household wiring

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richardwpg1

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Hi, new here .
so this is my problem. I have 2 switched lights and a switched plug, 1- live plug and a direct ceiling fan on 1 circuit all has been working well since I bought the house 3 yrs. ago. then for no apparent reason they just stopped ! no breaker pop or sparks or anything ,
I check switches with volt meter and found something strange.
no power from white or black BUT if I connect to copper ground I have power running to black and white? I disconnected the fan which ran from power supply at switch's ( thinking that may be the problem since it's the only thing that vibrates and maybe something came loose? nope.
still the same ,asked a few people and they said ether junction box or switches ,nope check out ok !
so does anyone have any ideas ?
:confused:
tnx
p.s, house is 50 yrs. old but wiring has been upgraded 10 yrs. ago.

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Last edited:
When check to see if a switch works you first kill the power at the breaker, you use a volt ohm meter to check for continuty at the two gold screws by switching the switch to the on position.
If it does not got to infinity the switch is bad.
Checking from the gold to the ground or white wire only tells you there's incoming power.
 
If you have no voltage reading between the white and black but do between ground (bare) then you have an open neutral between there and the breaker box.
 
hey Blue Jay , thanks! I figured that as my next step and since I totally disconnected the fan , I'll check the light fixtures, I already checked plugs . it a bit of a challenge I just hope I don't have a hidden junction box!!
 
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