blowing bulbs

disfasia · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 12:38 pm Post Subject: blowing bulbs

i just installed a four way switch..it controls a blue light of 50 watts perfectly. but i put in a regular bulb or a fluorescent for which i designed this switch, it blows the lightbulb immediately!!!

i have double checked the wiring many times and the controls work perfectly (for the blue light).

any help is appreciated...

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topic moved as poster is in Canada

breezer · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 1:53 pm Post Subject:

more info please

"blue light"

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fattony · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 5:02 pm Post Subject:

Isn't blue light something they used in the 60's where you can write stuff that is only visable using blue light. Thinking of the film gone in 60 seconds.

Or am I being thick here

Softus · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 5:22 pm Post Subject: Re: blowing bulbs

disfasia wrote:

...i designed this switch

You design switches?!

Spark123 · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 5:23 pm Post Subject:

Could mean black-light or ultra-voilet?

breezer · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 5:23 pm Post Subject:

you are probably thinking of black light, which is an ultra violet light.

the bit that worries me is

disfasia wrote:

the controls work perfectly

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disfasia · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 3:20 am Post Subject:

uh, i meant just that: a blue light (not a red, not a green, and not a black). these are simple 40watt lights with colors on them. and somehow they blow.

now i went out and bought new sockets and installed it--the lights are fine, but the circuit tester i have says that the positive and neutral wires are reversed. They are not. Might the tester be saying this because it is a four way connection (three switches controlling one element)???

breezer · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 9:01 am Post Subject:

now you are saying sockets and posative and neutral, you are confusing us all. (your terminology is wrong)

how about you take a couple of pictures and post them. To see how see forum information

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disfasia · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 11:04 am Post Subject:

nothing confusing here. the reader says that the positive (aka,the hot wire) and neutral are inversed--but they are not. is this reading do to the fact that it is a four way connection? if you are confused, don't respond.

i just need to know why the circuit reader would say that the positive and neutral wires are inversed when they are not?

JohnD · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 11:09 am Post Subject:

Is this a "socket tester" you mean, with 3 or 4 neons that light up? If so, it will not be wrong.

If you can lay your hands on a digital camera, post some pics. Perhaps we've imagining your build incorrectly.

breezer · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 11:16 am Post Subject:

disfasia wrote:

nothing confusing here. the reader says that the positive and negative are inversed--but they are not. is this reading do to the fact that it is a four way connection? if you are confused, don't respond. i just need to know why the circuit reader would say that the positive and neutral wires are inversed when they are not?

Its your terminology that is wrong

its live (orphase) and neutral NOT posative and negative

and what is a "circuit reader"

it makes sense to you because you wrote it

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disfasia · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 11:28 am Post Subject:

yes, the socket tester has three lights. but i am testing a socket for which there is four-way wiring... so would this be the reason for the reading? since putting in the new socket (the old one might have been corroded) things work perfectly--except for the reading.

why is this?

breezer · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 11:38 am Post Subject:

disfasia wrote:

socket for which there is four-way wiring...

but you initaly said

disfasia wrote:

i just installed a four way switch

and

disfasia wrote:

for which i designed this switch

Please make your mind up.

I really am trying to help, but one minute you say one thing then you say another.

why dont you take a picture and post it, information on this is in forum information

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disfasia · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 11:48 am Post Subject:

yes, i installed a four way system: three switches one light. that's all. i have the wires to the light linked to an outlet to test my lights before i blow another fluorescent.

power box: 14/2 to first switch
first to second and second to third switch: 14/3 (the 1st and 3rd are 3way switches, the 2nd a four-way).
3rd switch to socket: 14/2

i have checked and rechecked the wiring... I wasn't until i installed a new socket yesterday that the bulbs stop blowing out. but the socket reader still says the positive and neutral are reversed...

??
any help you might lend me would be great.

best

disfasia

JohnD · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 11:52 am Post Subject:

Hello again... didn't you post a while back about some a fluorescent lamp rig for a plantation in your loft?