I have a pull switch to operate fan above shower,had no problem pulling it to switch it on but i cant turn it off when i pull the cord again. Its 5 years old and have had no problems with it before. Does it sound like the mechanism is broken?

Andy, September 2010

one more thing i forgot to mention,if its a fan fitted with a timer,i.e.then when you switch the fan off,it will continue to run till the timer has expired,it could be the timer has shorted out so when it gets the impulse,it stays on,be careful,the timer fans have a switched live,and a permanent live supply.it will be marked live neutral,and switched live,or l n and sl,be sure turn the power off before doing any work

gts, October 2010

yes buy a new one,very easy to change ,just remember to turn off power before doing the work,just change wire for wire,check to see if its a double pole or single pole switch,i.e.if two pole there will be four wires,if single pole there will be just two wires,(not including earth)

gts, September 2010