Light Fixture

[brycez28]

Our kitchen has a light fixture that my wife and I both like the looks of....but it has issues with bulbs. It uses the globe style bulbs and I used to have the "cloudy" bulbs in it (can't see the filament) and I would replace 2-3 each month. I started putting "clear" bulbs in it and I can now see that the bulbs will randomly turn on and off and flicker and I can see the filaments are good. They are in the sockets tight, any ideas why it does this? Can I just replace the sockets in the fixture?

 

[gregtwojeeps]

Bad sockets maybe or bad connections where all of the socket wiring make one connection where the "feed wire" comes down the chain. Remove the round plate at the bottom of the fixture where all the fixture arms go in the main body of the chandelier and see if you can find where all the wires are connected together. Most of the time they are stranded conductors and just spliced with wire nuts. Worth a look. Be sure power to the fixture is OFF first !. good luck jmo

 

[yeldogt]

With the breaker off clean the center part of the socket with a pencil eraser and lift up the contact -- also make sure that the bottom of the bulb contact is flat.

Lots of bulbs are made in China and the contact point on the build is not flat -- with the socket up and the bad contact you can get enough heat the melt the contact point.

Also -- if you don't already get a dimmer -- the bulbs will lost many many time longer. Even an electronic dimmer turned all the way up limits the inrush current to the bulb.

 

[CADPoint]

My thought is that you should turn off the circuit and pull the fixture down, and rewire and re-socket the whole fixture.

Heat has worked on both the sockets and the wires!

You can find sockets (ceramic) that fit that size structure, you might have to go to a lighting store and not a warehouse store.

You also have to remember that this size lamp has "X" number of life cycles lets say 1200 hr
It's written right on the box, use that number and insert your own numbers in the following equations.

1200 hr / 14 hrs – day = 85 days.
or
1000 hr / 14 hrs – day = 71.4 days.

You'd be surprised how much time this one fixture is on during a day.

Whatever you use do not over size the lamp Vs the socket, even if you do
or don't re-wire the fixture.

Good Luck!