Upstairs Lights Suddenly Stopped Working

GDB2222

There are other possible causes, eg the mcb is now broken. Anyway, the voltage tester will find that pretty quickly, when you trace the cable from the consumer unit. As nothing is lighting up you only need to follow the cable as far as the first light in the circuit.

Or, splash out on an electrician.

macman

If the OP isn't competent to remove switch covers to check for loose connections etc. then they are certainly not competent to be attempting to trace a fault using a circuit tester, or even being able to ascertain if the circuit is isolated safely before testing.
Just get a competent person in.

Ben1989

I forgot to mention that I had the electrician come in. It was a very quick appointment. All he did was get the description of what was happening and all he said was the board wires were firmly tight. He's booked us in December for his full investigation and (hopeful) fix.

To answer a previous question. There is a socket in the loft and a light. The socket looks to have been spurred off an upstairs socket. 

GDB2222

Ben1989 said:

I forgot to mention that I had the electrician come in. It was a very quick appointment. All he did was get the description of what was happening and all he said was the board wires were firmly tight. He's booked us in December for his full investigation and (hopeful) fix.

To answer a previous question. There is a socket in the loft and a light. The socket looks to have been spurred off an upstairs socket. 

You can plug something into the socket. If it works with the lights MCB off, then it must be on a different circuit (as it certainly ought to be), and it's irrelevant to your issue with the lights. 

@m@macman may have a point, that you have reached the limit of your competence, and you should get an electrician in. As long as you leave the MCB off, there's no problem with waiting until December - just as long as you don't trip and fall down the stairs. 

Can I ask what light you use in the bathroom? 

Section62

GDB2222 said:

...there's no problem with waiting until December - just as long as you don't trip and fall down the stairs. 

This is one of the issues.  There's a not inconsiderable danger involved in living in a house without fully functional lighting.

Hence if the electrician is not available for a month it would make sense for the OP to run some basic (non-electrical) self-help checks to work out if there is anything simple that can be done to get the lights safely working again.

But that would require more information to be forthcoming from the OP and them actually wanting to adopt that approach.

E.g. is there anything plugged in to the socket in the loft and does that work?  (alarmingly common for them to be wired in to the upstairs lighting circuit by DIYers because that is the nearest 'electric')

Ben1989

Thanks everyone for your input.

To be honest, if there was going to be a circuit I could choose to be non-operational it's upstairs lights. The landing light is connected to the downstairs circuit so that provides enough light to safely go upstairs and a little bit of light to see your way into all the upstairs rooms. Then we have lamps in all the bedrooms so it's that's not a problem. The 'issue' comes in the bathroom and toilet room (they're separate). There's enough light to do your business but requires doors open. Not always possible, for obvious reasons ha. So, not too huge of a deal to wait for the electrician.

He says he needs to get access to the pendants of all the upstairs light which may mean chipping our styrofoam light features down. But he said they may be in the loft. So, this weekend I'm going to check the loft for the pendants, test that socket to see what it's connected to and refit and check all the light switches.

Alderbank

Would one of these be useful?
https://uk.bestreviews.guide/toilet-bowl-light

Section62

Ben1989 said:

He says he needs to get access to the pendants of all the upstairs light which may mean chipping our styrofoam light features down. But he said they may be in the loft. So, this weekend I'm going to check the loft for the pendants, test that socket to see what it's connected to and refit and check all the light switches.

If you've decided to wait for the electrician then I'd suggest it is best to leave the light switches alone.  There's a risk of you doing something which masks the original fault, or otherwise makes it harder for the electrician to fault-find.  If the circuit is tripping due to an overcurrent situation then the switches themselves are not very likely to be the cause.

Also, did you really mean "styrofoam light features"?  What do they look like?

Styrofoam isn't a material I'd be comfortable with in a lighting situation - partly because of potential flammability issues, and also (possibly highly relevant to this fault) because chemicals in Styrofoam and polystyrene can attack the PVC coating of electrical wire and potentially lead to short circuits.

If you really do have "styrofoam light features" then I'd strongly advise leaving the circuit isolated and wait for the electrician to do their job.

coffeehound

As well as the excellent bog-light suggestion, perhaps some of these kind of cheapo stick-on PIR lights would see you through the month?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aiguozer-Wireless-Lighting-Adhesive-Wardrobe-White/dp/B01N6EUXPF



Might find them cheaper elsewhere

coffeehound

Section62 said:

If you really do have "styrofoam light features" then I'd strongly advise leaving the circuit isolated and wait for the electrician to do their job.

Could be the polystyrene ceiling rose type fixtures, so hopefully not in contact with cables