Lightbump blown all lights out

[Robert79]

Last night my living room ceiling lamp (which has a dimmer switch) popped and all the lights in the flat went out.

So far I have tried:

replacing the bulb (which had a burn on the plastic part)
replacing the fixture
refitting a fuse wire to the fuse next to the meter (although it didn't seem damaged)

None of these solved the problem.

Through googling it seems my next option is replacing the dimmer switch or dimmer fuse.

Does this make sense?
Any other recommendations?

Do I need to do something to the Henley box? Does this also have a fuse?

Thanks

 

[JohnD]

It is nothing to do with the Henley block (how did you know what it was?) and you must not touch it. There is no fuse inside.

If it is all the lights in the flat that have stopped working, it is probably not the dimmer since this only controls a single room. Check. However if you have downlighters, especially low-voltage ones, it may be related to poor connections when they were installed.

When a filament bulb blows, it often creates a momentary surge of heavy load (especially from spotlights, I find) which often trips an MCB and sometimes blows a fuse. If the circuit is old or in poor condition it might also burn out a loose connection. This can be traced because it will be either the last lamp along the circuit that works, or the first that doesn't (lighting circuits are run in a row like beads on a necklace, sometimes with bits running off the sides) and is usually in the ceiling rose. Energy Saving Lamps (CFLs) don't cause this surge, yet another advantage to add to low cost, long life, tolerance of voltage fluctuations and economy in use)

Your description of the fuse you changed is not clear. If you really do have fusewire, your installation is likely to be very old, neglected, and/or in poor condition. Show us some photos please, especially of the consumer unit "fusebox", meter, and the cables around and between them; and of a typical lightswitch and ceiling fitting, and show the fuse that you changed. See //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129539

If you have replaced the ceiling fitting you may have done it wrong and caused an additional fault. What coloured wires did you have, and what did you do with them?

 

[pjcomp]

If you know the wiring route between light fittings, check the fitting closest to the fusebox. What may have happened is that, instead of the fuse wire blowing, the live or neutral wire blew in one of the fittings. When insulation is stripped or wires are screwed down into terminals it can lead to a thin point in the wire, which then acts just the same as a fuse - power surge blows the weak point. A visual check doesn't usually show the break so you'll need to give a gentle pull on all the wires to see if one has come loose (power off, of course).

PJ

 

[Robert79]

I think the fuse I replaced was possibly the wrong one - for sockets not the lights. It was the only one I could find.

I live in a converted flat and seem to have a communal fusebox in the downstairs hallway. Can I open the fuse box and change my fuse without turning off everyone's supply?

 

[JohnD]

Show us some photos please, especially of the consumer unit "fusebox", meter, and the cables around and between them; and of a typical lightswitch and ceiling fitting, and show the fuse that you changed. See //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129539

Go on then.

 

[Robert79]

all sorted

Found my hidden fuse box and rewired the RIGHT one this time

Sorry for wasting your time