Downlighter Probs

[happychap]

We have downlighters through out our house but some of them do not work.The rear bedroom lights and landing do not work at all.The main bedroom has a delay before they come on.We have 6 downlighters in the kitchen but only the front three work.Any ideas gang?

 

[dingbat]

Sounds like you may have problems with transformers. Without more information I can only suggest you call in a professional (who will probably bury his head in his hands - downlighters everywhere... Aaarrgh!)

 

[Steve]

downlighters? are they ELV? are they on dimmers? do they have their own individual trannys?

 

[tedbodger]

Did you get any resolution to your query?

We had an extension / other house changes 4 years ago with a number of downlighters added.

A number of low voltage downlighters have stopped working. In the kitchen, where 8 downlighters were installed only 3 are now working - in an upstairs bedroom one out of 8 has stopped working and I have fixed by replacing the transformer as it was easy to get access from the loft.

I don't understand how so many transformers can become faulty. The make of the fittings and unit are Emcalite.

 

[Steve]

A number of low voltage downlighters have stopped working. In the kitchen, where 8 downlighters were installed only 3 are now working - in an upstairs bedroom one out of 8 has stopped working and I have fixed by replacing the transformer as it was easy to get access from the loft.

I don't understand how so many transformers can become faulty. The make of the fittings and unit are Emcalite.

i trust you have checked the bulbs in the lights that are broken . . .

but seriously, some transformers are cheap and low quality. go to a wholesalers and see what they reccomend. They will have a certain brand that has the fewest faulty returns.

and the kitchen lights - pull the fittings out (it is held up by 2 springs that clip the back of the ceiling, the whole fitting just pulls straight down) and see if you can see where the wire goes. if you're lucky, the transformers will be loose and you should be able to pull it out through the light's hole.

 

[tedbodger]

Yes I have cheked the bulbs !

I have bought a few replacements and have changed a couple that were not working at all. On a couple of lights there appears to be a (common) fault in the wiring connections - the light works when unscrewed from the fitting but when placed back inthe fitting it either goes off immediately or next time it is switched on it doesn't work. It seems strange that a few lights have shown this symptom. As the first message highlighted - this seems to happen to the bulbs that come on about a second later than other bulbs...

I removed one fitting and could not figure out how the butterfly clips went back - I do not want to remove the fittings from the kitchen until I know I can get them back up ! Any tips on how to remove easily and get back up ...

thanks for your help.

 

[Steve]

The clips go back in as follows.

1. hold the light up to the hole, the way it will be inserted.
2. fit the clips so the long bit points to the hole and the short bit points away sideways.
3. push the light up so the long bit goes up first and the short bit hits the bottom of the ceiling.
4. keep pushing and the clips should snap back, so the long bit hits the top of the ceiling, and the short bit is against the side of the light.

It sounds like you have a loose connection in the lampholders. Take the back off and check the terminals, if there are any. If not, try the terminals at the transformer.

 

[selfbuildy]

The clips go back in as follows.

1. hold the light up to the hole, the way it will be inserted.
2. fit the clips so the long bit points to the hole and the short bit points away sideways.
3. push the light up so the long bit goes up first and the short bit hits the bottom of the ceiling.
4. keep pushing and the clips should snap back, so the long bit hits the top of the ceiling, and the short bit is against the side of the light.

Thats a great explanation Crafty

You missed out a point


2a- spring of clip bends cheap fitting and falls out, return to 2

 

[tedbodger]

thanks for the tip - I will have a go!

 

[baldelectrician]

Sounds like trannys for some and the ones where the lamps fail almost instantly, lampholders.

I buy JCC fittings and trannys. Very low failure rate. Had 2 faulty trannys out of 150 in last year and a half.

Their actual fittings are better built with lampholders you don't have to fight with the lamp to insert it, and stand offs to help keep stuff away from the lamp.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

IBL are another good make.

 

[securespark]

Yes. IBL are excellent. I fitted some at my Ma's in 1991, and they're still going strong.

Osram Halotronic I find good, too.