I have seen a breaker break down over time and get weak. It wouldn't allow full voltage to pass and caused wierd things like you described to happen. It would also trip at the drop of a hat. However, you had votlage everywhere, just not enought to run more then a simple light bulb.

I would turn off the breaker, and start looking through what they had worked on, there is no telling what it could be.

I did work as an electrician for a bit, but not alot.

I have more then once worked on ceiling lights and such after only turning off the wall switch, I always keep tape over the switch to make it obvious to those walking though not to mess with it while I am working. By doing so, most of the time you avoid working by flashlight, you can have a lamp plugged in.

 

what he said here he true about the "stab lock" push in connections on the back of receptacles, they were notorious for burning off (due to a loose connection the first place). go to the panel box turn off the breaker they tripped today and go up stairs and try to turn on the porch switch if you have no light obviously the porch light is on the circuit and would most likely be the first load on the circuit, when you go back to the breaker box to turn the breaker on lightly go down through every breaker and wiggle it a little to make sure none others are tripped (if the breaker handle has play in it then its tripped), ive seen many breakers look like they are on until you touch them and they are loose!
About breakers half working: breakers are either on/off/tripped, alot of the time electricians would run two wires off of one breaker, which would enable them to run power in different directions on the same circuit! possible you have a burnt wire at the breaker.
If i had to make a guess just by gathering your info, i would say you have a burnt neutral/hot wire in one of the receptacles or under a wire nut!

 

yep!

or one special black wire didn't make it under one of your wirenuts in that switch box or ceiling box.

 

Ugh I'm going to have to go back and read this slower to fully understand what your saying. But i'm sure I can get it, I just breezed through most of it for now.
I'm 100% positive the porch light is on the same breaker cuz when you flip the breaker off, the porch light goes out as well. I've been making sure the breaker stays off for now cuz i haven't had a chance to do much diagnosing at this point.
Thanks for all the help so far.

 

you and me both.
The gene pool works in mysterious ways. My grandpa was good with all kinds of stuff, and I'm good with all kinds of stuff........ wtf?

 

I've changed several lights and fans just by turning of the switch and not the breaker.

 

I used to have a ticker but haven't been able to find it. I can make one if i need to. I'm going to look into it being the beginning of the circuit, I think there is 1 other outlet before that switch that is on that same breaker, I'm going to check that outlet with the breaker on/off. If it works and is on the breaker then the problem is definitely at the switch. I looked around in the switches for some bad wires but didn't take them out. The switches are new so I may need to take the sheet rock off in that spot.

 

If you knew how clumsy my dad is, you'd shut the POLE off every time.

I don't like messing with things like that with the breaker on.

 

I'd be willing to bet you don't need to take any sheet rock off. Your problem is in a box somewhere.

When the breaker blew due to the bad wired chain pull, did you guys clear it and turn the power back on or did you do all the switch replacements, rewire this and that and then turn the power back on? I ask because almost 99% of the time the fault is not what you think, but a wire that you didn't put back correctly. If you cleared the chain pull and turned power back on and you had problems, then yeah, you need to find a loose or burnt connection. But if it worked before you started replacing stuff, then something is wired incorrectly.

Same theory as our trucks. Do a bunch of mods at once and it makes it very hard to troubleshoot a problem, you place to many variables into play.

 

Would any of the non working receptacles happen to be a ground fault recept. Just throwing it out there guys.