Simple home DIY repairs

[mersaylee]

On 11/20/2024 at 5:05 PM, Raychay said:

On MCF, when it's time to replace tyres, change car so when it's time to replace tap, change house! 😜

...and add full cash to that...😁

[Kb27]

It's an old cheap watch Timex which I bought from USA. Made in the Philippines.

Display had stopped working, so I decided to buy and replaced the CR2016 battery.

And it worked again, hopefully for another 5 years. But me being older and eyesight worse, it's not easy to put back the tiny screws, using 000 phillips screwdriver.   Next time, will probably have to pay for someone to fix this. 🤥

 

[Kb27]

The staircase light had gone out. It was a special design bulb so it was hard to get replacement. I decided to replace with an IKEA, E27 wall lamp and use a tapo smart bulb. This bulb can be scheduled to turn on and off, and also can be changed to any colour/brightness. Initially I bought a wall lamp from Shopee, but it was too small. 

I didn't want to put a hard switch bcuz my kid will play with it.

Edited January 6 by Kb27

[Lala81]

On 1/6/2025 at 10:37 AM, Kb27 said:

The staircase light had gone out. It was a special design bulb so it was hard to get replacement. I decided to replace with an IKEA, E27 wall lamp and use a tapo smart bulb. This bulb can be scheduled to turn on and off, and also can be changed to any colour/brightness. Initially I bought a wall lamp from Shopee, but it was too small. 

I didn't want to put a hard switch bcuz my kid will play with it.

Never consider motion sensor? 

[Kb27]

On 1/6/2025 at 10:40 AM, Lala81 said:

Never consider motion sensor? 

I had a motion sensor light there earlier, but it was too bright. And the time to turn off was too short, like 8 seconds, it couldn't be adjusted.

I like a time to turn off like one minute after you're gone, which gives you enough time.

[Kb27]

Just want to share what and how a two-way light switch works.

You have 2 switches, one placed at the top of the staircase (or one end of a long hallway); and the other at the bottom of the staircase (or the other end of the hallway).

2 switches control one light bulb. So you can be at either end and still switch on and off a light bulb placed in the centre.

 

[Volvobrick]

On 1/7/2025 at 12:38 PM, Kb27 said:

Just want to share what and how a two-way light switch works.

You have 2 switches, one placed at the top of the staircase (or one end of a long hallway); and the other at the bottom of the staircase (or the other end of the hallway).

2 switches control one light bulb. So you can be at either end and still switch on and off a light bulb placed in the centre.

 

With smart switches plus remote, you can convert any existing light switch to 2, 3,4,5 way one.

It is easier, cheaper and more flexible.

[Lala81]

One of my 2 gang 1 way home switches for my dining area fan makes a sparking sound for 1-2s  when I switch it on for 1 of the gang.

Was fine for the last 3 years. 

Do I need to replace the switch? Or it's more likely a wire problem. 

Edited Sunday at 02:46 AM by Lala81

[mersaylee]

On 1/26/2025 at 10:44 AM, Lala81 said:

One of my 2 gang 1 way home switches for my dining area fan makes a sparking sound for 1-2s  when I switch it on for 1 of the gang.

Was fine for the last 3 years. 

Do I need to replace the switch? Or it's more likely a wire problem. 

Open up to see if there’s any toasted crawlies in there…happened to me twice on different sockets…

[Mkl22]

On 1/6/2025 at 10:37 AM, Kb27 said:

The staircase light had gone out. It was a special design bulb so it was hard to get replacement. I decided to replace with an IKEA, E27 wall lamp and use a tapo smart bulb. This bulb can be scheduled to turn on and off, and also can be changed to any colour/brightness. Initially I bought a wall lamp from Shopee, but it was too small. 

I didn't want to put a hard switch bcuz my kid will play with it.

Spank and teach the kid not to touch. 

[Mkl22]

On 1/26/2025 at 10:44 AM, Lala81 said:

One of my 2 gang 1 way home switches for my dining area fan makes a sparking sound for 1-2s  when I switch it on for 1 of the gang.

Was fine for the last 3 years. 

Do I need to replace the switch? Or it's more likely a wire problem. 

Change la. Cheap cheap. $2-3 max. Buy from choo chiang marketing. 

[Lala81]

On 1/26/2025 at 11:18 AM, Mkl22 said:

Change la. Cheap cheap. $2-3 max. Buy from choo chiang marketing. 

Honeywell one 6 dollars on shopee. OK lah. Too lazy to go down. I wait until get the replacement switch after cny then change it. 

Been procrastinating for a while. 

[Kb27]

On 1/26/2025 at 10:44 AM, Lala81 said:

One of my 2 gang 1 way home switches for my dining area fan makes a sparking sound for 1-2s  when I switch it on for 1 of the gang.

Was fine for the last 3 years. 

Do I need to replace the switch? Or it's more likely a wire problem. 

Worst case could be a loose wire contact.

[Volvobrick]

On 1/26/2025 at 12:42 PM, Kb27 said:

Worst case could be a loose wire contact.

Worst case is setting off a fire! 

Better open up and check immediately or stop using it. 

PS just replaced 3 filters in the car. Really big drops and small drops of perspiration especially the engine air filter. 

 

Edited Sunday at 04:59 AM by Volvobrick

[Lala81]

On 1/26/2025 at 12:57 PM, Volvobrick said:

Worst case is setting off a fire! 

Better open up and check immediately or stop using it. 

PS just replaced 3 filters in the car. Really big drops and small drops of perspiration especially the engine air filter. 

 

The engine air filter case was hard to remove for my accord. Gave up and just let the pros do it. 

[Lala81]

On 1/26/2025 at 12:42 PM, Kb27 said:

Worst case could be a loose wire contact.

The switch has been untouched since installation. I doubt some wire is going to come loose.

I'm more inclined to think it's wear and tear of the switch. cos we use this switch quite a bit. 

Anyway since it's inexpensive. I will just buy a switch and replace it. 

[Mkl22]

On 1/26/2025 at 12:57 PM, Volvobrick said:

Worst case is setting off a fire! 

Better open up and check immediately or stop using it. 

PS just replaced 3 filters in the car. Really big drops and small drops of perspiration especially the engine air filter. 

 

Engine air filter should be easy. French design ah? 🤣

[Kb27]

On 1/26/2025 at 1:05 PM, Lala81 said:

The switch has been untouched since installation. I doubt some wire is going to come loose.

I'm more inclined to think it's wear and tear of the switch. cos we use this switch quite a bit. 

Anyway since it's inexpensive. I will just buy a switch and replace it. 

It's hard to say. An installer may neglect to tighten wires firmly to the socket/plug. It then worked for a long time and you don't notice. But each click of the switch is a mini vibration and served to loosen the screw bit by bit.

If it's loosened enough, it may spark. Each wire used for power, is multi-stranded. Lighting wires tend to be one solid strand. For multi-stranded wire, if the screw is not tightened on all the strands, one or a few might be free to move about and sparked each time you throw the switch. When less than all the strands are in full contact with the screw, you get also high resistance. The worst case could result in overheating and fire.

My kitchen power socket had a burned out on the plastic casing, many years ago. I replaced the socket and it seems like there's a lose wire. After I replaced it, it doesn't happen again, bcuz I was real careful in what I'm doing.

It's not just about the cost of the switch, but do inspect the wiring and connection.

Incidentally, I haven't seen a worn-out switch before. The switch is a piece of plastic rocker that pushes 2 metal strips together or apart. 😁