Bathroom Light Problem

[scamp]

Last night the bathroom light begun to flicker and the switch, which is outside the bathroom, was very hot. This morning I have changed the light bulb twice and on each occasion the light flickers and there is a crackling noise from the switch, then the bulb blows. I have checked both the switch and light fitting for loose connections but they are o/k. Can anyone help?

 

[Adam_151]

Replace the switch

 

[Ragnarok]

Absolutely replace the switch. An overheating switch is a sure sign of a faulty contact. The wiring connections may be sound but you cant guarantee that the contacts inside the switch are making a sound connection.

 

[Diyisfun]

I hope you pull the fuse or switch off the supply first, you can do it live but BE CAREFUL.

 

[Steve]

you can do it live but BE CAREFUL.

 

[nstreet]

you can do it live but BE CAREFUL.

Only once if you're unlucky. Not really the sort of safe advice that we should be giving on this forum though imo.

 

[Gary0]

Yeah all the above 3 posts are correct.

Confess I don't turn my whole house off to remove the fuse to where I'm working, naughty me. But I do only use the one hand, so if I get bit, only the neighbours will hear me yell.

 

[Spark123]

you can do it live but BE CAREFUL.

What do you mean by do it live?
If you mean replace the switch with the power on I would seriously question your ability to carry out DIY electrical work safely.
As with all DIY electrical work, the power should be isolated before any work on a circuit is carried out.
In a DIY environent I would also advise switching off the main switch on the CU before removing/inserting a fuse.

 

[Gary0]

Pull the fuse ?

 

[Spark123]

Pull the fuse ?

I hope that is what he means, although I would advise against this with the power on, switch power off first before removing fuse.
Please be aware that we all need to be careful when posting that the post is not left open to interpretation.
Myself and as far as I can tell, Crafty and Nstreet also read this as changing the switch.

 

[Adam_151]

Its idiotic to advise someone that they can do work with things live. Its one thing to work live yourself, you know your own ability (well at least I'd hope so if you are making these kinds of decisions), and if you get it wrong, its you that gets shocked, however telling someone else that its ok is in a different class all together, you don't know what their ability is, and if it goes wrong, you'd be reponsible for causing someone other than yourself a shock.

short version, its never 'ok' to work live, however experienced and skilled people do from time to time bend the rules, but thats a decision they make using their experience, SWITCH IT OFF