Electrical help please!

[Christien]

One of the light fixtures in our kitchen is dead, and beyond very basic troubleshooting, I'm useless at this stuff.

I've checked the switch and the junction box with the multimeter - I'm getting power at the switch, but nothing at the junction box, with the switch on. In the pics below, I'm getting power at the black and red wires (lower red of the two - it's the right-hand switch that powers the dead box). But at the fixture I'm getting nothing on the white and red wires. Nothing has changed since it last worked (except the light fixture), so it's not a question of hooking something up wrong. I mean, I could've hooked the fixture up wrong, but the wiring from the switch to the box hasn't changed, so I should still be getting power at the wires in the box, right? Our old light fixture died, so I replaced it with another, figuring something in the fixture went. I found some frayed wiring in it from the ceramic bulb holder not being fixed in properly and turning around and around every time someone changed a bulb - I fixed that, and it still didn't work, so I went with the other fixture. But then when that was a no-go, I got out the multimeter and discovered the box wasn't getting power.

So where do I go from here?

[Hugh R]

I'd check the continuity of the switch itself.

[Christien]

By doing...?

(sorry, I told you I was useless at this!)

[Hugh R]

Put the meter on Ohms and touch the two leads it should read showing 0 ohms or there abouts shows a conplete circuit. Then connect to the two screws (where the white and black wires were on the switch) to the two leads from the meter. After disconnecting it from the wires, so only the switch is in your hand. Turn switch on and off and you should see the meter change from no circuit to a completed circuit.

Do you know if the meter is set up correctly for AC not DC and you have the leads in the right holes on the meter? Post a pic of the meter with the leads plugged in.

[billybek]

Make sure the power is off before checking the switch with an ohmmeter.

[Hugh R]

Power off as in at the circuit breaker. This is not really the place to learn basic electrical. Get a friend who knows what he is doing.

[Christien]

Ok, in doing that test, the meter spiked, there was a very tiny spark at the black wire (using black and red), and at that moment, there was power to the light fixture. I didn't dare hold it there long. Can't really get a pic of me doing it without a third hand, but this gives you an idea:

[Christien]

Well, obviously I did the test before reading those next two posts Power was on while I tested.

[Hugh R]

Show the bottom of the meter with the leads plugged in. There are several choices and only one is correct.

[Christien]

Oops, sorry, forgot you asked for that.

[futuresoptions]

man anyone live close to him before he blows his fingers off? Lol, if I was closer I'd check it out for ya...

[rick-l]

Are some of those wires silver colored?

[Christien]

All the wires in the switch box and the junction box in the ceiling are copper. The only silver wires are the ones on the light fixture, attached to the copper wires in the junction box.

[Christien]

Thanks for the help so far, guys. Going to bed now, will check in in the am.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Christien

Ok, in doing that test, the meter spiked, there was a very tiny spark at the black wire (using black and red), and at that moment, there was power to the light fixture. I didn't dare hold it there long. Can't really get a pic of me doing it without a third hand, but this gives you an idea

You completed the circuit using your multimeter.....and probably fried it. On the upside, you connected the red and black and the light worked, right? That means you have power in the box and the wiring to the light is good, meaning the problem is in the box. Either you have a loose connection somewhere in the box or the switch is bad. If nothing else you could spend $1.00 and swap out the switch to eliminate that possibility, that would let you avoid buying a new multimeter.

[imcarthur]

It looks like you have a 3 way slide dimmer switch. How many wires are coming out of it? Is the light controlled by another switch in the kitchen? As mentioned, you completed the circuit with the meter - not a good thing. Slider dimmers fail on a regular basis, so I would replace the switch.

Ian

[1990C4S]

PM me if you can't fix it. I work cheap. One shot of Scotch usually pays the bill.

[billybek]

Tiny spark may have blown a fuse on the meter by putting voltage through while meter was on ohms.
Take the leads while still in the ohm selection and touch the leads from the meter together.
Does it read 0 ohms? If so the meter is still OK.
It does look as though you have a three was switch.
Is there another switch that switches power to the light?
Is that switch a dimmer switch?

[Christien]

Ok, I swapped out the switch for a spare, and there's the problem. Dead switch. Toldja I wasn't great at this stuff

Voltmeter's fine - still working properly. It's only a cheapo-$5-unit anyway.

Thanks for the helps guys! Much appreciated!

[1990C4S]

You probably have crappy Scotch anyhow. Not that I can tell the difference.