Weird Electrical Question (2025 Update)

Aug 24, 2003 Last reply: 8 months ago 4 Replies

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FL 22 years ago

I hope someone can help me with this weird situation.

Recently Ive started having problems with the wall switches in my basement. All of a sudden they've stopped working. On the dual switch circuit, if I jiggle the switches it sometimes it works and sometimes doesn't. On the single switch circuit, I unwired the switch and connected the wires directly and it all worked fine. This has happened on two different basement circuits so far.

This summer our area has been hit by a lot of short power outtages. Im thinking that this may have something to do with it. But Im unsure b/c so far it seems limited to the basement area of the house.

Anyone have any thoughts? I would appreciate any advice. Hopefully I wont have to keep buying and replacing switches indefinitely.

Thanks. snipped-for-privacy@xxxhotmail.com (remove xxx to reply directly)

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Patel 22 years ago

"FL" snipped-for-privacy@xxxhotmail.com wrote in news:7r32b.177522$ snipped-for-privacy@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net:

It seems obvious that this is a bad switch.

One is an exception, two is a coincidence, three is a trend. You can't draw conclusions based on two events; you sound like somthing extensive is hppening but it is only 2 circuits.

You post does not indicate that you have ever replaced any switches. Did you put in a new swich and thn have the same thing happen?

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Joe Bobst 22 years ago

If you have back-wired bargain class switches, simply replace the lot for safety's sake. Newer (pricier) back stabbers are supposed to be better at clampng the wires. If you have aluminum wiring (rare these days) plan for a copper upgrade. Good luck.

Joe

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FL 22 years ago

I just finished replacing the single switch and now that seems to work perfectly. Ill tackle the other 2 switches later this week. Just wanted to make sure that this wasnt a sign of some faulty and potentially dangerous wiring problem in my house.

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Jeff Cochran 22 years ago

Well, it is. But luckily, it appears to be all switch related. Buy a box of commercial grade switches, replace all of them and don't use the backstab method. Might want to check the outlets as well, if they were wired at the same time with the same grade materials.

Jeff

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