"Dead" fixture after cutting main breaker

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superjedi

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Hi all,
Hoping to get some advice. We just bought a house and I was installing a couple of more modern ceiling light fixtures in the upstairs bedrooms.
I cut off the main breaker in the service panel, did the installation, and turned the main back on to test the fixture. It worked fine, but a little while later I tried to turn on the light in the dining room and it wouldn't come on. I looked at the light bulbs and they didn't seem to be burned out. One bulb was already burned out, I could see the broken filament. But the others appeared to be OK.
I have a circuit tester, and I know I can take down the dining room light and test the wires and see if I'm getting power, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this type of situation.
Can turning on the main breaker cause a surge, even if the switch is off? It's just the ceiling light. I already tested the wall outlets in the room and they're all fine.
Thanks for any input.
 
Trying turning on the light you just worked on. See if the dining light works now. The problem is likely in the box you worked on. It probably feeds power on to the dining light and got something wrong in there.
 
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Hmm. Can't recall if I tried that yesterday or not. I will, though.
Is it likely that 2 ceiling lights upstairs would be on the same circuit as the (downstairs) dining room?
 
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