hI,
can anyone help ? a few weeks ago my downstairs lights started flickering and the circuits tripped out which i reset and the lights were ok for a while, now they wont come on, sockets are still working ok but not the lights.
I have checked all the wiring to the lights and switches and everything seems fine so i dont know what to check next.
could this be an easy fix or a hard expensive one, the house is 11 years old and is a modern wimpey house.
any advice would be appreciated.
thanks...

Any work been done on the light circuit recently??

hi,
no, no work has been done recently.
its a total mystery !!!
ta.

Has the breaker tripped at the fuse-box?

if not and there is still no light, then chances are there is a loose or broken connection at one of the ceiling roses/light fittings.

Ensure electric is OFF before checking..

how many wires have you got showing at each ceiling rose?

What type of consumer unit/ fusebox do you have/
What tripped the first time? the mcb/fuse for the lights? or all the circuits?
If all your lights are out, have you reset the mcb replaced the fuse?


Let us know.

John

Agree with wine~o, broken or detached wire.

Buy yourself a volt stick for around £12.00, that way you can follow the lights, switches etc to see whether you have 240v at each switch and light, without getting into too much trouble.

Not likely to work if it's a neutral fault though.....

Very true

The alternative is paying an electrician, maybe a couple of hundred quid to check it all out with a multimeter.

Hi Folks,
Thanks for all the replies to my problem, I bought a multimeter tonight to check for continuity to sockets etc, so providing i dont get blown up i will let you know how i get on.
thanks again.

Turn the sparky stuff off if your checking continuity.

It's the lights you're checking not the sockets.

Hi Hector, whereabouts are you in the country , if your still stuck maybe one of us lives in your area and could take a look for you . Its unlikeley but it could even be a faulty MCB, however i dont recommend you open your fusebox if you do not feel competent to do so.

Nick

Hi Folks,
problem solved ! I had another try at fixing it again this morning, taking down the lights checking the wiring etc.
Everything seemed to be as it should be but i decided to take down my bathroom ceiling light (again) and tidy the wires up a bit as they were untidy but looked ok, after that was done i put the electricity back on to make a cup of tea and BINGO!!! all the lights started working again..
I have no idea how they stopped working in the first place and have no idea why they are working now, I can only assume it was a broken or loose wire as was suggested in my replies and i missed it.
Thank you to all who replied to my question which was of great help, no doubt i will be back on soon with more problems.
thanks again.