit and the connections at the circuit breaker panel.

Hey thanks for the responses guys! Let me see if I can respond to each
one:

Q: Is the switch upside down?

A: The switch is not upside down - the terminals are indeed on the
right-hand side.

Q: Do I have two switches controlling the light?

A: No, I only have one switch controlling the light. I had a similar
style switch next to it (for a different light), that I swapped
switches with, to rule out the switch being bad.

Q: Am I confusing neutral with hot?

A: I don't think I am ... At the fixture, the neutral is white, and
the hot supply wire is orange. At the switch, the hot supply wire is
yellow, and the one going to the fixture is orange.

Q: What type of switch am I using? (pointed at Roger)

A: It's a single rocker switch; That is the only switch controlling
this fixture.

So, in follow up to my answers .. if we assume at this point, that the
neutral is somehow dead, then how can I go about finding where? At the
electrical box where the fixture is mounted, there are actually about
5 different neutral wires coming together, with a wire nut there. That
neutral wire nut is where the light fixture is being spliced into the
neutral line. All the other devices on that circuit are working just
fine, as best I can tell.

Cheers,
Trevor

On Mar 10, 11:00*am, pcgeek86 wrote:
So, in follow up to my answers .. if we assume at this point, that the
neutral is somehow dead, then how can I go about finding where? At the
electrical box where the fixture is mounted, there are actually about
5 different neutral wires coming together, with a wire nut there. That
neutral wire nut is where the light fixture is being spliced into the
neutral line. All the other devices on that circuit are working just
fine, as best I can tell.

Cheers,
Trevor

The basic procedure here is to stop changing things and to start
testing things in a logical order. You should have 120V at the hot
wire coming to the switch. With the switch off you should have 0
volts leaving the switch. With the switch on you should have 120V
leaving the switch. You should measure the above relative to
neutral and ground and the results should be the same. You keep
following the circuit until you find what's wrong.

Some of what you posted makes no sense, ie that you have voltage when
the switch is off instead of when it's on.

So, in follow up to my answers .. if we assume at this point, that the
neutral is somehow dead, then how can I go about finding where? At the
electrical box where the fixture is mounted, there are actually about
5 different neutral wires coming together, with a wire nut there. That
neutral wire nut is where the light fixture is being spliced into the
neutral line. All the other devices on that circuit are working just
fine, as best I can tell.


*It is not unusual for other things to work fine when you have a problem.
You could have a loose connection on the load side of a receptacle. Start
opening up outlets on that circuit that are close to the problem switch and
light. Also check that splice of five wires in the ceiling box. Also make
sure all of the connections are tight in your circuit breaker box.

Is this circuit wired using conduit?