How hard can it be? (replacing light switch)
Once I figure out which breaker to flip, how hard can it be for someone who knows nothing electrical to change the switch??? |
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| Everything should be marked, but pencil and ink fade. Some other time redo them yourself. It takes a lot of throwing a switch and then running around seeing what won't work. The biggies are indeed for the AC, electric stove, dryer....big electrical users. They get their own circuit. The others are grouped by room(s).....maybe a single bedroom (hopefully) or maybe 2 bedrooms. Bathrooms are usually their own circuit as they have (or should) have a GFCI on them since water is about. These GFCIs can be at the outlet or on the circuit board, like mine...depends on code. Anyway, for you, turn on the light and then start throwing switches until the light goes out. If you don't mind resetting digital clocks, then throw the main circuit breaker at the top, the one that controls all. It eliminates all live circuits. |
| Funny, this just came up on the Repair-Place forum. How to fix a light switch Paula, if you take a nice picture of the breaker box, it can help us to identify what it's saying to you, but you CANNOT rely on what is written anyway. Even if the light goes out when you flip the switch off, then goes on again when you flip it back on (to test that the light didn't happen to fail at the same time), then goes off again, in an improperly wired house there could STILL be other live circuits in the box. Unlikely, but possible. Besides, you'll be the talk of the town with your shiny new voltage tester! All that said, what do you mean by the switch is wobbly? The whole box, or just the little flippy part? |
| the first answer I wrote but was rejected by some hiccups this a.m. on the site included a circuit tester. By all means, get one and ask how to use it before you leave the store! If the switch is wobbly, could be minor repair and not a replacement. I'm assuming this is a single pole switch, one switch, one light.....as opposed to one light with two separate switches operating it. |
| The flipper part is wobbly, not the whole thing. And upon further investigation of the breaker box, I see that each breaker is numbered (the number is embossed into the metal which made it almost impossible to see) and the penciled list corresponds to a switch. What I referred to as the big ass a/c switch is actually the main breaker for the whole condo. So once I turn off the breaker and verify that indeed that is the breaker for the bathroom by turning on and off the bathroom switch, will the actual flipper thing be hard to replace? I don't think so. It's a double flipper and one flipper does the lights and the other does the fan. On the other hand, I thought about getting a handyman to replace the switch and watching him carefully to learn how to do it. Ron, I thought about posting on the repair place forum but that doesn't get traffic like over here does. |
| The flipper thing is connected to the switch and is not independently serviceable. You will just replace the bad one of the two switches. It is not a difficult job. You will need a screwdriver to remove the decorative cover plate, the same one to remove the switch from the box, and perhaps a little heavier duty one to turn the screws holding the wires on the switch. When you go to the hardware store, you will want to purchase a standard light switch with the correct color flipper. They'll cost about $2 for a sufficient quality switch, although it's been a couple of years since I've bought one, so it might be a bit higher. You really don't want or need a circuit tester for this job, you want a non-contact voltage tester (if you wanna splurge at all). |
| If in doubt flip all the breakers off, safety 1st and you can just flip them back on. I'm the electrical/plumber/spider/snake person in our house. Go to your local hardware store ( my favorite is Lowes ), they have people there that will help. As our switches go bad I have replaced ours with the lighted flipper switches. They're great, they have a soft glow at night without casting light into your rooms. Great for when I'm wondering through the house at night or in the garage or outside at night ( no more walking the wall with your hands looking for the switch). They only cost a dollar or so more...so worth the price. |
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