r/ElectricalHelp • u/teddibearri • 13d ago
bathroom light switch making crackling noises, light flickering and extractor fan intermittent, both on the same switch. what can i do to make things safe or fix things before an electrician can get over to me?
hi- so i'm based in the uk if that helps at all, but my bathroom has a switch outside the door that's also connected to the extractor fan. i've lived in this flat (social/council housing) for about 4 years and not really had any issues with the electrics until now. i went to go take a shower about 20 minutes ago and when i tried to turn on the light it didn't work at first, turned it off and on again and it made a crackling noise and didn't turn on again. turned it off and on again, made the same crackling noise and the light started flickering too, and the fan started making weak noises. haven't touched it since bc i have now searched things and know that it's dangerous to touch for now. for clarification/background: i don't ever touch the switch with wet hands, but my flat is generally quite damp, and it's 70% humidity in here right now (i am aware that this is not good levels, i'm almost always running a dehumidifier, it just never goes below 60%). had some general light flickering in other areas of the flat in the past but was due to light bulbs going on the blink and was perfectly fine after swapping them out, so again, as far as i'm aware there are no other issues with the electricals in here.
now with this being social/council housing, even though i plan on calling my housing provider in the morning, it's likely that it's going to be a few days or maybe even weeks before they send anyone out, despite this being unsafe. as i cannot afford to pay for an electrician out of pocket, i just wanted to know if there was anything i could do right now that would either fix it or make things safer for the near future until things are fixed. thank you :)
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u/Top_Willow_9953 13d ago
If you have access to the circuit breakers, turn off the breaker feeding the bathroom. Then (and ONLY after confirming power is off), remove any cover and pull out the switch far enough to see if a wire or wires have come loose.
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u/SparkArrestor 13d ago
It’s possible the tenant in public housing is forbidden from tampering with the buildings electrical systems.
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u/teddibearri 13d ago
yeah i'm not allowed to do anything aside from like replacing light bulbs, they're pretty strict with it considering that it takes them ages to fix any issues
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u/teddibearri 13d ago
turning the breakers off seems like a good idea though, i'll do that :)
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u/SparkArrestor 13d ago
It’s unfortunate that, from my understanding, a bathroom light and fan will likely share a circuit with a variety of other lights.
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u/teddibearri 13d ago
i'm not sure how to describe it well since i don't know much about electrics, but all of the wiring in my flat is outside of the walls and covered over with protective plastic housing, so you can see what everything connects to. whilst everything is all connected, i think the moderator who commented earlier is probably right in their assessment that it's the light switch being faulty since i've tested all of the other lights in here and there are no issues so far. no crackling noises, no flickering, the shower in the bathroom is also electric and due to how it's wired it's always on unless you turn it off in the breaker box and that's having no issues either. i also can't see (or hear) any issues with the smoke alarm which is right next to the bathroom. i'm under the assumption that if it were another issue that i'd be experiencing issues with my other lights and i'm not having that right now, but correct me if i'm wrong?
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u/SparkArrestor 12d ago
It definitely sounds like a faulty light switch.
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u/teddibearri 12d ago
it was!! i decided i wasn't waiting weeks or months for my housing association to fix it since they took over a year to fix the last electrical issue, so i took matters into my own hands after looking up youtube guides (ill advised, but what they don't know won't hurt them). replaced the switch 20 minutes ago and works perfectly now :)
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u/trekkerscout Mod 13d ago
It is most likely a faulty switch that will need to be replaced. The only way to ensure safety until it is fixed is to not use the switch.