# can a power surge flip a light switch?



## bluebee1314 (Mar 24, 2007)

Could a power surge actually flip off a light swtich? My parents were in the dining room last night when the overhead light went off. They heard a click simultaneously and discovered that the switch itself was now in the off position. There were no other flickers, and nothing else on that circuit was on. It's not a three-way switch. This is new-ish construction (about five years old), and according to my dad, the switch is tight. It can be balanced halfway between the on and off position, but the light is off when it's in the "halfway" position. So it appears the switch just flipped off. 

I want to make sure this isn't a symptom of an electrical problem. If it's symptomatic of a poltergeist... I'll try another forum.  

Thanks!


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## Speedy Petey (Feb 1, 2004)

bluebee1314 said:


> If it's symptomatic of a poltergeist... I'll try another forum.


Yup. You nailed it. :thumbsup: 
I'll see you over there.


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## Pudge565 (Jan 27, 2008)

where could i find these forums on poltergiest i like ghost stories.


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## WillP (Feb 19, 2009)

I've just had the exact same thing happen here... No other lights went off in the house. I found my sister in another room, who said she was about to tell me the house was feeling strange! I can't find any way of positioning the switch where it could flip towards 'off' position as it is biased towards being in the 'on' position and off if balanced half way. I don’t feel like turning the power off to dismantle the switch at the moment (it's very dark). Have you had any luck finding an explanation?


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## rgsgww (Jul 5, 2008)

Kind of a big bump if you ask me.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

If I had to choose exactly one, electrical problem or poltergeist, I will choose power surge/electrical problem 0% and poltergeist 100%..


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## Yoyizit (Jul 11, 2008)

bluebee1314 said:


> My parents were in the dining room last night when the overhead light went off. They heard a click simultaneously and discovered that the switch itself was now in the off position.
> The switch guts are spring loaded; so far, so good.
> It can be balanced halfway between the on and off position,


The guts heated up and flipped the handle; bad switch, or the handle wasn't fully on or it can't be put fully on (bad switch).


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## Troyster (Jul 12, 2009)

I experienced the same exact thing with a light switch. Like you I also checked to see if the switch could rest ON in the halfway state and determined that it wasn't reasonable to think so. I tell my story in great detail here http://www.ghostgossip.com/2009/06/true-ghost-story-posted-by-ghost-gossip.html which is my own personal website. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me. I have my email address at the bottom of the main page to my site.


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## 300zx (May 24, 2009)

:thumbsup:I had the same problem on a service call,tun light on and wait a few min.and the light would turn off on switch would be in the off position to.Put a new switch in and they have never had the prob agian.


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## Troyster (Jul 12, 2009)

*Worn switch*

Yes, a worn out switch will fall down to the off position by itself. I've seen that myself. You can usually tell when a switch is like that because they tend to be really spongy. The switch I had was very absolute. You had to literally flip it in the up or down position. There was no play and it took some effort.


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