No power through ceiling rose

[westward10]

It doesn't appear that a short has taken place I suspect the problem to be poor quality of the component. Modern ES holders are not polarity biased, just for info.
Which lamp holder is giving the problem the left or right.

 

[smartin1612]

It doesn't appear that a short has taken place I suspect the problem to be poor quality of the component. Modern ES holders are not polarity biased, just for info.
Which lamp holder is giving the problem the left or right.

Thank-you I am at a loss to explain it, and with the innards shrouded by the bulb, I cannot see what is happening. I could've resolved this last week had I realised the problem was with the holder rather than the lighting circuitry, but I've had to wait for a day with daylight to work on this once more.
Really frustrating though

 

[mainline]

Thank-you I am at a loss to explain it, and with the innards shrouded by the bulb, I cannot see what is happening. I could've resolved this last week had I realised the problem was with the holder rather than the lighting circuitry, but I've had to wait for a day with daylight to work on this once more.
Really frustrating though

I wasn't being rude btw i was trying to make the point that had you used a multimeter you wouldn't have had to wait 7 days and could have found where the fault was in a few minutes.
The item you are using for doing testing is unsuitable to say the least.

 

[brianmoooore]

At a guess, the neutral contact for the lamp was contacting the insulating section on the bottom of the lamp, and was being bent inwards, towards the live contact and centre terminal of the lamp, as it was screwed in, instead of sliding up the side of the lamp base onto the threaded section.
Unscrewing it a little brings the neutral contact just into contact with the lower edge of the threads.

 

[ipf]

Baffling how something so simple could turn into a Commons Debate.
Get a spark in for 5 minutes.

 

[smartin1612]

I wasn't being rude btw i was trying to make the point that had you used a multimeter you wouldn't have had to wait 7 days and could have found where the fault was in a few minutes.
The item you are using for doing testing is unsuitable to say the least.

The reason for needing to wait 7 days was one of available light: I'm not about to start messing with mains electricity in the dark using only a torch, this includes using a multimeter.
I began this work last Sunday afternoon (11-12), couldn't resolve before it got dark, and then due to the dark winter days had to wait until this Saturday to look into. Had I been working in BST May-August, I'd have been able to resolve in a heartbeat.

And again, just becuase I didn't explicitly explain that I was using a multimeter, this does not mean I am not. A multimeter is an ESSENTIAL piece of electrical kit - cripes this is drilled-in from the age of 11 in both physics and design/technology classes. If you're not a strong swimmer, don't go near the water. If you plan on doing electrical work, don't begin without a multimeter simple as.
So in this instance, rather than assume that I'm not using a multimeter, the better method would have been to determine whether I was using a multimeter properly, by asking whether I had tested continuity through the lampholder. I would have been less annoyed at this question as it displays a desire to engage and educate, rather than to assume I am playing with mains electric using nothing more than tin-foil lined gloves!

It was only after I had successfully tested continuity, that I had determined the problem to be related somehow to the lampholder, I just could not work out what, which therefore meant isolating from mains, and testing the lampholder individually.
A lampholder is just a simple circuit, and a general ceiling pendant is no different from a table lamp, so I cannot see how my wiring a 3A plug on and powering from a pure-sine power-pack to test to identify the cause is 'unsuitable'.

 

[smartin1612]

Baffling how something so simple could turn into a Commons Debate.
Get a spark in for 5 minutes.

To what point and purpose? I wouldn't learn anything. As it happens, I did learn. I knew the problem was related to the lampholder in some way, and I now know as does everyone on this post, and any other reader of this post, that in such a situation, try adjusting the terminals first.
Had I paid for a spark, they'd have diagnosed the cause in minutes, but this thread would not have existed, as I would not have felt compelled to document my experience somewhere, so others would similarly be in the dark too, as the B&Q customer feedback section demonstrates

 

[smartin1612]

At a guess, the neutral contact for the lamp was contacting the insulating section on the bottom of the lamp, and was being bent inwards, towards the live contact and centre terminal of the lamp, as it was screwed in, instead of sliding up the side of the lamp base onto the threaded section.
Unscrewing it a little brings the neutral contact just into contact with the lower edge of the threads.

Yes, this is it, thank-you @brianmoooore, this is precisely what I expect is happening, and why I could not explain how moving the terminal further away from the bulb resolved the problem

"and was being bent inwards, towards the live contact and centre terminal of the lamp, as it was screwed in, instead of sliding up"
Maybe I'm just not clear in explaining it, and being inside a lamp holder, I'm also unable to see what was happening, but this explanation I believe is exactly what I'm trying to tell the rest of this thread.

Thank-you.
Steve

 

[smartin1612]

It doesn't appear that a short has taken place I suspect the problem to be poor quality of the component. Modern ES holders are not polarity biased, just for info.
Which lamp holder is giving the problem the left or right.

Difficult to say really - both and neither, that's not my photo but the one by another B&Q customer on the products' feedback page

 

[mainline]

The reason for needing to wait 7 days was one of available light: I'm not about to start messing with mains electricity in the dark using only a torch, this includes using a multimeter.
I began this work last Sunday afternoon (11-12), couldn't resolve before it got dark, and then due to the dark winter days had to wait until this Saturday to look into. Had I been working in BST May-August, I'd have been able to resolve in a heartbeat.

And again, just becuase I didn't explicitly explain that I was using a multimeter, this does not mean I am not. A multimeter is an ESSENTIAL piece of electrical kit - cripes this is drilled-in from the age of 11 in both physics and design/technology classes. If you're not a strong swimmer, don't go near the water. If you plan on doing electrical work, don't begin without a multimeter simple as.
So in this instance, rather than assume that I'm not using a multimeter, the better method would have been to determine whether I was using a multimeter properly, by asking whether I had tested continuity through the lampholder. I would have been less annoyed at this question as it displays a desire to engage and educate, rather than to assume I am playing with mains electric using nothing more than tin-foil lined gloves!

It was only after I had successfully tested continuity, that I had determined the problem to be related somehow to the lampholder, I just could not work out what, which therefore meant isolating from mains, and testing the lampholder individually.
A lampholder is just a simple circuit, and a general ceiling pendant is no different from a table lamp, so I cannot see how my wiring a 3A plug on and powering from a pure-sine power-pack to test to identify the cause is 'unsuitable'.

You said that you had spent days troubleshooting this problem.

If you had used a meter properly to check for continuity in the first instance, you wouldn't have had to go through the motions of wiring plugs leads etc.

The only mention in your posts of a multi meter was in not feeling the need to use one, but you did show a pic of your totally unsuitable £1 voltage checker, which was the item I was referring to.