Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - recessed lighting problem

I have 4 recessed fixtures in a series (hall way) the 4th bulb went out the other day, when I went to replace the bulb the new bulb instantly shorted out. I checked the can and wiring can't see anything wrong with the wiring. now when any one of three switches is turned on the other 3 lights dim and the breaker trips?????????? any ideas what could be wrong? These lights have functioned perfectly for over 5 years.

By "shorted out", do you mean that the bulb flashed and then burnt out?

And what do you mean by "any one of three switches"? Are you referring to three switches (two 3-way and one 4-way) that control the same bank of four lights?

Are any of the switches dimmer switches? Or are they all regular switches?

Did you replace that fourth bulb again after the first incident? Are the new bulbs the same brand and wattage and type as the old bulbs?

Exactly how long between the time you turn on a switch until the breaker trips? A fraction of a second? A second? Ten seconds? A minute?

By short I mean you put the bulb in an it immediatly goes out. by switches I'm referring to (3) regular "flip" type wall switches located in separate places to turn on the hall lights. Again, all that I did was replace what appeared to be a burned out bulb (one of four,the other three lights were on) now even when I leave the 4th fixture without a bulb, when I turn on any of the three wall switches the 3 remaining lights dim within a couple of seconds- trip the breaker at the main box (in the garage). The other thing that seems odd is that with 2 of the three wall switches (down is off) with the third switch up is off, is this wired incorrectly? As I mentioned however, these have worked fine over the last 5 years. don't know if that adds any more insight, any info is appreciated. I just keep thinking is has to be something with the 4th fixture that's causing a short but I can see any wires that look bad, should I just replace that "can" fixture and see what happens?

Thanks,

On a 3-way switch, neither down nor up is off. I'm confused by your description. Do the levers on the switches say "on" and "off", or are they blank?

The entire circuit needs to be inspected. And soon. Something dangerous is happening, and only a thorough inspection will reveal it. In the meantime, keep the lights off.

they are not 3 way switches they're simply up down wall toggle switches, (not sure what the formal name is) however there are 3 seperate ones. the hallway is upstairs, so there is one at the bottom of the stairs, and one at each end of the hall way to turn on the lights. These switches don't control anything but the recessed lights in the hallway. A bedroom however must be wired on the circuit because when the breaker trips power goes out to that bedroom and that bed room only (one of 4). I have taped off the switches so they can't be used and won't until we get this problem fixed.

Thanks again...