Bathroom light not working - what obvious things should I check?

Annisele

The light and fan in my bathroom have stopped working. It's a rented house (so my moneysaving plan is to get my LL to fix it), but I'll feel a real idiot if an electrician does the equivalent of changing the bulb.

I'd be very grateful for an idiots guide of things I can check before telling my LL about it - things on the level of "check the bulb" (though I know that's not it - I swopped the bulb with one from another fitting: both bulbs work in the other fitting but neither worked in the bathroom fitting).

I haven't changed anything - the light and fan (controlled by the same pull switch) used to work, but have just stopped.

All the other lights in the house are fine. I don't know the name for this, but we have a little box on the wall with switches on it, and each switch is for a different set of electrical things. One of the switches is labelled "lights", and every time a bulb blows that switch switches itself off. I've tried flicking that lights switch off and on again, to no effect.

The fan has a small orange light on it that used to come on whenever the fan (and main light) was on. Now, every other time that I pull the switch the small orange light flashes briefly, but doesn't stay on. The next time I pull the switch after the orange light has flashed, nothing happens at all. I'm guessing from that that the pull switch must be working?

Can anybody think of an obvious thing that I haven't checked?

1984ReturnsForReal_2

You need an electrician out. Fan & bulb is a problem in the loft, in the switches, in the wiring or at the Consumer Unit.

lucylucky

If there is a local fuse in circuit it may have blown and need replacing, however it sounds as if it is more serious than that if it keeps tripping a breaker.

Phone the LL

nifferwilko

Annisele - no solutions as to what it is (although it sounds like the circuit may be overloaded if it keeps tripping) but the box thing on the wall with the labelled switches is called a fuse box. Just so you don't look too lost when the LL comes round.
In your shoes, I'd get out the landlord. One of the joys of renting is that you don't have to worry about things like this!

macman

The 'box thing' is called a consumer unit (CU).

fluffpot

sounds like possibly the pullcord has given up the ghost...

Annisele

Thanks all - at least it sounds as though it will take an electrician more than 30 seconds to fix whatever is wrong, so I won't feel too stupid