We have two outside lights on our house, and one went out a while back, the most likely cause being a dead bulb. We didn't have any replacements of the right size so it stayed dead for a while. A couple of weeks later, it came back on without my having done anything. It was one of the compact fluorescent ones, so perhaps the starter was becoming unreliable. It failed again after a couple of weeks. Time to get a replacement bulb.
I got the new bulb, took out the ladder, changed the bulb and.... the new one flickers. Damn, duff bulb, I'll have to take it back. But just to check it, I plugged it in to a different socket indoors, where it worked fine. So, dodgy wiring. This is probably a problem in the light fitting. I seriously hope that it is, since fixing a problem somewhere along the cable as it weaves its sinuous path from the distribution box to the outside world would be difficult or impossible.
Since unreliable wiring is a fire risk, the first thing to do is disconnect the light. That done, I brought it indoors, took it to bits, and verified that it was, in fact, a corroded connection inside the fitting. The insulation showed all the signs of having been overheated, so it was good to have prevented a possible fire. But the fitting was unserviceable.
These outside lights have been in place for over 40 years, and the paint is flaking off. But they are well made, solidly built and the electrical safety precautions are in place and trustworthy. It would be hard to find something of equivalent quality today. So it's worthwhile trying to fix it.
I went to our local hardware shop in search of some kind of connector that might do the trick, and found one for €3.50 that, with careful modification, made the fitting work correctly. Careful testing indicates that it is reliable.
This is a great opportunity to renew the paint, and Anita has been doing this over the last few days, carefully sanding off the old paint and replacing it with Hammerite. The finished item looks pretty good. I just need to wait for the rain to stop and I'll put it back up.
P.S. Now of course, it looks odd to have one lamp freshly painted and the other all corroded and flakey so now I get to do the second one as well.
4 comments:
Is the new bulb another Compact Fluorescent, or a newer LED equivalent? I ask because the CFL's are notorious for suffering failing control circuits when mounted "Cap Up" in enclosed fittings. They can't handle the heat in that situation. LED's are more efficient and cooler running and don't seem to suffer from this problem.
Hi Microdave, the old bulb was a compact fluorescent, mounted cap up. However I can't complain about its life, since it has been on all night most nights for ten years or so. The fitting is open on one side so perhaps that kept the heat down. I have replaced it with a LED
The fluorescents did not like being frequently switched on and off. They died young.
They do not take any current to make it warm except during "starting."
Fit a fuse / cb inside the house to limit the current to be less than your wiring can continuously carry even with short circuit at lamp end.
Be sure it is not a high temperature "efficient" halogen lamp. For some reason the EU permitted their sale after the ordinary incandescent were banned.
They look very similar, especially if outer glass envelope is opaque frosted.
Grand advice.
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