compact flourescent bulb problem
pooremike
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I am replacing incandescent bulbs with compact flourescents and ran into a problem with a bathroom fixture. The CFB won’t work, but the incandescent will. I checked the single bulb fixture with a cheap analog VOM and it shows ~115 volts ac. The center button is hot and the outer ring is not. There’s no dimmer. I tried two CFBs and neither worked in that fixture. They worked fine in other fixtures. Any ideas?
Replies
Sounds like the fixture might be wired bass-ackwards. Did you check the voltage between the socket and a good ground (water pipe) to be sure that it's the center pin that's hot.
That was my first thought--that the fixture was wired backwards. I used the ground of an extension cord on a good outlet to check the center plug against. The center point was hot and the ring was not. (The metal around the fixture was not hot, either.)
Check the center point depth vs the reach of the CF. If the socket binds and you are unable to screw the bulb all the way in there may be no physical contact, therefore no light.
I did an eyeball check of the depth and they looked the same. I'll measure a couple and see how they look and try to pry the button up a little if it's made so that's possible. The fixture is a 45 year old Nutone but seems to be in real good shape.
Compare the CFL to the lightbulb. The CFL may be flatter on the bottom, with a button that doesn't project as far, or it may have a shoulder on the threaded part that stops you from screwing it in all the way.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
What controls it? Is it connected to dimmer, timer, or motion sensor?.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
MIke is probably right if a standard bulb works the problem with flouros is physical some times the collar on the flouro bulbs may stop the from sitting right down in the fitting.You can make it fool proof but not idiot proof
I'll bet on the center stud.Had the same thing happen on the light built into the range hood in the kitchen. I changed the bulb, disassembled and checked the switch, reassembled, etc...A week or so of head scratching, testing, and no progress later my electrician brother came over listened to what i had done and then waited till I turned by back and like magic had it working! He loves doing stuff like that.Good thing for my sanity he told me what he did or I'd still be thinking about that while trying to fall asleep!Stu
What does it really mean for AC to be wired "backwards"?
I know that there's a convention that the center pin is "hot" and the the socket threads are neutral, but I thought that was simply to reduce the chance of a shock if someone is replacing a bulb with the power on. I don't know of any electrical devices that actually won't work if the polarity is reversed.
black house wire wired to white light lead and white house wire wired to black light lead..Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
It makes a difference to fluorescent lamps, having to do with the static electric fields during startup.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
I am not sure about CFL's where the bulb can be far from any ground plane.For tubular bulbs you do have a long metal frame parallel to the bulb..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Yeah, I'm not too sure either that CFLs tend rely on the ground plane for proper starting, but I can see how having the lamp IMproperly associated with a ground plane could cause starting problems. Keep in mind that bath fixtures tend to be constructed with the bulb close to a metal base.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
I also had on CFL that would not work, the white ceramic base above the thread was wider and did not allow the bulb to make contact. Bending up the base tongue made it work.
I have not had a chance to pry up the center plug yet. We took my mother out to eat for her 80th birthday tonight and her boyfriend proposed to her. How about that!
The other likely possibility is that the center tab is recessed somehow and the CFL is bottoming out before the center pin makes contact.
if the wiring isn't reversed bend / raise the center button out a bit....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
ahem....turn the switch back on yet?