4 ms·

Not OP, but I'm in a similar situation: I have a two-way switched pair of lights on my stairwell, one light at the base, one at the top. The one at the top does

Not OP, but I'm in a similar situation: I have a two-way switched pair of lights on my stairwell, one light at the base, one at the top. The one at the top does not work. We've tried replacing the bulb, we've tried fiddling with the cable for it (it's a suspended lamp). It hasn't worked since we moved in. We've told the landlord twice, he said he'd call his guy, his guy hasn't shown up. I would like to have a light in my stairs. It's hard to see at night in the winter. My solutions is going to be to spin up home assistant, a zigbee base, and some fairy lights on a 'smart' switch. I could learn the skills to troubleshoot why the electrical connection is (apparently) bad to the lamp, but given that said connection is in the walls, my DIY skills are trash, and I'm scared of electricity, I'm gonna do the project that's more fun and lines up with some stuff I wanted to do anyway. I have no idea why the lamp doesn't work, especially because the fixture at the base of the stairs does, but the landlord insists it worked before we moved in.

giardini 1y ago
Been there, seen that. Some notes: - the two-way switched lights may have never worked as intended. So no matter what you do with the endpoints it may never work. - doing it yourself is a waste of time and money. You'll learn nothing of value and will toss it all in the end. -Proper solution is to hire a certified electrician who is familiar with two-way lights to fix/replace the current wiring. If you rent, pay the electrician and send the bill to the landlord. Keep a copy. If landlord hasn't paid by the time you move out, bill him for the price. If he stiffs you, sue him in small claims court - he'll pay or you'll win. Cheapest fix: run an extension cord with a bulb to the upstairs light, turn it on and leave it on all the time. Electricity is cheap, bulbs efficient. Having a light on inside keeps burglars away, esp. bathroom lights (according to Malcolm X).
- justsomehnguy 1y ago
  > turn it on and leave it on all the time Or just get a motion activated one. They have their own shenanigans, but...
AngryData 1y ago
If it wasn't suspended in the air I would say give it a go, household wiring isn't like some movie style electrocution hazard and is fairly easy to test for live. If you are dry and not grounded even if you get shocked it would hurt and singe some skin but would be freak accident to die from and you should have the breaker off anyways. But with it up the top of a set of stairs and in the air requiring a ladder or something to stand on I wouldn't recommend it for a first time because if you did get shocked, not knowing what is coming (and possibly even if you did), you would jerk or jump away and possibly fall down the stairs which is way worse.

giardini 1y ago

Been there, seen that. Some notes: - the two-way switched lights may have never worked as intended. So no matter what you do with the endpoints it may never work. - doing it yourself is a waste of time and money. You'll learn nothing of value and will toss it all in the end. -Proper solution is to hire a certified electrician who is familiar with two-way lights to fix/replace the current wiring. If you rent, pay the electrician and send the bill to the landlord. Keep a copy. If landlord hasn't paid by the time you move out, bill him for the price. If he stiffs you, sue him in small claims court - he'll pay or you'll win. Cheapest fix: run an extension cord with a bulb to the upstairs light, turn it on and leave it on all the time. Electricity is cheap, bulbs efficient. Having a light on inside keeps burglars away, esp. bathroom lights (according to Malcolm X).

justsomehnguy 1y ago
> turn it on and leave it on all the time Or just get a motion activated one. They have their own shenanigans, but...

AngryData 1y ago

If it wasn't suspended in the air I would say give it a go, household wiring isn't like some movie style electrocution hazard and is fairly easy to test for live. If you are dry and not grounded even if you get shocked it would hurt and singe some skin but would be freak accident to die from and you should have the breaker off anyways. But with it up the top of a set of stairs and in the air requiring a ladder or something to stand on I wouldn't recommend it for a first time because if you did get shocked, not knowing what is coming (and possibly even if you did), you would jerk or jump away and possibly fall down the stairs which is way worse.