this problem has happened twice that i know of. the first time was a couple of weeks ago, and then again today.
one of our power outlets is connected to two light switches. we have a table lamp plugged into the outlet, and tend to turn it on via one of the wall switches when we get home. anyway, both of these times, nothing has happened i've used the switch by the front door. i switched it back and forth a couple of times, with no result. *but* when the other switch was tried next, the lamp came on as normal. and
*after* having used the second switch to turn on the light, the first one works as normal again.now, i felt the semi-working switch plate today and it felt warm, but not hot. the wall also feels warm around it (mostly in a vertical line to the side of the plate), but my husband thinks that there's a hot water pipe running through there since it's just on the other side of the wall from the kitchen sink.
we rent an apartment and are on the second floor, so it does make sense that a hot water pipe is in there, as our upstairs neighbor's kitchen is arranged identically to ours. my point in saying this is that we're not sure the switch plate is actually warm of its own volition, or if it just is carrying the heat from the wall.
we did open up the switch plate tonight, and found that the ground wire was not attached to the screw as was the one next to it (this is a double-light switch), so my husband reattached the wire and then we closed it. we don't know whether that was the problem, though.
as it's friday evening and this monday is a holiday, my apartment manager will be in on tuesday. i can call maintenance if this is an emergency, but i don't know if it is. does anyone have any idea, please?