Problem with breaker switch/box.

[ghettoblaster]

I woke up this morning and all of a sudden none of the lights in my kitchen/living room/dining room/hallways et cetera aren't working. I checked the box and one switch was triggered/in the off position. When I flip it on the lights will come on but there's a loud buzzing sound coming from the box and it flips itself off again.

Anyone know what the problem is/how I can fix it?

For reference, it's just the one switch. Still have power in bedrooms and all appliances are working.

[HayZee518]

the loud buzzing means there is a high resistance short in one of the downstream lines. trace the lines as they come out of the panelbox, opening up one junction box at a time and seperating the wires inside the j box. mark them so you can re-connect them as they were. say if you have in a junction box three cables, then disconnect one cable and try resetting the breaker. if there is no buzz and the breaker stays on then the problem is in or downstream of that third cable. if it pops again then its in or downstream of that first cable. it's all a process of elimination there's no easy way of tracking it down. A clamp around ammeter might make things a little easier.

[ghettoblaster]

Thank you for the quick reply, greatly appreciated.

I was really hoping you would tell me it's just a bad breaker switch and I could swap it out and get on with my life. If what you say is accurate it sounds like I'll need professional help, which is problematic.

What could be the cause of the problem? Is it normal wear and tear/aging? I haven't made any changes recently, meaning there is nothing additional drawing power from the affected circuit(?).

[ghettoblaster]

Hmm. I followed some advice I found elsewhere and turned off everything I knew was on that switch and reset it. The first few times it didn't work but when I turned the last light off I could think of (which actually turned it on, pull switch) I tried again and now it seems to be holding. I then turned all the lights on and it still held.

What, if anything, does that mean? I'm confused and EXTREMELY worried about fire. Does this problem make my house any more likely to burn to the ground?

[HayZee518]

if the breaker is tripping, its doing so because this is what it was designed to do. nuisance tripping is a possibility. take apart that pullchain fixture and check inside it. would the breaker panel be of the federal pacific brand?

[Starchy]

I am not an electrician, however I have had a similar problem. Twice, in an 8 yr old house, I had a breaker go bad. The overhead lights would flicker from time to time, and upon inspection of the electrical panel, I could hear humming and sometimes hear crackling, like arcing. Closed the breaker, shut off the mains (200 amp entrance) and replaced the breaker. Both times this solved the problem. It has been about 2 years since I did this, and all is well to this day. If this was my situation, I would replace the breaker and see what happens. If the problem persists, then I would call an electrician to check it out. I have a lot of respect for electricity. If it feels like it is beyond my abilities of knowledge, I always opt for a licensed pro to fix it.
Good luck