Electrical Problem
We have noticed a very faint acrid "electrical" smell in our foyer on rare ocasions. Yesterday, after we had the foyer/front hallway ceiling lights turned on for a while, I noticed the smell again. We aired out the foyer/hallway then turned on the lights later in the day as a test. Sure enough, the smell came back.
There's something wrong with the electrical wiring or components for the foyer lighting. Do you guys know of a way to test the wiring for this sort of problem? I suspect some wiring insulation has been compromised but that's just a guess. Our "smell" test is very subjective. I would like a more objective and reproducible test so that when we are done re-wiring I can be confident that we've fixed the real problem.
We are trying to decide whether to call the electrician or handle the issue ourselves. Obviously we don't want to use the foyer lights until we've resolved the problem.