Help! Clueless about electrics

[andthebandmarchedon]

So, this is no doubt a very silly question but.....we have one of those old fashioned string pull lights in the bathroom. Teenage son had shower tonight and when finished, light was no longer working. Before, I’d pull it and it would make a clock sound and switch on. Now, I pull and it doesn’t click and I don’t want to force it so have tried gently tugging to no avail.
Anyone have any ideas what needs replacing? The bulb? The string? The whole mechanism? Do I need to call an electrician? Am quaking at the mere thought of the vast expense at something no doubt quite simple to fix!

the whole switch. the moving plastic parts inside might be broken, or worn, or come out of place. Sometimes it is due to heavy-handed yanking of the cord.

Of course, the electricity must be turned off at the consumer unit before starting work, and tested for dead on exposing the terminals, and you're not supposed to fall off the steps.

If you can get a personal recommendation for a qualified local electrician (not on an advertising website disguised at recommendations) it might be an hour's work. Depending where you live there might be a minimum charge of £60 or so.

The switch itself is only a few pounds. I favour Crabtree but there are several makes, some of them very cheap in every sense. If you have two-way switching (light controlled by that switch and by another, as is often done on stairways) say so as it needs a two-way switch.

Unlike a shower switch, it's unlikely the cables will be damaged, because the current on a lightswitch is very low.

this sort of thing
High Street prices may be higher.

It will probably screw into the same fixing holes but may need new plasplugs. If you have an old house with lath-and-plaster ceilings it will be dirty and tiresome, since they won't hold a screw and are filthy and sometimes fall down. In this case you screw into the nearest joist (the previous electrician probably did the same).

Hi @PigletJohn! I’ve seen you reply to other posts and know your advice is very sound so thank you. Unfortunately, because I’m very thick about all this, I don’t understand it all apart from the bit about getting an electrician......
What is a consumer unit - do you mean the fuse box? And how do you test something for dead?? I’m sure this light is only controlled by the one switch.
I’m pretty sure it was absolutely due to very heavy handed pulling on the string by angry teenage son who is grounded.

If you do decide to DIY, have a look here

You are only doing the lightswitch, which is the simplest part. Ceiling roses are much more complicated and have to be photographed before you start work, as the colours don't mean what you think.

You could practice with a new lightswitch and a piece of cable on the kitchen table. That way you will realise in advance what tools you haven't got, and how tiny the screws are.

yes, the CU is the "fusebox"

Testing for dead: Throw away any neon screwdriver you may have or smash it to powder with a hammer.

You can use a multimeter.

Let's hope I don't forget to mention anything...

you expose the terminals and check that they are live with your multimeter.

then you turn the power off and test that they are dead.

then you use your meter to test something live, to prove that your meter didn't go wrong between the first and second steps.

then you test for dead again.

You padlock the consumer unit off to prevent anyone turning it back on while you are working.

On lighting circuits, the switch does not turn the power off, even if the light has gone off.

btw if you use varifocals, they probably won't work because you may be looking up at the workpiece. reading glasses may be OK. You hold a torch in one hand, the light fitting in the other hand, the cable in the other hand, and the screwdriver in the other other hand.

Can't a friend or neighbour help? DH changed ours and it really looked simple

So sorry for not replying! Basically, thanks so much for all your replies and especially all the details!
By some bizarre turn of fate, a small child in my house went in the bathroom yesterday morning and the blooming thing just turned on! When I tried it was fiddly but it did go on. So it’s clearly not broken but just temperamental!

I hate it when parents blame kids for being heavy handed and punish them when things never last for ever!
I probably was heavy handed like most kids are but it never felt fair to be punished for something breaking.
Anyway to answer your question you can probably get it going temporarily by spraying WD-40 in the right place. But it would be messy.
The real solution is replace it although I'd just go for turn off the main switch for all the electrics, check nearby lights don't work, open the fitting and replace it with a new one, and turn the power on again.
An electrician could do it but there's no reason a handyperson who advertises to do small electrical jobs couldn't do it.

if it's working for the moment and you are considering DIY, I strongly recommend buying a new switch and a metre of cable (1.5mm T&E) and practicing connection and disconnection on the kitchen table.

This will teach you some of what has to be done and you will familiarise yourself with the technique, tools and manual dexterity.

Much easier than doing it for the first time in a dimly-lit room, perched on a ladder.