After two "burned out" light bulbs and almost three weeks in a new apartment, I finally figured out that the reason my overhead hallway lights wouldn't work was not a problem with the bulbs. I kept flipping the switch at the beginning of the hallway, but it turns out the second switch further down the hallway was the key. No, it didn't control the light. It controlled the other switch. Switch #2 had to be in the "on" position for switch #1 to work and—after much trial and error and walking up and down the hallway—turn on my hallway lights.
This is the first WTF moment I've had in my life as a renter, but friends tell me that they've had simaler moments with ill-positioned switches. One friend in a small unit noticed a switch near the entry controlled an outlet—perfect for plugging in a floor lamp—except that the outlet was the only one within a cords reach of the cable outlet, too. Needless to say, she frequently turned off her cable and internet (which needs 5 minutes to reset) reaching for the light switch each time she walked in the door.
As renters, we really don't have the option to rewire our apartment. In my case, I can deal with the double switch of mystery in my hallway. Have any of you Unplggers discovered weirder wiring in your units? Was there an easy fix? Please share in the comments... I'll be taking notes!
[ Light switch image from user aMAYzing. oO. at Flickr ]
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Comments (14)
I used to live in a 1950-ish Montreal apartment. Most of the plugs weren't "grounded" and they were in the stupidest places. Then one by one, they started failling and my dad opened one up; we discover old, old old copper wires all discheveled and wrapped in a kind of fabric. He said "okay, I am not playing with this, it's too dangerous."
I'm so glad I moved out of this place!
we had a switch that literally did nothing. it was a nicer place with vaulted ceilings, and from my guesses i think it used to have a ceiling fan, but was removed for some reason or another, and the switch controlled the missing fan.
in my last apartment, the light switches were upside down, as were all the wall outlets in the rooms. and, the outlets were super-loose to boot, so plugs would just fall out of them (sometimes just on their own).
i just moved into my new place, and there's a switch by the front door that seems to control... nothing. have been running around plugging things into outlets and testing it, but so far, no dice.
Taryn, tell your friend to get a remote control switch to make one of the other outlets swichable and then tape the one by the door down. I didn't believe my dad when he said they existed, but they spared me a serious irritation. I had an apartment with 1.25 baths, but it was layed out strangely. The bathroom areas were layed out like an "L" with sinks on the legs and the actual bath tub and toilet in a small room at the corner. There were doors in from both sides. The ONLY switch for the bathroom light was in my bedroom! This drove me crazy when I'd have company over and while I had someone else living with me. Eventually, I replaced that switch with a remote one and bolted the remote switch to the wall in the bathroom. No one ever noticed that it was oddly thick and was attached to the wall hiding the pocket door.
The switches right by the front door in that apartment were weird, too. The first one your hand hit from the door controlled a plug in the living room. The SECOND one controlled the entry light. Those I switched out (and got zapped because I'm too stupid to turn off the breaker but fortunately it wasn't bad).
For those unable to do any rewiring, Home Depot sells these little plastick doohickeys that fit onto your switchplate. Depending on whether or not you want to prevent yourself (and others) from turning the switch on or off, you take off the appropriate screw and add on the thingamabob, then screw it back on. It's hard to describe, but essentially it's just a perfectly-sized little piece of plastic that will hold the switch in one position. If you want to keep the switch on, you would take off the bottom screw, place the plastic thing in the right spot, and then screw it to the switchplate. I think they cost about a dollar, plus you might need to buy a longer screw.
reminds me of that Nationwide insurance company commerical with the switch that controled the neighbor's garage door!
Chessieann..have you been checking both the top and bottom and bottom of the outlets? Sometimes a switch only controls one of the plugs.
Does the switch have on and off molded into the actual switch? If not, it's a three way switch that is either miswired or one of the switches is damaged.
If you're comfortable taking the cover plate off of the switch, look in and see how many different colored wires are in the box. A typical light with only have a white, a black and a bare copper ground. I usually wire my 3-ways with a 14-3 wire, which includes a red wire. This can vary depending on the order of power,switches, and devices. A Google image search will turn up some really easy to understand graphics showing how 3-way switches are wired.
Disclaimer: Working on electrical, working on a rental, liability, shocking yourself, blah blah blah...
I live on the 2nd floor of a turn of the century house that has been divided into 2 apartments. In the hall of the apt. below me their is a door bell about 2 ft. from the ground that rings my bell. It serves as an interesting ground-breaker for meeting new neighbors.
My husband replaced most of the outlets and light switches in our condo when we moved in a few months ago. At one point, he came back upstairs after turning off the power and we noticed that the computer was still on. The outlet that the computer is plugged into is not part of our power and is actually part of the power for the common areas. I hope my neighbors don't read this blog and realize they are subsidizing our power. We noticed recently that our microwave is plugged into an outlet like that too. We're trying to find a really long extension cord so we can plug the TV into one of those outlets. Not really but it would be funny.
Yay for old buildings. My bathroom's light switch is outside the bathroom. No, really.
The house I live in was built somewhere around the turn of the (last) century. It did not originally have electricity when built. We had live gas lines and stubs for gas lights. There was a short in the doorbell that caused the kitchen light to stay on if someone rang the doorbell meaning you could not turn it off and if off couldn't turn it on; that took some serious time to figure out! A fuse box in the attic for the second floor and a fuse box in the basement for the first (it is a one family home). All the outlets and lights on the second floor are on one fuse, creating the need for a "Green Acres" type calculation to see if you will blow the fuse. Oh and when the washer in the basement switches cycles the lights dim in the kitchen. Ahh the joys of home ownership.
i have a switch that doesn't do anything.
i covered it with a book case.
wierd
In the last rental I had there was a 3 switch plate by the front door. 1 for indoor lights, 1 for outdoor lights and 1 for the plug that all of my computer equipment used. After hitting the wrong switch one too many times, I opened up the switch plate and disconnected the switch (wiring it up so the plug was always on). I just remembered that I didn't change that when I left. That could be why some of you have switches that don't control anything.
I have a switch by the front door that does nothing. My neighbor says that his switch goes to an outlet, but mine does not go to any of the outlets in the house. I checked every single one, top and bottom. I even opened up the switch to see if it was wired and it was. I guess those wires just don't go to an outlet. Annoying!