Changed light switch now other switch not working

[patftrears]

Problem I Fixed
One of my light switches was getting very hot. So I took it off and found a wire had melted through the plastic. So I fixed the wire and put in a new light switch.

New problem
The switch I changed was on an internal wall. Now the lights on the other side of the internal don't work.
So it's a wall that seperates the kitchen and dining room. Changed the switch on the kitchen side. Now the lights in the dining room don't turn on.

Any ideas
No fuses blown.
Did I mess up the wiring when I changed the switch ?
Any suggestion to test cause or fix problem ?

Thanks

 

[mathepac]

Personally I'd get a qualified sparks in - for a few quid it could save your life or your home. Something is dodgy about the wiring - light switches (in particular) do not generate noticeable heat in ordinary circumstances.

 

[chrisboy]

The heating and melting of the cable sounds like there was a loose connection in the switch.

As for why the light in the dining room doesnt work, it sounds like when you took the switch off the wall, you either didnt connect one wire back in properly or you pulled a wire out of the dining room switch by pulling the kitchen switch away from the wall. If the cause of the switch overheating was a loose connection, then its very possible that the connections in your dining room switch weren't tightened to well either..

 

[SparkRite]

The heating and melting of the cable sounds like there was a loose connection in the switch.

As for why the light in the dining room doesnt work, it sounds like when you took the switch off the wall, you either didnt connect one wire back in properly or you pulled a wire out of the dining room switch by pulling the kitchen switch away from the wall. If the cause of the switch overheating was a loose connection, then its very possible that the connections in your dining room switch weren't tightened to well either..

+1

Most likely you did not re-connect the live "loop feed" from the kitchen switch to the dining room switch or as Chrisboy said you pulled out the feed from the dining room switch.

If it is that the diningroom lights come on only when the kitchen lights are on then you have fed the diningroom switch from the switched side of the kitchen switch rather than the unswitched side. Easy to rectify either problem.

Heat generated in light switches is normally loose connections or worn switch contacts. Can also be caused by overloading.