Electrical Question

[Alan]

Hi,

Here is my situation.

Have a light switch that controls 2 lights -- A & B on opposite sides of the front of my house. The wire runs from switch to light A and then a wire runs from A to B. Both lights used to work. I recently had construction in my house and had new wood siding put up outside and drywall inside. Now light A works but B does not.

Here is the weird thing. When I put my electrical sensor (I don't have a volt meter, just the device that beeps if current is present) to the wires of light B, it beeps as if current is present when the switch is on. However, the fixture does not work. I have tried new fixture and new bulb including moving the fixutre from A that I know works there.

I am guessing that during remodeling they somehow hit the wire with a nail or screw. But why do I show some current there at all? And if they hit it with a screw/nail, shouldn't I get a short and keep blowing a breaker when I turn on the lights?

Can anyone shed some light (sorry for the pun) on this for me? I am hoping there is a good answer as trying to run a new wire will be difficult and expensive for me.

Thanks.

Alan

[RBM]

Two continuous wires are needed for the light to work. The hot leg, which your tester indicates that you have, and the neutral, or grounded leg, which you apparently don't have. The first thing I would do is be sure that the splices at light A are tight, beyond that, it would appear that the neutral has been severed

[aa]

It sound like you have a broken neutral wire. With the switch on and the light bulb in place, check the neutral wire (white) with your sensor. If it beeps, then you have a broken neutral wire somewhere downstream. If it does not beep, then the problem is with the light fixture itself, which should be easy to fix.

Most problems occur at the fixtures, and rarely on the wires behind the walls. I would check the neutral wires on both lights to make sure none of them have come loose.

[mm]

I don't have one of these things that beeps, so I really don't know, but does it beep when current is present, or when voltage is? If current were flowing in the area between A and B, it's either going through the lightbulb or a short circuit or something.

You know that there can be voltage without current, right?

You need to by a VOM, a volt-ohmmeter. They measure current too but not AC current and not the amounts used by household appliances.

Turn off the breaker, screw a good lightbulb in... doorbell, got to go.

[Andrew Sarangan]

They come in both types, as a current sensor or as a voltage sensor, or some of them have dual mode. It is a handy device because it is a noncontact measurement. I think the original poster was saying current when he actually meant voltage.

[mm]

Thanks. I gotta get me one. I don't really have a use for it now, but I gotta get me one.

[<kjpro]

If they hit the neutral, you will still have a hot lead that your detector is sensing. However, you don&#39;t have a complete circuit that the lighting fixture needs.

[<kjpro]

Didn&#39;t read where he changed the fixture out?

Until people remodel their homes and the wiring becomes a source of problems!

[Colbyt]

When you have a run like you describe it is fairly common to join the wires in box A and feed the fixture with a pigtail. If you have a wirenut connection in that box, check to make sure the connections are tight.and both hot and neutral are being delivered to box B.

Sorry to say, it sounds like a nail or screw may have cut the wire somewhere. If it was the neutral that was cut, it would not trip a breaker.

Colbyt