Strange goings on in the bedroom (lights)

[MikeyWorld]

I have a bedroom light that has suddenly stopped working, that is unless you flick the hall light on and off.

When you switch the hall light on, bedroom light comes on
When you switch the hall light off, bedroom light stays on until you switch it off with the bedroom switch.

It's not a priority, I've just added it to the list.

Have I got a fried squirrel in the loft?

[didds]

damp in the walls?

we has something similar but different a few years ago. Can't remember how it got sorted!

didds

[jfgw]

What sorts of lights?

Are they mains voltage or 12V?

CFL? LED? Halogen or GLS?

Julian F. G. W.

[Itsallaguess]

I have a bedroom light that has suddenly stopped working, that is unless you flick the hall light on and off.

First thing to ask when something like this crops up is - has anything else changed?

Have you recently changed any light bulbs in the house, or light switches?

Any other wiring alterations at all recently?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[ReformedCharacter]

Have I got a fried squirrel in the loft?

Maybe, I believe Elvis Presley was very fond of them. Just in case, here's a few recipes:

'5 Great Squirrel Recipes You Won’t Be Able to Resist'

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/5-best-squirrel-recipes/

RC

[bungeejumper]

First thing to ask when something like this crops up is - has anything else changed?

Have you recently changed any light bulbs in the house, or light switches?

Any other wiring alterations at all recently?

Certainly sounds like something that involves electrical connections is playing up, or a connector block screw somewhere has loosened its grip, or something is arcing to the point of near-failure (but can still be restored by the jolt of a current from the nearby hall circuit). That bothers me, because where there's a dicky contact there might be heat and sparking sooner or later.

I am no kind of an electrician - by which I mean that I know how to replace sockets and suchlike, but I wouldn't know how to design a circuit, or dare to try! I would, however, start to examine a few bits for burning or deterioration. Starting with the bulb, the lamp pendant and rose, the room switch and the hall switch, in that order. Not to mention any old-style screw-in connector blocks, which in this case would presumably be in the roof space? Beyond that, I'd have a sparky in because I'd be well beyond my pay grade.

Having replaced a triple light switch in our hall, I've seen how crammed the wiring can get inside those boxes. I've also had the syndrome mentioned by didds, where residual damp in the plaster can cause tripping at the consumer unit. (Bungee Towers was a damp wreck when we originally bought it, but everything settled down as it dried out, exactly as our electrician had predicted.)

Final question: Are there any other things liked to the room lighting circuit? Extractor fans? Shaver sockets?

BJ

[csearle]

I have a bedroom light that has suddenly stopped working, that is unless you flick the hall light on and off.

When you switch the hall light on, bedroom light comes on
When you switch the hall light off, bedroom light stays on until you switch it off with the bedroom switch.

Is this behaviour completely repeatable?

I ask because I can imagine it happening sporadically if the supply to the bedroom switch has been derived from the hall switch but its connexion there were loose. If the loose connexion was disconnected as you attempted to switch the bedroom light on but became reconnected because of the mechanical jolt the hall switch experiences when operating the hall light, then this might effectively switch the bedroom light on. Switching off in the bedroom would then work as normal.

If I were investigating this I would turn off all the lighting circuits (6A & 10A trip switches/fuses with white dots) then unscrew and carefully prise forward the hall switch with a view to establishing if all the wires were still tightly screwed in to the terminals/connectors.

Regards,
Chris

[MikeyWorld]

I use the room as a workshop / storage room, so I generally only turn the light on when the hall light is on, so I'm not sure how long it has been doing this.

When I spotted it, I switched out the compact fluorescent for an LED (1520Lumen) but that made no difference.

I recently had firemen knocking on the door with free fire alarms, and whilst I've stuck one close to the hall light, it's battery operated.

Shouldn't be damp, it's internal walls.

I shall head into the roof for a butcher's, then peek inside the fittings, it'll probably be another manifestation of half a job Harry.