Light switch not working!

jtbel

Hello, In my laundry room the ceiling light stopped working. I looked at it and noticed that the light fixture insulation and the wire box was black. The wires from the light fixture were also coroded. I then replaced the fixture with one that has three lights that are extended from the base so as not to overheat the base like the previous fixture. The lights work, but the wall switch will not turn them off anymore. It worked fine before the problem ocurred. I replaced the wall switch with a new one and no change. Please help, why is the wall switch no longer turning the lights off?

joed

What happens when you flip the switch? Does the breaker trip? If it does you changed the wiring at the light trying to fix a perceived problem of whites connected to blacks.
Please describe all the wires at the light fixture.

Christopher

jtbel,

It appears that the new fixture is not connected to the same wires as the old fixture. The black fixture wires must connect to a single wire coming from the light switch. The second wire on the light switch connects to the power source.

Refer to the wiring diagram here:

http://www.hometips.com/hyhw/electrical/22switches.html

Ture light fixture off at circuit panel and compare.

...Christopher

jtbel

Thanks for the web page. I think where I went wrong was in buying a three way switch. If there was originally a switch with 2 terminals and I replaced it with a 3 terminal switch would it still work?

joed

It would if you connected one of the leads to the common screw. If not then it would be off all the time.