Lighting ring off, circuit breaker still on

[IanMayo]

Hi all, got a strange situation at home: the upstairs lighting ring is off (no lights works), but the circuit breaker covering that ring is still on (all the circuit breakers are still closed).

We're in a 12 yr old conventional house, and had our fuse box moved about 9 months ago. We have no other electrical problems - to my knowledge.

My wife replaced a bulb the bathroom last night, after which the lights worked fine. This morning the lights just "went off".

Hey, I'm stumped.

Any suggestions?

Ian.

[David Hansen]

On 8 Mar 2007 22:54:49 -0800 someone who may be "IanMayo" wrote this:-

I very much doubt if your lighting circuit is a ring.

Then there is likely to be a broken conductor somewhere between the circuit breaker and the first light on the circuit.

Then the broken conductor may be a joint in the light fitting. It may have been pushed together by inserting the bulb and then come apart.

First turn off the whole installation at the main switch, not the circuit breaker. Then check the light fitting for broken wires.

[Tony Williams]

Since the consumer unit is the most recent change then this could be the initial suspect.

Turn off the supply to the consumer unit. Then have a look at the wiring to that circuit breaker. Can any screws be tightened down, or is there any sign of burning? Check the Neutral connections as well. Then exercise the circuit breaker a few times.

Whilst you are there run along all connections and check the screws for tightness.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say then the likely cause is poor workmanship when the CU was moved - either a loose or broken connection at the MCB or bussbar, or perhaps where the circuit was extended if indeed it was.

[John Rumm]

One other thing to check is that the circuit breaker is actually working correctly. I have found some in the past that don't seem to switch on electrically every time you turn them on mechanically.

How close is the bathroom to the CU? Is it likely that it is the first light on the circuit? If so, you probably have a loose connection.

[Clive Mitchell]

In message , IanMayo writes

How far was the fuse box moved. Is there a big joint box for all the original wires as a result or was it only moved slightly?

It could be one of the following:-

Bad breaker. Rare but worth checking. Loose wire in breaker. Bad joint from when consumer unit was moved. Detached or broken wire in ceiling rose. Suspect the one associated with the lamp change.

When investigating these things turn the whole consumer unit off and remember that live connections will still be present at the main isolators.

This is the sort of fault that it would be handy to test for with a set of suitable test lamps, however, that would involve poking in amongst live connections and isn't recommended for anyone not well experienced in electrical work.

[Andy Dingley]

Your lights are on a ring?

Are _any_ of the breakers off? If so, then the lights might not be on the circuit you expected (Anyone else with added en-suite shower- rooms entirely powered by the shower circuit?)

Otherwise it's likely to be a simple failure in something, somewhere. Fix it, or have it fixed. Normal diagnostic rules apply.