Has anyone ever had a light fixture which was receiving power at the base but the bulbs won’t light? I have a cieling fixture which takes two candelabra base bulbs(picture attached). I have used a voltmeter to check the voltage in the bulb base – it reads 120 volts in both bases, but the bulbs won’t light up when I screw them in. I have dozens of new bulbs and have tried about ten to make sure that it isn’t bad bulbs. I also turned off the power and sanded the contacts in the base (they weren’t corroded). How the heck can the voltage be there but the bulbs won’t light??????
Franco
Replies
My guess is the center contact has been smashed flat and does not contact the base of the bulb. You can sometimes bend it up into place, but sometimes the metal is not springy enough to stay put. In that case, buy new sockets.
MAKE SURE THE POWER IS OFF, OR YOU'LL NEED NEW PANTS AND SOCKETS.
Mark
Don't fergit to tell him to make sure the power is off b/4 he starts in to bending....................
thanks.
Some like excitement, others, not so much.
What kind of voltmeter are you using? If you're using a "high-impedance" digital meter then it can read "phantom voltage" when one of the wires isn't connected.
If that is the case, having one bulb was screwed in should drop the reading to virtually 0 volts.
If that is the case [it's a problem with phantom voltage], having one bulb was screwed in should drop the reading to virtually 0 volts.
True.
Single fixture?
Is that the only fixture on that circuite not working? If it is, then you have been given the answer to the problem (smashed down center contact point). If it is not the only fixture giving you probelms, it could be an open neutral.