The kitchen light switch on/off switch was working perfectly normal - flip it up and the light went on; flip it down and the light went off. Then one night, to my surprise, I flipped the switch up but the light did not go on. Then I flipped the switch down and the light came on! Ever since that time (a couple of weeks ago), it has retained this "reverse" operation. Please advise
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Is this a simple single switch? Another switch does not also control the light, one(switch) you don't use? This is at least the third question like this in a couple of months. A simple switch should not do this unless busted. If the kitchen has two doors/openings/entrances, it should have three way switches, one at each entrance.– crip659Commented Dec 8, 2022 at 22:20
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3Possibly the second switch might be behind a piece of furniture.– manassehkatz-Moving 2 CodidactCommented Dec 8, 2022 at 23:09
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1Turn off teh circuit breaker serving this. Unscrew the screws holing the switch in. Don't touch the screws holding wires on the switch. Pull the switch a little bit out of the box, and take pictutes (sharp, well lit) of the switch from both sides and also looking into the box (can be just two pictures if you get the angle right. Or take more as needed. we can only see what in your pictures, and right now that's nothing.) Come back and edit those into your question. Or put them on imgur and put links to them here, as I recall there are still limits on pictures until you get some reputation.– EcnerwalCommented Dec 9, 2022 at 0:37
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5 Answers
Look carefully at the switch. If the toggle has "on" and "off" imprinted on it, it's a regular switch and the switch should be replaced. If it is a blank toggle, then it's a 3-way and you need to start looking for another switch that someone operated a couple of weeks ago.
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1Note that is only if you have the traditional small toggle type switch. The large flat rocker style (sometimes known by the Decora trademark) won't be labeled. Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 2:18
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3@user71659 True, but you could then remove the face plate and a regular switch would be stamped "top" whereas a 3-way would not b stamped– JACKCommented Dec 9, 2022 at 2:29
This would indicate it is a three way switch.
Means there is another switch that can control the light.
You may not be aware of the second switch but if that switch is in another switch position that will make the original kitchen switch work in opposite direction.
Do not think anything you are doing wrong I have switches in my home that I still don't know what they do.
However it is possible you have another problem. Loose wiring on the switch. That can be caused by using the wire backstab method which is known not to be reliable conection.
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I don't think it is caused by a 2nd switch for this reason: This switch was down and the light was off. I turned the switch up and the light did not go on, and then I immediately turned the switch down and the light went on. How could the 2nd switch even matter if the light was off to begin with, and did not go on until I flipped the switch up and then down - there was no time elapsed where some other switch could have been turned up or down. Commented Dec 8, 2022 at 23:21
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1@user159988 We need to be sure it is a single switch. A single switch and a three way switch are two different things that require different answers. Could be one switch is not right/busted. 95% of the time this turns out to be a hidden/unused three way. You do not fool around with electricity.– crip659Commented Dec 8, 2022 at 23:55
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4@user159988 technical it is not possible for switch to reverse its function. It now works in down position just because another switch makes it do so. Go and find that switch– DIY75Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 3:14
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1Or because someone physically took it out of the wall and reinstalled it upside down, of course.– keshlamCommented Oct 2 at 20:11
Assuming it is indeed one of a pair of 3-way switches, after you are done taking pictures as requested by Ecnerwal in a comment, turn the switch 180 degrees - i.e., flip it around. Then put it back in the box. It will now function "correctly" until the next time some little elf sneaks over and flips the other switch that you haven't found yet.
answered Dec 9, 2022 at 1:27
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidactmanassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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3If you are actually going to flip it over, you can easily check whether it is a 3-way switch at the same time. A 3-way switch has three insulated wires connected to it (typically black, white, and red), a normal switch has only two. (Both kinds might have an additional uninsulated (or green) ground wire attached to it.) Be sure to turn off the circuit breaker before attempting this. Commented Oct 13, 2023 at 2:57
The behavior you describe is almost certainly due to a "three-way" switch (or a pair of them).
You said "I turned the switch up and the light did not go on, and then I immediately turned the switch down and the light went on." There is no "malfunction" of the switch that could cause this behavior -- it has to be due to a three-way or some other oddity. (Speaking as someone with master's degree in electrical engineering.)
With the additional input that flicking the switch over and then back to its original position cause the light to turn on -- Are these old-style fluorescent lights? If so you may want to try a new starter or new tube, since either can wear out over time and start wanting an additional inductive "kick" to help them get going.
But if up used to be on, and down is now on, and nobody had modified the wiring, that's almost gotta be a three-way circuit. Or four-way, with one or more DPDT switches in the middle of the travelers. Unless these are smart switches and someone has changed the logic coupling them to the controlled circuit, or someone has physically reversed a switch...
