6 Responses to “Wall switch plate is warm/hot to the touch?”
The wiring may be using the wrong type of wire, causing excess heat (due to too much ampage passing through). It can potentially start a fire. You should get an electrician to check it out.
merinsan
December 28th, 2008
If it’s warm to the touch and not hot, I wouldn’t worry about it. I just had a house completely remodeled, including all new wiring. A couple of switches power some light bars with 200 watts of total bulb power and the switch gets warm to the touch after a while.
If it really concerns you, you might put lower wattage bulbs in the lights that this switch operates. Less power means less current, which means less heat generated.
Paul in San Diego
December 29th, 2008
Assuming this is not a dimmer, and that you aren’t running 500 to 1000 watts of lighting on that switch, that can be a dangerous situation, as it could be due to resistance in the connection or in the switch contacts.
If you are comfortable working around electric hardware, I’d shut off the breaker to that circuit (leave the light on so you can see that it goes off), and check the connections.
Often, electricians use the quick-connect switches that allow the wire to be slipped into the switch very much like a plug. If the wire guage is small, and the switch is cheaply made, there might not be a good connection, or the cross-section of the connection may be too small for the amount of power being consumed. Whenever I encounter those, I strip a little more off the wire, form a clockwise hook and put it under the screws and tighten them firmly.
As always, be careful working around electricity - wear shoes, be sure the circuits are not powered or that someone else doesn’t flip the breaker back on while you’re working.
HyperDog
January 1st, 2009
I’ve been an electrician for over 40 years, so lets start easy and cheap. Replace the switch and tighten all of the connections. If this does not solve the problem in an hour or so, remove half of the lamps that are powered through the switch. If this does not solve the problem completely and quickly, you need to call a qualified professional electrician. There is then a strong possibility that you have a high resistance short in the wiring that can cause a serious fire. The switch box should not be warm to the touch, unless the whole house is warm. The metal should always be cooler than the surrounding area. Also turn off the power to the light circuit as soon as you can.
Jim W
January 3rd, 2009
I don’t care for the points but Jim W is correct. Do what he said and if it still isn’t fixed you will need to have it checked out.
badbender001
January 3rd, 2009
Sounds like a loose connection or a worn out switch. Repair or replace as required. If you are not experienced doing electrical work, I recommend hiring an electrician to diagnose the problem and then fix it.
6 Responses to “Wall switch plate is warm/hot to the touch?”
The wiring may be using the wrong type of wire, causing excess heat (due to too much ampage passing through). It can potentially start a fire. You should get an electrician to check it out.
If it’s warm to the touch and not hot, I wouldn’t worry about it. I just had a house completely remodeled, including all new wiring. A couple of switches power some light bars with 200 watts of total bulb power and the switch gets warm to the touch after a while.
If it really concerns you, you might put lower wattage bulbs in the lights that this switch operates. Less power means less current, which means less heat generated.
Assuming this is not a dimmer, and that you aren’t running 500 to 1000 watts of lighting on that switch, that can be a dangerous situation, as it could be due to resistance in the connection or in the switch contacts.
If you are comfortable working around electric hardware, I’d shut off the breaker to that circuit (leave the light on so you can see that it goes off), and check the connections.
Often, electricians use the quick-connect switches that allow the wire to be slipped into the switch very much like a plug. If the wire guage is small, and the switch is cheaply made, there might not be a good connection, or the cross-section of the connection may be too small for the amount of power being consumed. Whenever I encounter those, I strip a little more off the wire, form a clockwise hook and put it under the screws and tighten them firmly.
As always, be careful working around electricity - wear shoes, be sure the circuits are not powered or that someone else doesn’t flip the breaker back on while you’re working.
I’ve been an electrician for over 40 years, so lets start easy and cheap. Replace the switch and tighten all of the connections. If this does not solve the problem in an hour or so, remove half of the lamps that are powered through the switch. If this does not solve the problem completely and quickly, you need to call a qualified professional electrician. There is then a strong possibility that you have a high resistance short in the wiring that can cause a serious fire. The switch box should not be warm to the touch, unless the whole house is warm. The metal should always be cooler than the surrounding area. Also turn off the power to the light circuit as soon as you can.
I don’t care for the points but Jim W is correct. Do what he said and if it still isn’t fixed you will need to have it checked out.
Sounds like a loose connection or a worn out switch. Repair or replace as required. If you are not experienced doing electrical work, I recommend hiring an electrician to diagnose the problem and then fix it.