WEBlue

I've been staying with an elderly infirm American relative in a falling-apart house where just about everything that can is breaking down, leaking, packing up, etc. It's pretty depressing for both of us

The house is about 60 years old, and a number of the ceiling light fixtures are giving up. One essential one seemed to respond well to my usual first 'fix'--squirting a bit of WD40 inside the fixture itself (after removing the bulb of course) then giving another squirt into the wall switch. But now a half hour later it won't turn off...i.e. won't obey the wall switch any more. So I seem to be stuck with trying to untwist a (very) hot bulb to get the light to go off.... This is do-able (for me) but not for my mobility-challenged 85 year-old family member.

Any thoughts on this from any of you clever DIY folks?

Pulaski

Sounds like a short/ faulty switch.

If the switch is off at the wall then the light bulb and fitting aren't really part of the equation.

A new switch from HD or Lowes is the answer, or at least where I'd start. ..... Well actually, I'd start by turning off the breaker, or removing the fuse, before you start a fire.

While the power is off, use paper towels to soak up and remove as much of the WD40 as absolutely possible from every fitting you have applied it to, .... and consider replacing the fittings you have "oiled". Basic light fittings and wall switches are very cheap, and even if you have to pay an electrician to install them it is cheaper than burning the house down.

Also, please refrain from using WD40, or any other liquid, in electrical applications. Lubricants are great in their place, but it is not in electrical installations.

Also now would be an excellent time to check the fire/ smoke detectors, and even adding additional ones.

WEBlue

Gah, sorry about the double word in this title! I think either this PC or (more likely) the modem is going here too, because my BE editing abilities are also very limited....

WEBlue

OK, good to know! I won't use it in any other electric devices then.

Will it start a fire if I leave the bulb burning? Or do you mean turn off the breaker before I try to replace the wall switch so I don't start a fire then....? I think I'll unscrew the bulb now, just to be on the safe side....

Thanks for your quick reply, Pulaski!

Pulaski

No, I mean that if I am right and there is a short in the switch the switch could start a fire! I would recommend disconnecting power to the switch immediately, pending replacement of the switch.

You're welcome - stay safe!

Pulaski

With a house of that age you may be facing other quirky wiring issues or failures, so if you're going to do the work yourselves, I recommend investing in voltage tester, something like one of these. Then check that all wires have 0v before proceding as it is perfectly possible for something to be "live" even if it has been "switched off" or disconnected at the breaker. Even an experienced electrician can have trouble tracing where all the wires come from and go to.

WEBlue

Wow. I think you have a point--my aunt's late husband did a lot of his own work on this old house. He was not an electrician--though very mechanically able in his day--so who knows what shape some of the electricity is in.....
The bulb is out. I'm going to check the smoke alarms and wait till my husband comes before I do anything else here. No more handy-person fixes for me!

Pulaski

Uh-oh.

I have never owned a house that doesn't have quirky, bad, or downright dangerous installations, fixtures, or modifications. One home belonged to an enthusiast DIYer, who ran an automotive restoration and customization business. I had no reason to doubt his expertise with cars, but I wish he had stayed away from the wiring, plumbing, and structure of his home.

WEBlue

Among many other modifications to this house he instigated, my aunt's husband re-wired a socket in the kitchen to take a British electric kettle so she could have her cuppas every day. This was well before electric kettles were available in the US, in the late 90s. That kettle stopped working just a few months ago.

Pulaski

Given the iffy wiring, I would (i) switched that socket off at the breaker if possible (I would guess that it's on its own breaker? ), and (ii) remove the socket and cap it off - cut the exposed wires off and put wire nuts on each core, then put a blank cover plate over the electrical box.

Obviously a fire would be calamitous, but being denied an insurance payout for non-compliant wiring would compound the catastrophe.

scrubbedexpat099

60 years, well the wiring and altered, well the wiring could be anything...

Any idea if it was rewired, in part or in full and if so when?

Any GCFI's?

As far as electrics and WD40, for moisture issues, but in a house then you have other issues...