Incandescent garage bulb turns off immediately after being turned on
Timur Tabi
incandescent light bulb in it, I cannot reliable turn the light on.
That is, when I flick the switch to "on", I can see the bulb turn on
for a fraction of a second and then turn off, and stay off. If I
repeat this process a few times, the light will eventually stay on for
a few seconds, but then turn off again.
The fixture does not have a light sensor in it, and it was working
reliably for years until recently. Can anyone give me a clue as to
what's going on?
RBM
"Timur Tabi" <timur...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:955ba709-521c-44ad...@v41g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
Could be a bad switch, possibly a bad lamp socket
Twayne
RBM <rb...@live.com> typed:
IMO switch or wires to the switch; unlikely switch vibratons could affect
the light fixture, which is apparently what's happening.
HTH,
Twayne`
jeff_wisnia
1. At the risk of insulting you, have you tried a different bulb with
similar results? If not, you know what to try next.
2. See if the center contact inside the socket is mashed flat so it
can't make firm contact with the tip of the bulb base. If so, Turn off
power and pry that center contact up with a L-bend on end on a piece of
wire....straightened paperclip works well for that.
3. Does the bulb flick on if you give the socket a swat? If so, there
may be a "loose disconnection" where the feed wires attach to the
socket. Turn power off, drop the socket and see/fix.
4. The switch itself may be bad or one of the wires connected to it may
be loose, particularly if it's a back stabbed connection. Solutions are
to replace the switch or change to the screw connects.
Let us know what you find.
Jeff
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.
h
"RBM" <rb...@live.com> wrote in message
news:4c842139$0$20146$607e...@cv.net...
>
> "Timur Tabi" <timur...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:955ba709-521c-44ad...@v41g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
>>I have a light fixture in my garage, and when I put a normal
>> incandescent light bulb in it, I cannot reliable turn the light on.
Is there anyone, anywhere still using incandescents? Try a cfl and let us
know if the problem is still happening.
Gordon Shumway
It could be the switch, the connection(s) at the switch, the wires
from the switch to the fixture, the connection(s) at the fixture, the
fixture itself or the bulb.
Doesn't anyone have any troubleshooting skills anymore?
DD_BobK
> "Timur Tabi" <timur.t...@gmail.com> wrote in message
Agreed, also a loose connection somewhere.
Switch is easier to check but I had a bad lamp socket that gave
intermittent function, dining room over the table fixture...... a
real job to change out based on the fixture design.
cheers
Bob
Gary H
> "RBM" <rb...@live.com> wrote in message
> news:4c842139$0$20146$607e...@cv.net...
>>
>> "Timur Tabi" <timur...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:955ba709-521c-44ad-be66-
e3ada0...@v41g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
>>>I have a light fixture in my garage, and when I put a normal
>>> incandescent light bulb in it, I cannot reliable turn the light on.
>
> Is there anyone, anywhere still using incandescents? Try a cfl and let
> us know if the problem is still happening.
Can you use CFLs in your oven and freezer?
h
"Gary H" <nom...@here.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:wAWgo.14181$pR5....@unlimited.newshosting.com...
Umm, your oven and freezer have lights? Weird.
jeff_wisnia
1. At the risk of insulting you, have you tried a different bulb with
similar results? If not, you know what to try next.
2. See if the center contact inside the socket is mashed flat so it
can't make firm contact with the tip of the bulb base. If so, Turn off
power and pry that center contact up with a L-bend on end on a piece of
wire....straightened paperclip works well for that.
3. Does the bulb flick on if you give the socket a swat? If so, there
may be a "loose disconnection" where the feed wires attach to the
socket. Turn power off, drop the socket and see/fix.
4. The switch itself may be bad or one of the wires connected to it may
be loose, particularly if it's a back stabbed connection. Solutions are
to replace the switch or change to the screw connects.
Let us know what you find.
Jeff
--
jeff_wisnia
Ed Pawlowski
"h" <tmc...@searchmachine.com> wrote
>
> Umm, your oven and freezer have lights? Weird.
>
Why wouldn't they? Makes it easier to see what is going on in the oven and
what you have in the freezer. My top freezer does not have one, but the
side by side and the regular freezer have lights.
HeyBub
You said "when I put _A_ normal incandescent..." Did you mean "when I put
_THE_ normal incandescent..."
If you're trying the SAME bulb over and over, the problem is a broken
filament. When cold, the two broken ends touch allowing truth to the
statement "let there be light". Almost instantly the filament heats up and
the broken ends separate causing darkness to fall upon the land.
If, however, the symptom persists when DIFFERENT bulbs are tried, the answer
is equally simple: the circuit is cursed.
hr(bob) hofmann@att.net
> "Gary H" <nom...@here.net.invalid> wrote in message
>
> news:wAWgo.14181$pR5....@unlimited.newshosting.com...
>
> > On Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:37:02 -0400, h wrote:
>
> >>news:4c842139$0$20146$607e...@cv.net...
>
> >>> "Timur Tabi" <timur.t...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> >>> news:955ba709-521c-44ad-be66-
> > e3ada0800...@v41g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
> >>>>I have a light fixture in my garage, and when I put a normal
> >>>> incandescent light bulb in it, I cannot reliable turn the light on.
>
> >> Is there anyone, anywhere still using incandescents? Try a cfl and let
> >> us know if the problem is still happening.
>
> Umm, your oven and freezer have lights? Weird.
Not Wierd at all. Both my stove/oven and my freezer have light bulbs
in them that go on and off when the doors are opened and closed. It
really does help to see what you are doing in both places.
The Daring Dufas
The heat from the oven would roast the electronics of the CFL. In
a refrigerator or walk-in cooler, the cold temps keep the light
dim at the start because it must warm up for full brightness.
The CFL lamps that work best in cold weather are the cold cathode
bulbs that use the same technology as the lights behind most LCD
computer and TV monitors.
http://www.expresslightbulbs.com/compact-fluorescent-bulbs-cfl-cold-cathode-c-31_196.html
http://preview.tinyurl.com/33k65yg
TDD
willshak
> Timur Tabi wrote:
>
>> I have a light fixture in my garage, and when I put a normal
>> incandescent light bulb in it, I cannot reliable turn the light on.
>> That is, when I flick the switch to "on", I can see the bulb turn on
>> for a fraction of a second and then turn off, and stay off. If I
>> repeat this process a few times, the light will eventually stay on for
>> a few seconds, but then turn off again.
>>
>> The fixture does not have a light sensor in it, and it was working
>> reliably for years until recently. Can anyone give me a clue as to
>> what's going on?
>>
>
> You said "when I put _A_ normal incandescent..." Did you mean "when I put
> _THE_ normal incandescent..."
>
What would have been better is "when I put _ANY_ incandescent..."
> If you're trying the SAME bulb over and over, the problem is a broken
> filament. When cold, the two broken ends touch allowing truth to the
> statement "let there be light". Almost instantly the filament heats up and
> the broken ends separate causing darkness to fall upon the land.
>
> If, however, the symptom persists when DIFFERENT bulbs are tried, the answer
> is equally simple: the circuit is cursed.
>
>
>
--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @
Tony
I don't think I've ever had an oven without a light. My current one is
controlled by a switch up with the other controls. My current
refrigerator only has one light on the fridge part, none in the freezer
but my previous side by side one had lights on both sides. I've also
never had a clothes dryer without a light, although I have seen a few
that didn't have them.
Bob Villa
"Most" likely the switch. If this is a 3-way...even more likely (more
connections-additional contacts).
Timur Tabi
> Is there anyone, anywhere still using incandescents? Try a cfl and let us
> know if the problem is still happening.
The problem started some time after I switched to a CFL bulb. I
thought maybe the bulb just didn't like the garage environment. So I
tried two incandescent bulbs, and they also exhibited the problem.
Timur Tabi
> It could be the switch, the connection(s) at the switch, the wires
> from the switch to the fixture, the connection(s) at the fixture, the
> fixture itself or the bulb.
>
> Doesn't anyone have any troubleshooting skills anymore?
Well, I was hoping for a technical description of the problem. If I
just replaced the broken part, I wouldn't understand what the root
cause was.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for your ideas -- the problem was the
switch. Specifically, a worn out contact. The reason the bulb
flashed before turning off is because the impact of flipping the
switch was enough to cause a temporary contact inside the switch.
Slowly flipping the switch would do nothing, and pushing really hard
on the switch causes it to stay on (but then turn off when I stop
pushing).
Roy
==
Elementary, my dear Watson.
==
Don Klipstein
Timur Tabi wrote:
I have seen this before a few times. Always so far, the switch was
going bad.
Replace the switch. In some cases, I was able to cause sustained arcs
in such cranky switches by moving them slowly. That apears to me to be a
slight fire hazard. I have yet to hear of a fire starting that way, but
switches like those make me uneasy.
--
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
Don Klipstein
Many are still using incandescents. Some don't like the slightly
different color rendering of CFLs, some don't like the light pattern with
some fixtures, some don't like the need of many CFLs to warm up, some don't
like the mercury, some had bad experiences, some are penny-smart
pound-foolish with the upfront price, and some would go against gubmint
and do-gooders telling them what kind of lightbulbs to use.
Personally, I use CFLs and I am happy with them.
Meanwhile, my experience with this symptom tells me that the problem is
a switch going bad, which changing to a CFL will not fix.
Don Klipstein
Oven lights are not that uncommon. 40 watt appliance and "home oven"
incandescents are rated to go in those. There are even also 100 watt
"commercial oven" incandescents, maybe a few other wattages. My family
has even had a few ovens that use those. I have also seen at least one
illuminated electric convection oven, and the bulb there appears to me to
be subject to some of the heat.
I have not seen many illuminated freezers, but most refrigerators have
interior lights. Have you seen how much light is produced by a 35 or 40
degree F CFL that needs to be seen by before it warms up? And what is the
economy of more-energy-efficient bulbs with higher upfront cost and/or
starting-related wear if they are used only minutes per day?
CFLs also usually don't do well in motion sensor outdoor lights, due
mostly to short on-time.
k...@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz
I have no CFLs in my house and it'll stay that way as long as possible.
>Umm, your oven and freezer have lights? Weird.
Yes (though with this one it's an LED), and yes (incandescent). Not weird at
all.
How do you know the light in your 'fridge go out when you close the door?
Don Klipstein
Cold cathode CFLs don't get around temperature restrictions on achieving
a mercury vapor concentration that is between insufficient and excessive.
Most of those also have electronics that must not be overheated. And it
is the mercury vapor concentration that causes a CFL to be dim when the
temperature is wrong.
What "cold cathode" is good for:
1: Longer life, especially at lower wattages where hot cathodes are
smaller and have accordingly shorter life.
2: Lack of starting related wear. Hot cathodes have to be in a specific
temperature range to work properly, while cold cathodes do not. Cold
cathode CFLs can even be blinked, and are often used in chasing marquee
lights in Las Vegas. Most cold cathode CFLs are also dimmable, since one
of the obstacles to dimming of hot cathode CFLs is cathode insufficiently
hot during dimming. (Another dimming obstacle is what kind of electric
load the CFL is, according to the nature of the ballast in the CFL.)
The downside of cold cathode: The cold cathode has higher losses than
the hot cathode, so a cold cathode CFL is not as efficient as a hot
cathode one, even for the same wattage (especially 7 watts or more).
However, cold cathode CFLs are still around 2.5-3 times as efficient as
better incandescents of the same light output. An 8 watt cold cathode CFL
is likely to match the light output of a 25 watt incandescent.
Cold cathode CFLs make good "bright nightlights". However, beware that
they will fade, and may produce about or somewhat over half as much light
after 25,000 operating hours as they do when they are new. Cathode
technology does not stop the phosphor from deteriorating.
Bob Villa
Because it turns-off just before the door closes!
TimR
>
> I have seen this before a few times. Always so far, the switch was
> going bad.
> - Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
Looks like it was the switch.
But the mashed center contact problem is fairly common too, and leads
to early lamp failure.
Once you've screwed one bulb in too far and mashed that contact flat,
you have to keep doing it, and that stresses the glass to metal
connection. Or so I speculate. Most of the time I've had people
complain about premature incandescent failure (blaming it on the house
current) it's been the contact.
I use a dry popsicle stick to bend them out. The paper clip should be
safe with the power off but I've never trusted it. Then, the lamp
should be screwed in the first time with the power on. Once it
lights, only an eighth turn more (most people use a quarter turn or
more).