Electrical question....house related

[General Lee]

While turning on the porch light this evening, when I hit the switch I heard a slight sizzle/crackling sound in the wall switch. I hit the switch several more times to listen and it did it pretty much every time. I removed the wall plate and inspected it. I saw no burn marks or smelled anything. I also hit the switch in the dark with the wall plate off to see if I saw any sparks and such and didn't see any.
Is the crackling sound for a second normal sometimes. I remember hearing sounds like this from time to time in various switches over the years in this house and my past house and always wondered if this is a possible hazard? Mostly the switches have just made a slight popping sound very quickly, but this switch sizzled and popped slightly longer than what I have heard in the past.

Any input on this?

 

[k0ua]

I would replace the switch. it is arcing inside of the switch. unless the load (the lights) has greatly increased, causing excess current to flow in the switch. But I doubt this, mostly likely carbon buildup on the switch contacts and arcing inside from the high resistance connection. Just replace the switch and go on. they are cheap.
James K0UA

 

[irvingj]

Ditto! Get rid of that switch before it starts a fire!

 

[jinman]

I just replaced a bad Arc Fault Sensing breaker in my house. All our bedrooms and bathroom lights are AF protected. If the switch arcs, the breaker pops. In my case, the breaker itself went bad and would not stay reset with no load whatsoever. When I was at Lowes, I noticed that there were breakers with both arc fault and ground fault sensing in the same breaker. My guess is that your problem is condensation inside your switch and replacing it will solve your problem.

 

[flyingcow]

Replace it, and chances are, any others that are the same vintage might need to be also. Just getting hard to find good solid switches anymore, don't seem to last more than 5 or 6 yrs of use.

 

[RadarTech]

yeah-- replace that puppy..
Just go ahead and get a 10 pak...
let's hope it is not a 3 way or 4 way as those bubba's are rather pricey when you compare them to a single throw switch..

J

 

[Willl]

Replace it like the others said.

Couple months back, the wife called me into her shop and told me to listen to the wall switch for the ceiling lights.
It was buzzing very, very lightly. Popped the cover off and saw a tiny little arc show going on just under one of the wire screws.

Could of been nasty.

 

[Transit]

Things over time wear out, it is normal for receptacle and switch screws to loosen, switch contacts to arc and burn.
If the switch in question is outdoors, I would replace it with a mercury switch, the bulb is sealed and not subject to condensation.:thumbsup:

 

[RadarTech]

Things over time wear out, it is normal for receptacle and switch screws to loosen, switch contacts to arc and burn.
If the switch in question is outdoors, I would replace it with a mercury switch, the bulb is sealed and not subject to condensation.:thumbsup:

That mercury switch is a good idea for ANY hi-humidity area...But aren't they a little pricey?

J

 

[General Lee]

Update.......

The night I posted this, I pulled the switch and made sure all connections were tight. The ground wire connection seemed a little loose. The few times I tested the switch afterwards it seemed fine. I went ahead and replaced it today. Tried it a couple times and all was good. Well, I just turned it on for the evening and it popped liked crazy. WTH? Maybe I got a bad switch?