The switch does not work what to do. What to do if the switch does not work

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Is the light in your house turned off because the switch is closed? Do not rush to call an electrician.

Perhaps you can handle it yourself. Why the switch closes, and how to fix it - we give simple recommendations.

Causes of circuit breaker in the apartment

Experts identify a few of the most common faults that can lead to a circuit breaker.

1. Increased humidity, which leads to oxidation of the wires.
2. Poor contact when installing a light switch, constant sparking when turned on.
3. Exceeding the allowable voltage of the electric current in the network due to the simultaneous switching on of several electrical appliances.

Repair of the light switch in the house

Disconnect the power supply on the switchboard before starting work. To do this, turn off the cork on the shield, i.e., press a large button if the shield is of the Soviet type. If the new shield - translate from the "on" position to the "off" position.

  There are many more on our site. useful tips  on household repairs. The article under the heading will tell you how to fix this whimsical device.

What to do if the tap drip? Find repair instructions on our website at the link:

Tips on how on our site

You will need the following tools:

• indicator screwdriver;
• jar for parts;
• ordinary screwdriver;
• felt-tip pen;
• insulating tape;
• small skin (fine-grained).

The general progress of the repair

Voltage test

1. 2.

Important!  Special efforts to disassemble the case is not necessary, since usually the cover of a closed switch is removed easily.

Removing switch body

3.

Dismantling the switch cover

4.

If the switch with two buttons is closed, the wire is marked with a felt-tip pen, which supplies electricity and is common to both switching modes.

Location of switch screws

5.

Removing the fastening screws

6. 7. 8.

Virtually every apartment owner is faced with such a problem as a malfunction of the light switch. If such a situation arises, it is not necessary to immediately call the specialist on the house. Most often, this problem can be corrected by yourself. The malfunction of the light switch is most often due to poor contact between the clamping plates. electrical wires. To fix it, you only need to clean the contacts and check the strength of fixing the wires in the switch connectors.

The whole process consists of three stages:
preparatory work;
   disassembly and stripping of contacts;
   assembly and installation of the light switch in the same place.

Preparatory process

At the initial stage of repair of the circuit breaker, it is necessary to completely de-energize this section of the power grid and prepare the necessary instruments and tools. For stripping, disassembling and stripping contacts, a screwdriver, an electricity indicator, and a regular skin or file are required.

It is important that there is no electricity in the network. This is what the indicator is for. The file is useful for removing plaque from the contacts, and a screwdriver for loosening and assembling the entire installation.

Disassembly of the circuit breaker and stripping contacts

First you need to make sure that the electricity is really not supplied to the light switch. Then, prying the device button with a screwdriver, remove it from the device. The plastic shell can also be removed using a small force.

The next step is to remove the switch from the attachment point. To remove it from the plastic sheath in the wall, you need to loosen two screws. A little unscrewing them, take out the device from the wall. To disconnect the light switch from the wires, loosen the fasteners and pull them out of the clips.

Having seen the blackened and patched contacts, we make their cleaning with a file or a special skin. The cleaning process should be continued until the plaque and the fumes are not completely removed.

Assembly and installation of the switch

After carrying out all actions to clean the contacts from plaque, you can begin to assemble the device. To do this, connect all the wires to their original place and tighten the clamps. It is important to create excellent contact to prevent bad interaction. Having assembled the whole structure, we insert the switch into the plastic case.

After giving the level and evenness tighten both fastening screws. If the plastic frame is not put in its original place, you will have to loosen the screws and put it on until the switch is fully installed in the network. Although with proper mounting of the switch in the wall should not be such a problem.

At the final stage, we insert the power button and start the central electric power control device. Now we carry out a switch operability check. To do this several times turn on the light in the room. If everything works stably, then call an electrician is not required.

If the switch has stopped working, then you should understand the main reason for its breakdown. To date, the reasons may be many. You do not need to call the wizard. You can repair the light switch yourself. The causes of breakdowns are usually minor and therefore almost everyone can cope with them.

Sometimes in order to restore the device to work, you will need to clean the switch contacts. In this article we have placed detailed information on how to fix the light switch. Causes of breaker breakage can be varied, and in this article we will consider them.

  Preparatory work

Before you start all the work you need to turn off the electricity in the house or apartment. This can be done on an electrical panel, which is usually located at the entrance. After you complete this process, you need to check the line voltage with a multimer. Here is a photo of this device.

If your device has failed, then the light switch should be repaired with the following devices:

1. Standard indicator for voltage testing.
2. Standard size screwdriver.
3. Fine skin and marker.

These are all tools that may be required to repair a switch.

  . If your switch is triggered once, then you need to clean the contacts. The order of performance of this work is as follows:

• After turning off the power you will need to decide in the absence of a voltage in the network. To do this, use the indicator screwdriver.
• Now you need to pry and remove the key from the switch. When removing the key, you do not need to make an effort, otherwise you may damage the mechanism.
• It is necessary to remove the switch body. You can also do this with a screwdriver.
• Now you need to once again make sure that there is no power supply in the device.

• Use a screwdriver to loosen the screws on the switch. After that, the device can be easily pulled out from the bottom.

• Now all the wires must be wrapped with tape.

If you first disassemble the switch, then it must be photographed. Thus, you will remember in what order it is necessary to put the details.

The contacts that you need to clean in the switch are located on its plastic base. You can easily recognize them. If they are dirty, then they will be black. It may be formed by sparking a switch. To clean the light switch from dirt, you can use a screwdriver or a small skin. passes in a similar way.

After you clean the contacts of the light switch, you will need to assemble it. Assembling a light switch does not take much time if you know how to perform this process. If you do not know how to assemble it, then it is better to look at the photo you took during its disassembly.

First you need to connect a common phase conductor to the common terminal. After that, you can fix and other conductors in their places. After the switch body has been installed in the subplate it is possible to fix its frame. Sometimes there are situations when the cover is quite difficult to fix on the switch body. To complete this process, you will need to loosen the fasteners. If the case is fixed correctly, then the cover on the switch will sit down without any problems.

After these processes are completed, you can turn on the voltage. If it works, then you did everything right. As you can see, light switch repairs can be done by everyone.

  Imagine a situation: once you return home from work as usual late at night, you go to wash your hands, and then suddenly the lights in the bathroom go out. My first thought - turned off the electricity. Checking its presence in the apartment, trying to turn on the light in the kitchen or in the hallway, it turns out, it is still there. You are visited by the second logical thought - a light bulb has burned out. You start frantically searching for a new light bulb. And then, wielding a flashlight, you change in the lamp in the bathroom the old, burned out light bulb to a new one. But it does not light up. Inspect both light bulbs and find them completely unharmed. Now it becomes finally clear that after all, the switch does not work. If the lack of lighting in other living rooms can still be endured for a while, then as regards the bathroom, this is quite problematic and causes a lot of inconvenience.

If you invite an electrician, then only during working hours. In addition, waiting for him can spend the whole day. Do not be discouraged, if there is a serviceable, somewhere overlooked spare switch, you can cope with the task of its replacement on your own. To do this, just follow our step by step instructions:

First, you need to remove the faulty switch. Prior to the commencement of all work, it is necessary to disconnect the apartment from the floor panel in order to protect itself from electric shock. Recently, concealed liner switches are commonly used, i.e. the main part of them is hidden in the wall, in a special podrozetnik, and from the outside only decorative lining and the keys of the switch are installed. Remove them is not difficult. You just need to pry the screwdriver by the edges, pull it towards you and pull it out of the grooves. The switch mechanism itself, as a rule, is bolted to the socket. They are on the edges. Loosen them and pull the mechanism out.

Secondly, you need to identify the cause of the malfunction of the switch. To do this, you need to carefully examine it, find a portion of the melted contact. He, most likely, was the cause of the breakdown. Next, you should carefully disconnect the wires and get rid of the faulty mechanism. At this stage, it is important not to mistake the wires, remember them or mark them in a special way to connect them to the new switch in the correct order.
Third, assemble the new switch in the reverse order. Make sure you connect correctly. Very often the cause of a malfunction of the switch is its improper installation. After the assembly, turn on the electricity in the apartment and check the operation of the switch.

A broken switch is a problem that almost every owner has ever had to face. You can solve it by calling an electrician, but if you don’t want to spend time waiting for a specialist and pay money to fix an uncomplicated breakdown, you can repair the switch yourself. If the check has shown that it is useless to repair the device, it will have to be replaced, but in most cases it can be restored. The cause of the problems usually becomes poor contact between the plates of the switch due to soot formed on them. In this article we will answer in detail the question of how to fix the light switch, and also give some useful recommendations that will help to avoid this malfunction.

Preparation for work

Before you start repairing a broken switch, you need to stock up on the following tools and accessories:

• Multimeter or indicator screwdriver.
• Slotted screwdriver size.
• Marker.
• Sandpaper fine-grained paper.

It is advisable to photograph the results of each disassembly stage during operation - this will help not to get confused when you assemble the structure in the reverse order. Therefore, you will also need a camera or mobile phone with a camera.

Repair procedure

So, the switch does not work for you, you decided to repair it with your own hands and have already prepared the right tool. Now we proceed directly to the repair, which will be easier for you to perform, guided by this step-by-step instruction:

• In order to prevent electric shock during operation, first of all, the apartment must be de-energized by unscrewing electrical plugs or turning off the switch.
• Verify that there is no voltage by checking with a screwdriver any home outlet.
• Disassemble the light switch. To do this, it is necessary to remove the decorative cover, additionally check with a screwdriver-indicator that current is not supplied to the device, then unscrew the side mounting screws. Now the body of the device can be pulled out of the bottom plate.
• Separated from the light switch electrical cables. If the device has two keys, it is advisable to mark the input core with a marker, otherwise you can confuse them with a reverse connection.
• Disassemble the case. It opens access to contacts, which usually cause the breaker to fail. They are located under a plastic key fixed with screws.
• Make a visual inspection of the contacts. If carbon deposits are found on them, remove it with an emery cloth to return the metallic luster.

Sometimes the soot cannot be completely cleaned with the help of the skin. In this case, the remnants of it must be removed with a slotted screwdriver.

The repair procedure is over. Now you should assemble the switch in the reverse order. In order to avoid confusion, you can use the photos that were taken during disassembly of the product.

Switch installation

Having collected the device, proceed to install it in its original place. First of all, the input core marked with a marker should be connected to the common terminal, and then the remaining cables. After that, the device needs to be fixed in the bottom plate. At the end of the set frame framing and cover.

Sometimes it is impossible to install the cover on the base of the switch. The reason, as a rule, is the incorrect position of the device case inside the bottom plate. It is necessary to loosen the fixing bolts, with the help of which the switch is held in a plastic box, and, putting the device into the desired position, tighten them again. If the product is in the correct position, the cover will easily fit into place.

Then you need to apply electricity to the room and to check the operation of the device, turning it on and off several times. If the light turns on normally, the movement of the key is not difficult, the case does not crack - the repair has been performed correctly.

Otherwise, the switch will have to be removed and all the work done again.

These tips will help you extend the life of the switch and, if it breaks, avoid unnecessary work:

• If the device that broke is installed a long time ago, and even more so it belongs to old samples, it is not worth repairing it. Firstly, it will not be easy due to the natural wear of its elements, and secondly, it is undesirable to use old electrical appliances for fire safety purposes.
• Often, the switch contacts burn out due to the use of too powerful light bulbs. We advise you to replace them with products of lower power, and best of all with modern LED. The brightness of their glow is not less than that of ordinary incandescent lamps, and the power consumption is much lower.
• Do not rush to remove and disassemble the switch body. Sometimes the cause of a malfunction becomes poorly fixed wires, and the tightening of the screws is enough to return the device to functioning.

Visually replacing and repairing a switch on video

On this we finish our story. We think that this information is quite enough to understand how to fix the light switch without the help of an electrician. Using this material, you can repair the switch yourself in a short time, not only saving money, but also increasing your credibility in the eyes of loved ones.