Stange Problem

Status
Not open for further replies.
Little Bill said:
He is pretty sure there are junction boxes somewhere that the circuits branch out from.
When the flood lights are turned on and the kitchen lights flicker, the flood lights don't come on at all. Now to be fair, he was not sure if the bulbs were good or not. The HO gave him what she said was a new bulb but he didn't check it with a meter. So with the flood SP switch, only the kitchen lights come on but with flickering.

Now here is another bit of info he gathered from the HO. She said that if she was holding/touching the door frame and touched the screws on the switch plate she would get shocked.

Also, the building originally had a flat roof but now has a gabled roof. My friend said he couldn't see any of the wires or conduit in the "new" attic. He thinks that when the new roof was added that the wiring/conduit got pinched or smashed. He didn't have time to check any further but is going back.

I think the neutral is somehow backfeeding into the kitchen lights when the flood switch is turned on.
Click to expand...

If the lights & switches worked right at one time then the wiring was correct.

I would think that he is probably right about there being a juntion box. I would take down the light fixtures in the kitchen because that was a common place for wiring to junction in old houses. Could be that the wiring is just burned in one of the fixture boxes.
 
Problem Found/Solved

Problem Found/Solved

Well, my friend made it back to check this problem in detail. I can't remember (without looking) what all I posted so I will just state what he told me he encountered.

I think I mentioned that the house was block and originally had a flat roof. The HO had stated that she would get shocked when touching the metal door frame and the screws on the switch plate at the same time. So he started his search there. He went in the (new) attic that was created when the pitched roof was added. He went to the area in the attic that was directly above the switches below.

He cut out a hole in the original roof to try and get a look at the wiring. He saw a junction box inside the block. With the aid of his helper he located the spot on the block wall below. He drilled/cut out an access hole to expose the junction box.

He discovered first that the neutral was bonded/connected to the metal junction box. The most of the wire's insulation was damaged from heat caused form probably loose connections maybe even a lightning strike. The wires were all touching at points so that's where the kitchen lights were trying to work when the floods switch was turned on.

So basically he just ran new conductors, replaced the switches, junction box, etc.

Here are a few pics he sent me that help with my description.

















 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top