'Electricity for dummies' needed :(

Assuming each fixture had it's own light outlet box , when you removed the third fixture did you separate conductors that were spliced through. By this I mean the light circuit from the switch goes from fixture to fixture ending at the last fixture so two of the outlet boxes will have the switch leg and grounded circuit conductor (white) connected together to go to the next fixture. If you open either the switch-leg conductor or the grounded circuit conductor the next fixture and any others down stream will not work.

Yes, I realized what I did wrong. Because I wasn't planning on using that third fixture I snipped the wires (all of them) to tuck them into the ceiling and patch the holes in the ceiling closed. I realized I cut something very necessary...the main source of electricity. I hope someone at a Home Depot can tell me how to fix this tomorrow. Lol This is why my ex husband and not me took care of electrical repairs. Thanks for your help.

You will need to buy an outlet box to install in the ceiling so your wire connections will be contained in an outlet box. Then you can install a blank cover over the box opening. Splices must be in a box to contain them should a fault occur that would create a fire hazard. Since your not installing a fixture you could use whats called a cut-in box which will go in the ceiling where you cut your hole. You get the box, mark the ceiling, cut the hole, put your wires into the box through the back, push box into the hole and tighten the screws until the ears on the box grab the drywall. Connect your wires using wire nuts and then install your blank cover. Someone at Home Depot should be able to show you how that works. Good Luck.

Might be the wires are broken. Consult a professional.

I was updating all of my outlets and light switches in my house. The home was built in 1950. I came to this one light switch in my hallway which only works on 1 light fixture. I changed it and it works but every other outlet and light switch on that whole side of the house doesn't work. I also tried a 3 way switch which didn't work.

Their is 4 wires in the box but two are connected to each other to make 2 wires. I'm not sure if that means anything.

Any help would be great, thanks!I am going to call an electrician but if the problem is minimal I would like to try to fix it myself. I've changed thousands of light fixtures, outlets, and switches before and never ran into this problem before.

Glad you are on your way to solving this. See, ex-husbands were good for something! I raised my now 30 yr old girls pretty much by myself. Both of them know their way around with a volt meter. Harbor Freight sells one for about $10.00. With this you would be able to tell which of the wires were "hot".
You can also test your batteries! For instance if your D cells test at 1.50 or higher they are good. Less than that and they are on their way out. There are some good tutorials on line for using multi-meters. Hope you are reconnected. Oh, a final comment. As much as you may not like the looks of it, the cover for the box that was suggested, needs to remain accessible.