I came home to a house with no lights and fixed the fuse (15amp). It blew again and has done three times subsequently, the last with not a single light actually switched on. The fuse lasts roughly 5minutes before blowing.I have recently replaced three light switches one with a dimmer but have checked my work and they seem OK. The lighting circuit is probably 20+ years old. Any ideas?

Don, September 2008

Are you in the UK? 15 Amps is an awful lot for a light circuit. I don't know what fuse rating is used for lighting circuits in 110v land.

There may be a clue when you say you have done some work... Did the fuse blow before you did the work? How soon after the work was done did the fault appear?

From 1000 I would guess 900 dimmer problem - 99 New Switch - 1 mice.

Richard Buxton, September 2008

Sounds like you have a wiring fault somewhere, can even be caused by mice chewing through the wires or the wires themselves fraying. I would call an electrician before your house burns down.

JB, September 2008