Odd behavior of a switch

[W. eWatson]

We have three light switches in a hall way, and stairs that lead down to
the lower level. One switch is on a wall, and two others on the
opposite wall. The walls are perpendicular to the hallway.

One of the switches stopped working, so we replaced it. At first it
didn't work, but now it does. I think we are OK.

However, for some years we've had mice get in to the walls. We've had
some concern that they may have damaged the wires. We live in a rural
area. Without opening walls what might be a good way to find damage?

I had a lot of the property cleared last year around our house to give
us a wider buffer for fire protection. Apparently, the mice didn't like
that, since it made them easily seen. We haven't had a mouse problem for
8 months.

I had the same experience with an old van where wood rats got into the
engine and caused some electrical damage. That is, I parked it in an
area that had little cover around it. No rats for over a year.

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:57:42 -0700, "W. eWatson"
<wolftracks@invalid.com> wrote:

We have three light switches in a hall way, and stairs that lead down to
the lower level. One switch is on a wall, and two others on the
opposite wall. The walls are perpendicular to the hallway.

One of the switches stopped working, so we replaced it. At first it
didn't work, but now it does. I think we are OK.

However, for some years we've had mice get in to the walls. We've had
some concern that they may have damaged the wires. We live in a rural
area. Without opening walls what might be a good way to find damage?

Install a smoke detector ?

I'd check the tightness of the connections at all the switches. Don't
use the slip-in connectors, use the screw-downs.

Mice seem to like to chew on Romex. We had a fire in my father's
hardware store in 1957, caused by rats chewing thru the basement
wiring. Set a bunch of cartons of picture tubes afire. Spooked the
firemen when they kept blowing ;-) But mostly smoke damage. So we
kept the doors closed and had a "fire sale" ;-)

I had a lot of the property cleared last year around our house to give
us a wider buffer for fire protection. Apparently, the mice didn't like
that, since it made them easily seen. We haven't had a mouse problem for
8 months.

I had the same experience with an old van where wood rats got into the
engine and caused some electrical damage. That is, I parked it in an
area that had little cover around it. No rats for over a year.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

 

[Tom Biasi]

On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:57:42 -0700, "W. eWatson"
<wolftracks@invalid.com> wrote:

We have three light switches in a hall way, and stairs that lead down to
the lower level. One switch is on a wall, and two others on the
opposite wall. The walls are perpendicular to the hallway.

One of the switches stopped working, so we replaced it. At first it
didn't work, but now it does. I think we are OK.

However, for some years we've had mice get in to the walls. We've had
some concern that they may have damaged the wires. We live in a rural
area. Without opening walls what might be a good way to find damage?

I had a lot of the property cleared last year around our house to give
us a wider buffer for fire protection. Apparently, the mice didn't like
that, since it made them easily seen. We haven't had a mouse problem for
8 months.

I had the same experience with an old van where wood rats got into the
engine and caused some electrical damage. That is, I parked it in an
area that had little cover around it. No rats for over a year.

You may have luck with a "Fox and Hound". Not live ones but a piece of
test gear that will send a signal from the main box that can be traced
to the destination. You may find a break that way.
Good luck.

Tom

 

[George Herold]

On Apr 19, 6:57 pm, "W. eWatson" <wolftra...@invalid.com> wrote:

We have three light switches in a hall way, and stairs that lead down to
the lower level.  One switch is on a wall, and two others on the
opposite wall. The walls are perpendicular to the hallway.

One of the switches stopped working, so we replaced it. At first it
didn't work, but now it does. I think we are OK.

However, for some years we've had mice get in to the walls. We've had
some concern that they may have damaged the wires. We live in a rural
area. Without opening walls what might be a good way to find damage?

I had a lot of the property cleared last year around our house to give
us a wider buffer for fire protection. Apparently, the mice didn't like
that, since it made them easily seen. We haven't had a mouse problem for
8 months.


I had the same experience with an old van where wood rats got into the
engine and caused some electrical damage. That is, I parked it in an
area that had little cover around it. No rats for over a year.

I don't know any way to test for damaged wires. But get a cat to keep
the mice in check.

I've got this farm truck that sees limited use during some parts of
the year. I fired it up one day, and was driving back into the woods,
when I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. Stopped truck,
lifted hood..... Wooshhhh... Big fire ball as air got to the
smoldering nest of dry grass that the mice had built on the exhaust
manifold. Now when I leave it parked for a while I put a baggie with
moth balls under the hood. A few small holes in the baggie lets
enough of the odor out to keep the mice away.

George H.

 

On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:57:42 -0700, "W. eWatson"
<wolftracks@invalid.com> wrote:

We have three light switches in a hall way, and stairs that lead down to
the lower level. One switch is on a wall, and two others on the
opposite wall. The walls are perpendicular to the hallway.

One of the switches stopped working, so we replaced it. At first it
didn't work, but now it does. I think we are OK.

However, for some years we've had mice get in to the walls. We've had
some concern that they may have damaged the wires. We live in a rural
area. Without opening walls what might be a good way to find damage?

I had a lot of the property cleared last year around our house to give
us a wider buffer for fire protection. Apparently, the mice didn't like
that, since it made them easily seen. We haven't had a mouse problem for
8 months.

I had the same experience with an old van where wood rats got into the
engine and caused some electrical damage. That is, I parked it in an
area that had little cover around it. No rats for over a year.
You can find discontinuities in the wire with Time Domain

Reflectometer. I've seen this done by repairmen looking for a break in
an underground cable. Here's a link to explain:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-domain_reflectometer
Here's a link to a kit for 10 frog pelts:
http://www.farcircuits.net/TDR%20ENGDAHI.pdf
Here's a ink to the circuit explanation:
http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/tdr.html
The information provided in the link directly above says that it has
about 1 meter resolution. Maybe not close enough for work in the wall.
But there are expensive meters available that have much finer
resolution and so maybe a professional repair person could be hired to
find the fault. I may buy the kit above just to play around with it
because it's so cheap. I'm not sure though if the kit is just a
circuit board. Still, for ten dollars it's still better than just
using perfboard. Oops, I just read a little more and it needs to be
used with an oscilloscope. I have a Tek 465B so I can still use the
kit but if you don't have a 'scope or can't borrow one then I guess
the kit won't be of any use to you. In any case though if I had
suspect wiring in my house or shop I'd remove power until I was sure
the wiring was faultless.
Eric