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Lights on... no power to switch

2K views 22 replies 5 participants last post by  kbsparky 
#1 ·
Have hall lights controlled by 3 way switches. The problem is one day I turned the lights on and now neither switch will turn lights off. Replaced both switches...no power to switches and lights are still on?
 
#4 ·
Sorry, don't know what else to tell you....turned lights on and won"t turn off....tested wires at both switches and no power at either switch. Have to have connections in a junction box buried somewhere because there are only three wires at each switch with no other wires connected in either box and the light fixtures only have a hot and neutral in each ceiling box!
 
#8 ·
Lights would not turn off before I replaced the switches...were working fine ..then one day they would not turn off. Dropped fixtures down from ceiling boxes so I could check wire connections that is how I know what wires are there.. No power coming to the switches !
 
#13 ·
Didn't turn on by them selves....turned on and then would not turn off with either switch...own home but is obvious previous owner did some creative wiring on his own....home over 100 years old with some upgrades...but have no idea where he might have tied the power in for these switches...not at fixtures and not at lights....has to be a junction somewhere behind walls or in ceiling!
 
#19 ·
Unfortunatly no ceiling boxes at either fixture...just wire coming out of the ceiling....and just 2 wires at each fixture...and to complicate thing this is a 3 story so there is a finished floor on the 3rd floor...wish it was an unfloored attic!!
 
#21 ·
There has been no recent electrical work done.......it appears that years ago some new creative wiring was done! Have areas where new wire tied to old and when I say creative...I mean places where 14-3 should have been used and 14-2 was used and a single wire run along side it. The old wire is cloth covered individual wires from what I can see....nothing exposed so that I can see any tube insulators...but because of the wire type I would assume tube and knuckle!
 
#23 ·
Varmit shorted out switch loop.

We had one situation where the light in the main foyer suddenly stopped working. Turns out there was a **** in the attic that chewed thru the wiring, cause he wanted to get into a new cubby-hole he was eyeballing, and the wiring was in his way.

So, if you consider that a varmit can cause wiring to fail, it would also be possible that one could short out a switch loop, taking the wall switches out of the circuit completely..... :huh:
 
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