A really weird ceiling fan working / light not coming on problem

[Aaron Eel]

Hi one and all

I am having a little problem. Last night I turned on the wall switch that activates my ceiling fan / 60 watt light in my daughter's room. The light bulb popped out with a blue flash. No big deal right? I went and got another bulb but it didn't work either. I tested it in another light and it worked fine. I tried a second new bulb and it too did not work but worked fine elsewhere. Both the light and the fan are controlled separately with pull chains. There is a single wall switch that provides power to both. I have been leaving the fan chain in the off position because one blade broke off a month or so ago. The light chain was on the on position when I turned on the wall switch.The fan works fin by the chain and the wall switch. I had a neighbor test the wiring right up to and including the inside of the light reciprocal with a voltage tester. Each step of the way the tester read 110 red for good. Even on the tab where the light bulb makes contact inside the bulb socket. It turned red when the chain was on and off when the chain was in the off as well. What gives here? How can the tab that the bulb touches have power but none of the bulbs will work?

Thanks for your help everybody! Thanks! Ehrin

[Aaron Eel]

It wasn't made very clear in my first letter but the fan works ok both by the chain and by the wall switch. it's only the light thats acting weird.

Ehrin

[RBM]

It wasn't made very clear in my first letter but the fan works ok both by the chain and by the wall switch. it's only the light thats acting weird.

Ehrin

You're tester presumably proved that you have the hot leg at the socket, but you need a neutral as well. The flash could have opened the neutral conductor. You need to use a tester with two leads. Touch one lead to the socket shell and one to the tongue, but it's probably easier to just replace the fixture, if not the entire fan

[JimR]

It's also possible that the tab that makes contact with the base of the bulb has been bent back slightly so that it doesn't make contact when the bulb is screwed in, or that the flash you saw was actually a spark jumping from the tab to the bulb which left a burned spot on the tab that doesn't conduct electricity.to the bulb

On one occasion I've had to take a small screwdriver and gently pry that little tab forward so that the bulb regains contact when it's screwed in, and/or use a file or knifepoint to clean off the tab. Of course, make sure the power is off before you try this --

[Aaron Eel]

On Apr 20, 7:33=EF=BF=BDpm, "RBM" wrote:

Hi guys

First let me offer my thanks to both of you for your answers. Thank you. Jim, as to the disposition of the tab, the tab is out and making contact with the contact point on the bulb. I can feel that myself. The neutral thing was tested just like you said, RBM. After making sure the light chain was on (by testing the hot line like we did before) the red pointer was made to touch the tab in the socket and the black made to contact the inner aluminum looking threaded socket lining I guess you might call it. No red light. What does this mean? What part of the deal do we need to replace? Can I just replace the bulb socket or is it something up in the fan? Is it dangerous to leave it off but hooked up? And does this problem extend back into the writing of the house? Remember, the fan part works fine. We took the wall switch out yesterday and got no red light signal out of that although I'm not sure we touched the right things then. This was before I learned that the fan part worked. I even touched both the wires together that go to the wall switch and not even a spark. I touched them as well and no shock even. I know I did that part right! I did receive a shock today from touching the two wires between the fan relay in the base of the fan and the light socket. There was a splice point and we undid the wires there to test and I inadvertently touched them and got a shock at some point. I don't know why I didn't get a shock off of the wall switch wires though. Electricity is very strange.

Aaron Eel (Ehrin)

[admin]

Hi Ehrin; I had a very similar thing happen to us on a jobsite, where we were renovating a home. Turns out the previous owner had put a nail through the power line leading to the light, which shorted the neutral to hot, which started blowing up the light bulbs, and making even the casing of the light 'hot'. Could've burned the house down. We started tracing the lines, and eventually found the nail through the electrical line. You should look at where recent screws or nails have been added, likely a line has been compromised, or there is a short inside the electrical box up top. Could even be a roof leak shorting out that box.... J

[dadiOH]

A house switch only has one wire...it comes in, it goes out but it's the same wire. You need *two* wires to fry yourself.

[Aaron Eel]

I see better now but not because I have my light fixed. Five different answers from five different people. Wow. Sorry the harder questions stumped you guys.

Ehrin

[dadiOH]

Maybe because the answer is obvious? Replace the pull chain switch.

[Aaron Eel]

Thanks for the advice Dad. I actually bought one before I even entered this post, but since the tester registered hot when we touched the tab and the base of the fan fixture, I figured that it can't be a switch. Is it possible that the existing bad switch is letting in only half the current? I think the other guy was right. There's a little circuit board thing up inside where all the wires from the light meet up with all the wires from the fan. It's probably in that board. Another other guy said I might have driven a nail into a wire in the wall but no nails have been hammered lately. I'll bet the fan is shot in the board area. I hate to open that new five dollar switch and have the same problem.

Aaaaa Rrrrr ONnnnn Eeeeeeel

(Ehrin Lloyd)