worried - switch plate is warm - normal?

[twohappycampers]

In our Big Country, the double light switch by the front closet gets quite warm to the touch after having it turned on for only a few minutes. One switch operates the kitchen lights and the other one operates the living room lights. Is this something to worry about, or is it normal? Thanks.

Oh, initially when we purchased this unit new a couple of months ago, there was a lag time of a few seconds between the time we'd switch it on and the time when the lights would actually come on. Then after a few weeks that problem resolved itself ?? It's just in the last few days that we noticed the warmth, but maybe it was happening earlier and we just didn't pay attention.

Is this a safety issue, and should we not operate the switch until we can have someone take a look at it? How urgent is it? Not having the kitchen or living room lights leaves it quite dark in here, but if we haveto do without them, we'll have to do without them. Thanks again!

 

[cookie]

If you had a lag time in the beginning I doubt it just healed itself. Sounds like you may have a loose wire.
I would remove the two screws that hold the switch plate in place. Check to be sure that the spade connectors are in place securely and that the crimps are tight.
It everything looks good, replace the switches.

Peace
Dave

 

[twohappycampers]

Thanks! Will give that a try and report back.

 

[lwmcguir]

Dave is correct, you have a loose wire or a bad switch

 

[newbie]

It should not get warm. I also would check for a loose wire and consider replacing the switch.

John

 

[wdk450]

Warm is not good in electrical wiring. Theoretically the ideal wiring circuit has no resistance and therefore generates no heat. Energy, in the form of heat, light or mechanical motion is only used in the load devices (heaters, lights, motors, etc). A poor connection that gets warm starts an electrical syndrome of increased metal conductor oxidation at the connection points, resulting in more heat (and less current to the load), which makes more oxidation, etc. until the connection eventually fails (or a fire starts). Commercial breaker boxes are routinely scanned with infrared thermometers looking for heating connections.

 

[jpajax]

Be sure that you unpluge camper and desconect the battery before you start. I you know but just had to remind you for my peace of mind.

 

[twohappycampers]

Wanted to thank everyone for their input on this. When I removed the two screws, I noticed it appeared to be all one piece, not what I'm used to seeing, which is you take the surrounding cover off, revealing the switches and wires and stuff and then you can work on it. Not wanting to mess with something I'm unfamiliar with, decided to replace the two screws and leave it for the dealer to fix. Hopefully next week when they come to install our repaired gas range. For now we're just trying to use that particular switch for a shorter period of time so it doesn't get too hot. And thanks to Jim and Pat for the disconnect reminder. I think we needed that!

 

[Crumgater]

We had a warm switch. Didn't get "hot", so we let it go. A few weeks ago the lights it controlled stopped working. Opened up the switch and saw it was brown (i.e. burnt). Camping World had the right switch in the right color, so DH replaced it in about 10 minutes. Now it stays nice and cool all day long.
-T

 

[traveler44]

I checked all of my switches after reading about them getting warm. Took me awhile after reading all the posts about switch problems to realize that I should check ours too. I found the same switches-- kitchen-livingroom got warm. Almost sounds like the factory switches might be a little light duty for the job. I will pull the cover to see what the switch looks like but wait to repair it until we are near a camping world. Thanks Tom M.

 

[twohappycampers]

It's nice to know that ours isn't the only "bum" switch. The dealer's guy came out to replace it a while back, but brought the wrong switch so couldn't do it. Said he'd order the right one ... no word yet. Must give them a call, this doesn't sound like a minor problem, sounds like a fire hazard, am I right? At any rate, for now we're just making do with the other lights.

 

[traveler44]

I pulled the cover plate and each switch has a seperate wire to the bottom spade and the kitchen switch has a jumper on the top one. This jumpers to the top spade on the livingroom switch and goes back to ground. The wire on the kitchen switch and the jumper are the ones that get hot because they are wired in a parellel series circuit. It looks like I will start by replacing the kitchen switch and if that doesn't take care of the problem I will have to run a seperate wire for the kitchen ground. Tom M.

 

[TedS]

traveler44, check the jumper and other wire terminals for good crimps. Poor crimps can heat up. The jumper wire carries only current to one set of lights and it is the plus side of the 12vdc power to the lights. The separate wire from the bottom spade goes to the light fixture. The switches are wired in parallel, one side positive with the jumper and the other side feed to the light then from the light to ground. There is not enough current to make the short jumper wire itself hot.

 

[traveler44]

Ted, Thanks for helping me understand the circuit. I will take a better look at the crimps at the kitchen switch--the ones that get hot-- and go from there. Tom

 

[traveler44]

I recrimped the connectors and the wires still got hot. I swapped the switch for a speaker switch from the bedroom that is seldom used and now the wires are staying cool. Never had a problem with any delay or anything in the bad switch. Wouldn't have known there was a problem if I hadn't started looking for it. Tom

 

[wdk450]

Traveler 44:
The contacts inside the switch can corrode, cause heat, and fail. If you can get contact cleaner spray (I like Cramolyn, available at Radio Shack) inside the switch to the contacts, you MAY be able to get the switch right again. The classic repair for this is a new switch.
In my work I had a medium sized rocker switch controlling a large fan blower, that wouldn't pass enough current to start the fan. The switch was an odd size, not availible immediately locally, and this was a medical device the staff really needed to be working ASAP. The switch actually had some holes in the side of the plastic where I could access the switch contacts. I did the accepted best fix of filing the contact faces with a needle swiss file, and the motor still didn't start. 1 spray of Cramolyn contact spray, and I did not have a failure of the switch in 10 tries. I still got a new switch ASAP, but I got the unit going that day with the contact spray.