Troubleshooting
Have the wall or ceiling lights gone out? Is a socket or appliance not working? See our advice below.
Wall or ceiling light not working
If your wall or ceiling light are not working it will be due to either a bulb that has blown or a problem with the circuit. To find out whether it is just a bulb that has blown check to see if the lights in other rooms are working. If it is a circuit problem then all the lights in one or more rooms will not be working.
Blown bulb - switch the light switch to the off position and wait for the bulb to cool down.
Take out the blown bulb from the light fitting and insert a new bulb.
Circuit - find and open the cover on your consumer unit (fusebox). Most homes have two lighting circuits, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. Check if one of the circuit breakers has tripped (turned off). If it has, reset it by switching it back on, the lights should now work.
Note: most modern circuit breakers are sensitive devices and a bulb blowing can easily cause them to trip.
If resetting the circuit breaker does not work, call an electrician.
Socket not working
Check that it definitely is the socket that is not working by plugging a different appliance into the socket. Also try other sockets to see whether the problem is with one or, as will probably be the case, several sockets.
Appliance - if it is the appliance, check the plug and try replacing the fuse. If this does not work then the appliance may need to be repaired or replaced.
Socket - find and open your consumer unit (fusebox) and check the circuit breaker for the particular socket outlet circuit. You will also need to check the residual current device (RCD).
The circuit breaker and/or the RCD may have tripped (turned off) due to a faulty appliance being plugged into a socket. You will not be able to reset either of the devices until the faulty item has been unplugged from the circuit.
If you are not sure which appliance has caused the problem, unplug all appliances, reset the circuit breaker and/or RCD by switching back on. Plug each appliance back in, one by one, until the faulty item (which trips the circuit) is found.
If you cannot reset the circuit breaker and/or RCD even with all the appliances disconnected, call an electrician.
For large appliances that are wired into a circuit such as a cooker or immersion heater, check whether the circuit breaker has tripped and try to reset it. If this does not work, call an electrician.
