One of our light switches is faulty, sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. If we flip the switch off and on several times it will eventually turn the lights on and they will stay on. Many times the light turns on for a second and then turns off. If we do get the light to stay on and we plug anything in to the outlet, everything will turn off. It is not the fuse/circuit box. The outlet below the light switch (not controlled by the switch) sparks when we plug into or unplug from it.
By AndieR
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It could be a number of things and it would be good to have an electrician check this out. There is plenty of opportunity to be hurt or killed if you don't know what you are doing. The situation itself sounds dangerous enough.
Although the receptacle is not switched, it sound like it is on the same circuit (breaker or fuse).
The hot wire may enter the switch box and go to the switch and on to the receptacle. If so, the neutral wire would enter the box also and go on to the receptacle.
The connection in the box is usually made with a wire nut. If a loose connection exists, It could be the repeated cycling of the switch that allows contact to be made, by vibration, and power sent on to the receptacle.
Plugging something in the receptacle may then overload the poor connection at the switch and open the circuit.
There also exists switches which provide not only a switched output but also an unswitched output to reduce connections in the box. The problem with this type of switch is that when it goes bad, all power is lost downstream. If you have a switch like this, I would be suspicious of it.
Thanks for this great explanation, Bruce. And the best advice you gave was "call an electrician". Home electrical repairs are not something that untrained people should be tackling.
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