Bathroom Light Cord Switch end fell out (looks charred?)

AidyBuzz · 4 December 2017 at 1:18PM

Hi,

My Nan found the bathroom light string cord on the floor, looks to me like the end that connected into the ceiling socket is burnt.

Apparently the bulb in the bathroom used to be some kind of heat lamp and has been recently changed to a regular bulb (well old style bulb i think, not a new energy saving style bulb)

Does anyone know what could have caused this? Is the changing of the bulb related? Is this an electrics problem so we'll need an electrician? Or is it more for a handyman of some kind?

Thanks for reading and any thoughts you might be able to pass on!
Adrian.

Ganga · 4 December 2017 at 1:44PM

AidyBuzz wrote: »

Hi,

My Nan found the bathroom light string cord on the floor, looks to me like the end that connected into the ceiling socket is burnt.

Apparently the bulb in the bathroom used to be some kind of heat lamp and has been recently changed to a regular bulb (well old style bulb i think, not a new energy saving style bulb)

Does anyone know what could have caused this? Is the changing of the bulb related? Is this an electrics problem so we'll need an electrician? Or is it more for a handyman of some kind?

Thanks for reading and any thoughts you might be able to pass on!
Adrian.

Does the cord join the the cord that comes out of the ceiling switch with a plastic coupling or does the cord go into the ceiling switch? Quite often the cord is burnt with a match then nipped with the fingers to give it a hard narrow end to thread through the hole in the switch/coupling.
If the cord goes into the ceiling switch,switch the electric off and unscrew the ceiling swith cover to expose the switch,you can then examine it for damage/burning or maybe the cord has just come out and requires re-fitting.:)

AidyBuzz · 4 December 2017 at 1:55PM

The cord goes into a plastic coupling so perhaps that's it! I guess the fact that the bulb being used changed from a heat bulb to regular bulb is no cause for concern? Probably isn't related to the cord falling out i mean?

Thanks!

Adrian.

firefox1956 · 4 December 2017 at 2:22PM

Have a look here for an example.
https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p44781?table=no
You can see a small plastic thing about 6 inches from the ceiling rose.
This is where you can replace the long pull cord.
If the cord is broken / burnt where it come out of the ceiling rose then you are up for a new ceiling rose.
HTH

Ganga · 4 December 2017 at 5:49PM

AidyBuzz wrote: »

The cord goes into a plastic coupling so perhaps that's it! I guess the fact that the bulb being used changed from a heat bulb to regular bulb is no cause for concern? Probably isn't related to the cord falling out i mean?

Thanks! Adrian.

Changing to a regular bulb from a heat type bulb should be certainly better for your electric bill:rotfl:

shaun_from_Africa · 4 December 2017 at 8:16PM

It might be worth having a good look at both the light fitting and the pull switch (or if you're not confident doing this, getting someone in to check them out).

Many light fittings are designed to be used with incandescent bulbs up to either 60w or 100w and the heat lamp could well have been 200w or 250w, something that could have damaged the fitting.
If the pull switch was poor quality or the wiring a bit loose, it could have been getting hot or sparking, hence the cord getting charred and dropping out.

AidyBuzz · 5 December 2017 at 10:24AM

Thanks! All this is enough to convince me that starting with an electrician to come and check it out is the way to go!

Will2208 · 5 December 2017 at 1:17PM

My bathroom pullcord recently stopped working. I pulled down it but then it didn't pull pack up. I tried fixing it but it was a waste of time so i got a complete new pull cord and ceiling switch from Wilko's for a couple of quid.

Bathroom Light Cord Switch end fell out (looks charred?)

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