DO-IT-YOURSELF : Electrical Problems Can Be Short-Circuited

A properly installed electrical system is remarkably durable. Still, sometimes maintenance is required.

Perhaps a light switch will work erratically. Circuit breakers may trip even though you’re not using substantially more power. You might notice a flickering of a light every time someone shuts a door.

These are all simple electrical problems that a person with a basic understanding of wiring and safety precautions can resolve.

While troublesome switches and receptacles simply need to be replaced, other problems can be attributed to loose wiring connections. The source of the problem is a combination of vibration and heat.

Vibration is caused by just about everything that moves--including nearby cars, trains, even your feet. Such relentless vibration eventually causes twist connectors and screw terminals to loosen their grip on the wires they hold. Once a connection loosens, resistance to current flow increases. And with resistance comes heat.

Each time current passes through a loose connection, the wires and connector heat up, causing them to expand. When the current is stopped, they cool and contract. Repeated expansion and contraction further loosens connections, causing more heat, which eventually trips circuit breakers or causes wires to back out of their connectors. Loose connections may begin to spark, creating a fire hazard.

When checking tightness of connections of breakers in your service panel, make sure the main switch is off. Make connections snug, not tight.

When replacing defective switches, remove the screws to pull the switch from its box and gain access to the fixture wires. Use a side-cutter to cut the wires. To replace three-way switches, transfer one wire at a time to the new switch. Strip about one-half inch of insulation from the ends of each switch loop wire. New switches often have push-in connectors as well as screw terminals.

Replacing a receptacle is handled similarly to replacing a switch. Remove the defective receptacle from its box and cut the incoming and outgoing black, white and bare ground wires. To install the new receptacle, join like-colored wires to an insulated pigtail. Attach white pigtail to silver screw, black to brass and ground to green screw. End-of-the-run receptacles have two circuit wires attached (plus ground). Fasten wires directly, in old or new installations.