Light switches in the home

help! so i have a lightswitch that i turned on last night when and later in the evening i went to turn it off and it wouldn't go off.
so the light has been on for almost 24 hours. i'm trying to figure out how to fix it, but i'm clueless! anyone have a clue? there are two switches so i dont know which one is the problem (i'm assuming the one that i turned the light on w/).
i have the cover off the switch, but cannot figure it out. if anyone has anyclue what to do please tell me!!!
you see i work as an au pair and the family is gone until sunday so i'm house/dogsitting. and i'd like to not have to be like here's the list of things that happened while you were gone (dog chewed stuff, the light, the neighbor kid broke a window near the front door, but that i talked to the kids dad about so it should be okay) so yeah...
anyone know how i can fix this or what to do (bear in mind that although i've been here for 6 weeks i speak not a word of German!)
thanks post here, PM me, or call my handy at 0160-168-8898
thanks a ton in advance for any help!!

Unscrew the light bulb.

Breathe... now it's not your fault the light is stuck on - don't mess with it. Just play it cool when your employers come back. when they say 'hey, the light won't go off' just look mildly interested and say, 'mmm, weird' (which it is) it's not as if you broke anything.

eurovol-
hahah thanks!
it's many lights! (it lights up the stairs and main hall of the house) one or two of the lights i can get to the others are at the top of the stairs in the ceiling, but thanks!

will they not wonder why you unscrewed all the lightbulbs? I still say don't mess with electrics.

JMA

hahah! that's great- honestly that's what i'm planning on doing if i cannot figure it out!
(and the dog chewing his chair he sleeps on my theory is oh well!) and the neighbor boy kicking a soccer ball into the window- so not my fault! i wasnt even home when it happened! and the kids dad was cool about it and said he'd talk to them.

so thanks for the advice- if this light won't cooperate then i'm definately going to take that course of action and act like i had no clue
(i feel so dishonest!)

seriously, have someone who has a better idea of how such things work take a look at it. bad electrical switches can be fire hazards.

@chicago
yeah- thats what one of my friends in the US just told me to do too!

so if any of you know what to do let me know! (you'll get beer, food, or something out of this!)

Everyone's advised you to consult an electrician, so why not take heed? www.gelbeseiten.de

b/c that'd be the smart thing to do!
no i probably am going to- just was first trying to see if anyone knew what to do (and i'm a bit aprehensive since i dont speak a word of german!)

First of all, don't lie. Just tell them that the switch is stuck. Depending on the kind it is, you could probably just pop the cover off and manually flip the little black switch underneath. If that doesn't work, then go to the fuse box and shut off the current to those lights until someone can look at it.

If nothing's actually on fire I'd be reluctant to call out an electrician on a Friday night even back home. The language problem (and the money thing - can you pay an electrician who will doubtless see you as an easy target and rip you off) only adds to my original thought about leaving it alone.

Is this a new house? Are ALL the switches simply push buttons, or simpler switches with a definate "click" into an "up" or "down" position? Newer houses use push-button switches which actuate relays elsewhere (you can often hear a remote click when you switch on/off a light). Sometimes these relays fail.

If it's the older (or cheaper) click switch and this is a staircase light which is operated by other switches up or down stairs, try switching the others in different combinations. Many electricians make wiring mistakes in multi-switched lights, the result of which is that in certain switch settings one switch will switch on the light, but others won't switch it off (or vice versa).

Otherwise, don't fiddle yourself, either with the switches, the lamos or the fusebox. You'll make it worse.

Oh, and to know approximately where you live might help, so the local gallant Toytown knights know how far to ride.

Finally, never offer "something" as a reward. Male Toytowners especially, seem to like "Something" especially up a back passage on a Friday night

YL6

yups i've looked at the box to try to shut off the light and have yet to ifugre it out, but i will! i'm not compeltely helpless !:)
and i agree- although an electrician knows what to do at 6pm on fri to get one to come to Grunwald or find one in Grunwald will be quite difficult- oh well it'll get solved, but if anyone has more suggestions fire away!

thanks for the help! are you having a good friday evening?

Look for the words: gang, eingang, treppen, licht, leuchtung or a combination of those on the panel or below the fuses. Are the fuses the breaker kind or the ceramic screw in fuse holder type?

they are the breaker kind
i'll go check now- i tried the licht ones earlier (hahaha and now the doorbell doesnt work!)
oh what a mess i'm creating!

If she does find the breaker, it almost certainly includes many other lights, so simply tripping that could put her in darkness everywhere...

YL6

If they are breakers, then no problem. They will be on separate circuits from things like living rooms and kitchens and bedrooms. The guest bath, if there is one, may be on it, as well as, the outside light, but that should be about it. For whatever reason that evades me, doorbells tend to be on a separate line.

This is the best entertainment I've had in weeks! stay safe mattiehh!

thanks JMA and i'm glad i can amuse you! (in fact i'm starting to find it quite funny to!)

It has been an hour since her last post. EIther she got the problem solved or she's switched off the power to the computer...

Can you post the labels on the breaker switches, mattiehh?

it's been a few hours but nope not solved! (i did hear from the dad though about the window- he said dont worry. so now i feel i have to get the light fixed b/c he was so nice about the neighbors breaking a window!) so the light needs to get fixed!
so the labels on the box are-- (ugh! there are 24 of them)
alarmlicht, aussenbeleu...garage, gargen licht, (next 3 are) herd kuche, kuche steckdose wand, kuche steckdoes buge, kuche flur, 10-11wohnsimmer, gastezimmer, treppenhause, schlapfzimmer+bad, reserve, 12-18 CEE, waschmachine, alarm licht, keller+heizungs, keller raume, steckdoes buro, bad keller

obviosuly i didnt add any of the accents, but i hope this makes sense to someone!!

wahoo! the switch for those lights is the treppenhaus!!! so now.. how to fix them (the switch in the box is off)
any idea?!?!

Whose your daddy?

so... as i'm sure you've guessed yet another light switch is broken! i swear i didn't do this one! i left to go for the night and the mom of the family i work for was in my room. i came home didn't touch the darn thing and then the next am when i went to turn it on bam it doesn't work! i really dont care if it works or not- just a minor inconvenience, but... next week when i leave for a week to go home a bunch of relatives are coming to celebrate christmas and one or two will prob be in my room...
so i really should tell them, but i feel stupid- uh yeah i broke a light switch 1.5 months ago when you were gone and managed to really mess things up and it took an electrician multiple visits and 2 weeks to fix (mind you he fixed other problems in the house and said that there was something wrong w/ it and surprised it didnt break earlier). so yups! just wanted to say- yet again i've managed to break another light switch!!! what is w/ me and light switches in this house?!!?