Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Ceiling Fan Light Blew Out

I've been living in my apartment for about three months now, and for some reason, every now and then something in my bedroom goes 'pop!' and all the electricity in my room only will go out. Usually this would happen when I went to turn the ceiling fan light on or off, but it has also happened randomly. Sparks will fly out and it usually startles me quite a bit.

When I check the circuit breaker box, the little switch corresponding to my room is always off to the side. I'd move it back and everything would be fine until the 'next time'.

Last time this happened, the ceiling fan light stopped working. I assumed it was the bulb that had blown and replaced it, but no such luck. I went to Home Depot and they told me that since the fan was still working and just the light had blown out, it had probably blown the switch. I bought a replacement switch and, following the guy's instructions exactly, installed the new one. Still nothing.

I really need help because this is the only light I have in my bedroom. I am on a pretty fixed income so I only want to replace the whole fan if absolutely necessary. I can't call maitenance, either, since I am keeping cats here and don't want them to find out about them.

Thanks in advance.

Well...you have a dead short somehow between the hot part of the wiring or socket and the neutral part or to ground (if your ceiling fan is indeed grounded.)

Do you have the ceiling fan with one globe at the bottom, or the 4 bulb variety? Either way...do you have a real loose socket, have you noticed? One where when you put in a new bulb, the entire socket wants to go around in circles, along with the bulb? Check and see if you don't have this going on. If so, the wires could have spun so much that all or part of one of the socket's hot wires is coming in contact with some other wire or metal.

It's the kind with a single globe.

The socket doesn't spin around, though. Which wires should I check to see if they're loose? I know absolutely nothing about electronics aside from what the Home Depot guy told me.

Thanks again for your help.

Well, because this is a problem that occured and not one that always was... somethign happened inside. It seems doubtful the trouble happend up in the ceiling box above the entire unit because only the light is affected, and not the fan.

The problem could be anywhere in the light circuit inside the fan, from above the switch, on down into the socket. Because you already replaced the pull chain switch and now it don't work, you can either go back in and see if you have power coming to the switch and then through it, or you can move down to the socket and really take a good external look at it, and then possibly remove it and inspect the wiring to it.

I went back to Home Depot and another guy in the fan section suggested replacing the entire light kit. Did so, and still- not working. It's definately gotta be the wires that are leading to the light kit.

One thing I am curious about is that there are several semi see-through whitish plastic 'things' which look similar to wire nuts but are pinched in the middle, holding several wires together. The blue wire leading to the light kit goes straight into the ceiling, but the white one is attached to one of those things and is pinched together with what appears to be two other white wires. One of the wires sticking out is leading to a tiny black box that also has a red wire sticking out of it that goes up into the fan. The third wire goes directly from the 'white thing' to the ceiling. I'm wondering if that might be the problem, or maybe the black box, but I can't seem to remove the 'white thing' and am wondering if it might compromise the fan part working if I mess with it (the fan works, the light kit doesn't). Any ideas? I'm really determined to fix this bugger. :madhell: