Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: pauls on 26 August 2013, 20:34:02
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Sitting here looking at oof all of a sudden lights went out. I thought owell another bulb needed. Anyway checked all the bulbs none popped but the light in the front room wont turn back on. Any ideas please i did check the bulb with a known good one but nothing. I was thinking dimmer switch but question is would it just stop working.
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Checked all breakers/fuses "intact"?
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Dimmer switches can be temperamental little bastuds.
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Checked all breakers/fuses "intact"?
All fuses etc good
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Check the wiring to the actual light bulb.
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Or maybe replace the dimmer switch.
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If that fails then rewire the whole house! ;D ;D ;D :-*
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As above, if fuses are ok stick a normal light switch in. Dimmer does do appear to go a bit loopy sometimes
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I was thinking dimmer switch but question is would it just stop working.
Yes they do just stop working, and it is not uncommon for them to trip the protective device (MCB/RCD) when they do fail.
Given your description, my money says it's the dimmer.
You can verify this by shutting off the electrical supply to that circuit, remove the dimmer switch from the wall, take the 2 wires from the dimmer and short them together using a connector block, then flick the MCB back on.
If the lights come on, it's the switch.
Note that using this method could well create a very tiny arc, it's nothing to worry about and won't kill you when it happens (but it does scare the nervous ones among us quite impressively ;D ;D ).
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Or it might be a shorted wire(s) in the light fitting, where the insulation goes hard and brittle from the lamp's heat
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Or it might be a shorted wire(s) in the light fitting, where the insulation goes hard and brittle from the lamp's heat
If that was the case, the MCB would remain in a tripped state.
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Cheers guys will update tomorrow
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What bulbs are in the light?
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Or it might be a shorted wire(s) in the light fitting, where the insulation goes hard and brittle from the lamp's heat
If that was the case, the MCB would remain in a tripped state.
Yep...... :y :y My monies on the switch, but I would have tried a new basic on/off switch to test.... :D :D
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What bulbs are in the light?
don't you plant bulbs in the garden ........ ::) ::) ::)
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Yep...... :y :y My monies on the switch, but I would have tried a new basic on/off switch to test.... :D :D
I would have personally shorted the bare wires together with the circuit energised as a test, but I'm a sparks by trade so I know what I can & can't get away with.
I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to do the same in real life though, especially as they needed to ask the question to start with so I decided to err on the side of caution ;)
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Yep...... :y :y My monies on the switch, but I would have tried a new basic on/off switch to test.... :D :D
I would have personally shorted the bare wires together with the circuit energised as a test, but I'm a sparks by trade so I know what I can & can't get away with.
I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to do the same in real life though, especially as they needed to ask the question to start with so I decided to err on the side of caution ;)
:y :y
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Dimmer switch for sure they have resisters in them that are a pain, and do cause a lot of fires, :( do yourself a favour revert back to real switch. :y ;D
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Dimmer switch for sure they have resisters in them that are a pain, and do cause a lot of fires, :( do yourself a favour revert back to real switch. :y ;D
That may have been true 30 years ago, but not so now.
The potentiometer (variable resistor) carries a control current in the region of milliamps, the main load is switched by a Triac (same size as a 5p piece, and can easily switch a 1000 W load without stressing).
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I would have personally shorted the bare wires together with the circuit energised as a test, but I'm a sparks by trade so I know what I can & can't get away with.
I knew it.. I knew all sparks were a bit nuts ;)
Though I once watched my Dad (also quite happy with electrics - everything from PLCs to Kv was part of his job until recently, but of course, not Part P so when it came to a rewire.. ::) ;D) weld a pair of needle nose pliers together working on a socket .. of course the house, probably 25 years ago, only had fuse wire so nothing went off ;D
Still have the pliers today, we just filed the welded end off...
P.S. Hope you're doing well!
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Just a update. It was the dimmer switch
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Just a update. It was the dimmer switch
Result......... :y :y
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Just a update. It was the dimmer switch
Result......... :y :y
:y :y :y+1