I just DTY wired a 3-way light network (two switches - one bulb). Got it to work perfectly, shut down the power - pushed in wiring. One of the wires popped off, so I pulled it out and put it back on.

Turned the CB back on - nothing. I checked the lead going from the last switch to the bulb - good and hot. Burned out bulb I thought. Changed bulbs - numerous times. Put electric tool in the socket that the light screws into - good and hot. Pulled the first bulb out of the garbage, I assumed was burned out, and put it into another known hot socket - works fine. Put same bulb back into it's original socket that I checked, again, for good/hot (it was) - nothing.

The light fixture has three sockets. All are hot. The plethora of new bulbs I tried - none worked. (The electrical test tool is good for when I turn off the switch it is dead... checked it on other circuits).

This is so weird. What is going on?

Mark

If I am reading this correctly, you have 3 sockets and none of the bulbs work.. is that right? How are you determining the sockets are hot? You can have power to an socket, but without a return (neutral) the lamp won't light. Do two of the three sockets work?

MB,

Thank you. You know I am not very bright about this stuff. I started to think about the neutral today - duh.

So, what you are saying is I CAN have power to the socket (all three in this case) BUT if the neutral (white) is interrupted somewhere then the circuit is not complete?

I guess the only way I can check for an interrupted white is to look at all the connections?

markdty1

Yep. Neutral (white) came off the circuit. Thank you!!

Glad you found the problem. A little troubleshooting can go a long way.