There was a post on here a few years ago - a fishy smell coming from the bathroom - a problem which I see posted on quite a few websites and which is commonly caused by melting wiring. The answer obviously seemed to be replace the wiring. Well...we have a fishy smell emanating from our hallway and bathroom - we have spotlights in the ceiling in these areas - which I presume is the cause of the smell from burning wiring, however there's about 8 spotlights in the ceiling - it's fairly impossible to get to the wiring besides the ends with the bulb sockets. Would it be the bulbs that need replacing or would all the spotlights need to be removed and re-wired somehow - which is probably a mission as I guess the ceiling would need to be removed!!!

Brandon, March 2009

And another thing... sorry... if your apartment is rented might this repair be the responsinility of the landlord or his agent?

Peccavi, March 2009

Brandon - broken bulb = no current flow = no possible chance of smell!

You may have an overheated plastic component in the top of one of the spotlight fittings or it could be a high resistance connection somewhere.

What often happens is that a securing screw only makes partial contact with the copper wire - perhaps it gets screwed down onto the plastic sheath and makes an adequate connection to begin with but only on a small area - a few sparks and a bit of soot build up and you get a high resistance connection. Anywhere where a screw bears onto a wire to make a connection is where you should check.

You will very probably (almost definitely) not see burnt cables. Blackened copper wire that should be shiny - or deformed and hot plastic parts maybe. You are looking for a bad connection at a terminal point - where the copper meets the thing it joins on to.

You are not pulling down the cables - you need to pull down the spotlights to examine their connections - the cables will be long enough to allow you to do this.

Try running just half the lights - see (smell) what happens - also examine the wall switch first- turn off power - remove switch plate - undo wires and inspect them - do it in a good light.

Peccavi, March 2009

Good advice, thanks! - I'v just switched off the spotlights and have noticed the smell has dissipated. Now I guess I'll try your idea of trial and error to find which lightfitting(s) is smelly and remove it for now until I can figure out how to vent the area (bit of a problem as there is an apartment on the floor above me!). So you reckon I could pull down the cables from each spotlight? What would I look for on the cables? Burnt wires?
You recommend I 'check the switches'? The spotlights in the hallway are ALL switched on via one wall switch. Same goes in the bathroom - all switched on via one wall switch.

Just another question: if a bulb has died will the current still cause that high resistance connection to burn or not? Would it be better to remove the bulb completely - even if dead?
B

Brandon, March 2009

And check the airing cupboard - the smell may be from the immersion heater or something other than the spotlights.

Peccavi, March 2009

A smell as you describe usually comes from a high resistance connection rather than from the wires themselves - fuses are installed in circuits to limit the current to prevent melting wires - if the fuses are not popping then the wires are not melting.

It would be most unusual to need to take down a ceiling to rectify a wiring fault - ceiling void wiring can nearly always be accessed from above.

Spotlights can always be pulled down from the ceiling and their connecting cables will follow for a foot or two.

It's unlikely that the bulbs need attention providing that they work - you more than likely have a high resistance connection or a light fitting overheating because of inadequate space above it for the heat to properly escape - potential risk of fire - if one spotlight has inadequate cooling space it's possible that others will be similarly affected too.

Check the switches first because that's easier then get up on a ladder when you smell the smell and take each spotlight fitting down in turn. Do it soon and take care. Follow your nose...

Peccavi, March 2009