Halogen Light

[hightower]

Went to help neighbour replace lamp in outside halogen lamp because "the lamp has gone". The screws are all seized up and there's no way to get in without drilling the screw, so said for sake of £5 it'll be easier replacing the unit. I was off home again as she said "it comes on sometimes, and then goes off".

It's my fault for taking her "my lamp has gone" at face value. Anyhow, anyone come across a flickering halogen lamp before on an external floodlight. It's switched, doesn't have a PIR. My guess is there wouldn't be a lot to them to fail so I was thinking loose neutral or something? The thing is the connector box is seized too so I'm just thinking it might be easier to replace the fitting, but thought I'd ask on here in case it might be something else.

I've checked the wiring at the switch - all nice and tight (now at least). The cabling is only 2 years old - it's a new build and the switch drop was installed by the builders, ready for a 'registered spark' to fit this light at a later date. Light will be about 2 years old also.

 

[sparkstu]

I've had one on a sensor before that was flickering replaced lamp and all was fine. But as you say if all screws seized is just easier to replace

 

[hightower]

Thanks - not sure if flickering is the right term - it's not a fast flicker or where it dims for a split second.

It might go off for 2 or 3 seconds, come back on for a second, stay off for 10 seconds, come back on for 5 seconds etc.

 

[ruston]

The contact prongs at the end of the tubes heat up, lose their ductility and burn.
Other than that , a bad wiring contact or element is floating.
If you can't get to it -change it , for the cost.

 

[hightower]

Thanks ruston, very helpful information. Just don't want to replace the light and then figure out it might be a loose neutral at rose it loops from (I don't know where it loops from to be honest, just an example). For the sake of £4.33 or something, it's got to be the next plausible step surely.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

99% burnt contacts at the lampholder, but this intrigues me:

I was thinking loose neutral

might be a loose neutral at rose it loops from

Why neutral, specifically?

 

[hightower]

Of course, when I do replace it I'll be taking the old one to my garage to open up and see for my own learning.

 

[hightower]

99% burnt contacts at the lampholder, but this intrigues me:



Why neutral, specifically?

Sorry, poor wording - I wasn't meaning neutral specifically - just throwing an example out there without writing a wall of text. Obviously that has backfired now because I have to explain myself :rolleyes4:

 

[Lucien Nunes]

'Loose connection' then?

 

[ruston]

Is the live at the switch stable, you maybe lucky and the N be in there too, but I would take money on it being burnt out.
Seen dozens.

 

[hightower]

'Loose connection' then?

Would be how a normal person would say it, yeah. Poor terminology as you say, I will try and nip it in the bud.

 

[hightower]

Is the live at the switch stable, you maybe lucky and the N be in there too, but I would take money on it being burnt out.
Seen dozens.

It seems stable, the neutral is at the switch too, but I only had my little voltage tester with me when I went round. When I go next I plan on taking the MFT round.

The neutral at the switch was actually loose in the terminal (it was a Hager switch with a neutral loop terminal) when I looked, and I thought I'd found the culprit, but even after tightening up it didn't improve. I even temporarily removed the switch and used a couple of lever type wagos to join the cables - still no improvement.

It's probably a simple re-tightening needed at the light, or perhaps the lamp changed, but I don't have that option as the only way I'm going to get in to it is through destruction of some sort. I'll try a new light and see how it goes.

 

[ruston]

It is easy to drill the screw out. The majority of those lights are TAT.
The tubes from the wholesalers are not much better unless you specify.

 

[hightower]

It is easy to drill the screw out. The majority of those lights are TAT.
The tubes from the wholesalers are not much better unless you specify.

I will do that, but not sure I'd have something lying around of that size to replace it with afterwards so I'll drill it once it's on my workbench.

 

[djelectric]

Most likely the lamp or fitting. Unless it only comes on and off when someone is going up and down the stairs like I've found previously! Nail through the cable.

 

[hightower]

Cheers fellas, appreciate the help as always

 

[ruston]

Just put a self tapper in, for the money I would go armed with a replacement lamp. By the time you buy the tube.............

Talking about terminology ; I should of said filament lol.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

In theatre lighting where a lot of of 300 & 500W linear halogens are / were used for cyc lighting, dead or intermittent lamps due to burnt out end contacts were so common that they possibly outnumbered actual blown lamps. The usual fix was to scrub the lampholder pins with a glassfibre pencil and replace the lamp - just relamping might 'appear' to fix it but if you didn't clean the contacts, the new one would soon start arcing and flickering. But these holders had much better springs that would last in a way that a cheap fitting doesn't, hence the advice to just swap it out.

 

[Paul.M]

As already mentioned these fittings are TAT. Will the customer pay for a LED floodlight?

 

[hightower]

As already mentioned these fittings are TAT. Will the customer pay for a LED floodlight?

She was happy to pay £12 for a 10w model, but I'm not sure this would be bright enough - it's not to light a path only, it needs to light the back garden too. I explained that a 30w model which should be comparable to the 400w halogen she has now will cost about £35, and that got the thumbs down.

To be fair though, even if she only gets another 2 years out of one of these halogen ones, it's a fiver.