Annoying Pull Cord Light switch

It's probably worn out. A common design of such switches has a rotating element similar to that in some push button ball pens. There are usually several alterating ON and OFF positions with a single rotation, and I'm guessing some of yours are broken.

Thanks to all for your answers to this and other previous post.

The easiest solution seems to be to replace the switch as it sounds faulty and no one can come up with any ideas as to why it would be working like this.

I agree with the previous, someone I know has the same problem, and when you pull it in a certain direction is turns on presumably the other bits are broken. But that explains why it takes a few tugs - trying to grip one that works fine.

Not sure about replacing it, but surely it cannot be that hard, but then what do i know?

replying to Paul Mylum, JDWY wrote: Our bathroom switch does this too! I tell the grandkids it is magic ?actually it is very annoying. Don?t mean to be negative but this the third switch we have tried, cheap ones, more expensive ones all have ended up doing this so we just go with it now. Sometimes it won?t pull at all and you have to yank at it so hard you are sure it will come off the ceiling- it doesn?t and it the works but still three pulls. Will watch for solutions with great interest.

ive but this the

a non-pull lightswitch outside the room is one way.

NT

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com submitted this idea :

But then anyone passing by the door can turn the light off whilst you are in there.. :-)

How about a capacitive switch on the wall inside the room?

Rob Morley explained on 12/02/2018 :

Or a PIR occupancy switch?

WD40 for a while fixes this sort of thing, but in the end it seems to be the grinding of the plastic against plastic inside that causes it to jam up.Most of the good ones have a slightly longer peg, for want of a better word, for attaching the chord to that also passes through a second ring to avoid the leverage effect that buggers them up. I've had one on a fire in my bathroom for over 10 years now. It even has a little red light, not of much help to me these days however. Brian

You are a bit late as the post you are replying to as it's nearly 12 years old. It's one of the problems with using home owners hub which only gives you posts decades old.

See

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Brian Gaff explained on 12/02/2018 :

A little warning about WD40 - it is quite flammable. The heat from the resistance of a poor set of contacts, is quite capable of igniting it. How do I know - it happened to me, trying to use it to sort out the internal power switch on a TV.

In my experience its often the (plaster) "grit" falling from the hole for the wires getting into the mechanism that causes the switch to start failing or getting more difficult to pull. This may be a bigger problem with a lath and plaster ceiling where the plaster is more sandy. To minimise this type of problem I've painted around the hole with PVA to stabalise/seal when I've fitted pull cord switches.