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Sat 5 Jul, 2014 07:26 am
I have a very old house with a fuse box type panel. My basement lights (2 simple, single bulb sockets on the same wire) have stopped working. I replaced the bulbs then tested the same bulbs elsewhere and they worked in the test lights but not in the basement. I have a voltage tester (the marker style that lights up when current is present in a wire) that shows the wire is hot. I've taken the switch apart and it seems alright and as a last ditch effort I tracked down the fuse and replaced it. There is no corrosion in any of these links, why don't I have basement lights?
@Resolute,
Run new wire and get new fixtures. Think about bringing the box up to code and prepare to consider rewiring the house - with an electrician.
@Resolute,
Are you saying you used your voltage tester in the light socket and it showed a voltage?
Typical troubleshooting would be to turn the light switch on and check for voltage at the light socket. If you don't have voltage there, go to the outlet of the light switch, then the inlet until you find a voltage. Where did you measure a voltage?
@Resolute,
Check the Voltage between the Hot (Black) and the Neutral (White). If the wiring is very old and hard to identify, check between the wire that goes to the tip of the bulb socket and the wire that goes to the shell (threaded) part of the socket. I think you possibly have an open neutral.
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