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Fixing Broken Electrical Switches in Your Home

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 06Sep2011
Word count: 2082
Viewed: 93 time(s)

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Properly functioning switches are an important part of your home's overall electrical system. Because your home's switches get a lot of use, it is almost inevitable that a few of them will need to be fixed or replaced over time. Allowing a switch to remain broken is not only annoying, but also a safety hazard. If you have any malfunctioning electrical switches in your home, you should get them repaired as quickly as possible. Fixing a switch is usually a relatively simple task. However, if you do not have a good deal of experience working with electrical systems, you should have a licensed electrician perform the repair for you. If you do plan to fix the switch yourself, here are a few tips that you can use to help get the job done efficiently and safely.

Important Safety Precautions

Safety should be your primary objective when fixing a broken switch. While sometimes it can be a very simple repair, other times it can turn out to be a complex project. For example, while fixing a "single-pole" switch can be relatively simple, a three-way or four-way switch can be quite confusing, making troubleshooting and repair quite difficult. If you have any doubts as to your ability to safely make the repair, you should call a licensed electrician. Even if you have already started to perform the repair on your own, if you run into anything you do not understand or are unsure of, it is better to be safe than sorry. After all, the end result of improperly performed electrical repairs could be a fire, serious personal injury, or even death.

Understanding Electrical Switches

Your home probably includes a number of different kinds of electrical switches. In rooms such as the bedroom or bathroom, it is common to find simple switches that include just one "on" and "off" switch. These are referred to as single-pole switches, and are the easiest to troubleshoot, repair or replace. In the case of a single-pole switch, you will find that it is the only switch that controls the room's light fixture. However, rooms such as kitchens, living rooms and dining rooms frequently have more complicated switches, which allow the light fixture to be controlled from multiple locations. While this is certainly convenient when you want to turn the room's light on and off, it can make switch repair or replacement much more complicated. If you have a light in a room that can be controlled from two different locations, it is likely that you are dealing with a 3-way switch. If the light can be controlled from more than two locations you are dealing with a 4-way switch. You will notice that these switches do not have the "on" and "off" markings that you will find on single-pole switches. If you are experiencing problems with these more complicated switches, you may find you will need to replace more than one of them. Unless you have a lot of experience with these switches, it's usually best to call a electrician when problems occur.

So, now that you know a little bit more about fixing broken electrical switches in your home, do what you can on your own but don't hesitate to call a electrician if you need more help.

If you need a great Sacramento or Roseville electrician then check out AAA Electrical Services and call them at 916-972-7515. They're a top notch Sacramento and Roseville electrician company and can help you with all your electrical needs.

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