dimmer switch woes

[ezekiel]

just installed a dimmer switch in bedroom for walllight and although it works, something is not right..

turn on its fine
turn up about half way its fine
but
about half turn and light goes off completely, then as you continue to turn light comes back on but flickers ?

help please..........

 

[EdwardCurrent]

Hello.

Are you using an 'energy saving' lamp maybe ???

Ed

 

[stephenf8542]

I agree sounds like wrong bulbs

 

[ezekiel]

large screw in type, do they come in energy saving type, if so can you tell by looking at them anyway?

 

[stephenf8542]

They've usually got a thick ceramic base connecting the lamp to the base the lamp wattage will be on there ,that'll tell us if its low energy or not

 

[dave2506]

Should be obvious from looking at it. Standard bulb has a thin wire filament inside. Energy saving bulbs quite often don't look like normal light bulbs if that makes sense! The fact it is a standard screw cap will not help you identify it as both would have them.

The symptons you are describing suggest you have an energy saving bulb.

 

[wingcoax]

Normally energy savers cause flicker at low setings because they don't "fire up" properly but get better as you turn up the dimmer, Sounds like you may have a dodgy dimmer (bad pot)

 

[ColJack]

energy saving second light wired in series somehow?

at low voltages the energy saver wouldn't light and the regular lamp would brighten up at normal rate..?
once a certain voltage is reached the energy saver strikes and goes out, causing the regular lamp to flicker off and back on in oposite to the energy saver?

must get 2 lampholders and do an experiment...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What's the resistance of an unlit energy-saver likely to be?

 

[ColJack]

to be honest I have no idea and can't be bothered to go to the van to get my multimeter out..

oh I see, I said "series" didn't I?

I meant together.. which would be parallel...

 

[RF Lighting]

Sounds like either a duff or wrongly loaded dimmer to me

 

[Space cat]

turn on its fine
turn up about half way its fine
but
about half turn and light goes off completely, then as you continue to turn light comes back on but flickers ?

Is the lamp up to full brightness just before it goes out at the half way point?

 

[ezekiel]

no light is about half bright , then out, then on but flickering.

think RF is correct, took dimmer off and replaced with a switch, light was fine,
put dimmer in other room with standard bulb, and although not as severe a flicker the bulb does not light fully only dim