What do you do if the wall switch has power but the light fixture it turns on and off will not work?

Answer 1

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== == === === Assuming that you know that the bulb(s) in the fixture are good.

AT THE MAINS SUPPLY PANEL turn off the circuit breaker for the circuit supplying the fixture. Separate the light fixture from the electrical box. Check to make sure that the electrical wires are firmly attached to the fixture and that the wires and terminals are not corroded, cracked, frayed, broken, etc. If the wires look to be in good shape, attach a volt meter to the two wires and turn the power back on. If you are uncomfortable with working with the power on, get a qualified electrician to do this for you.

If you have electricity at the wires then the fixture is faulty. If you do not have electricity there, then you will need to make continuity checks on the hot and neutral wires. Turn off the circuit breaker to the circuit. Inside the electrical box that contains the switch, you will see two white wires connected together with a wire nut. Check to see that the two wires are firmly attached together. If they are loose that is probably the culprit. If they are firmly attached, pull off the nut and connect one lead of a ohm meter to the white wires. Connect the other lead of the meter to the white wire at the light fixture. The meter should show continuity. On the switch are two black wires, one comes from the main power and the other goes to the light. Check for continuity between the black wire at the switch and the black wire at the light. You may have to turn the switch ON to do this. If either the black wire or the white wires show an OPEN circuit then there is a break in the wiring between the switch and the light and it will have to be replaced. If you are lucky you may be able to attach new wires to the old ones and pull the new wires in as you pull the old ones out.

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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.

If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power

at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work AND

always use an electrician's test meter having metal-tipped probes

(not a simple proximity voltage indicator)

to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.

IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB

SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY

REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.