Electrical double socket

[ANGLER]

I have an electrical socket, which is still lighting up external LED Xmas Lights with the switch on the off position. (Lighting very dim) The lights fully illuminated with the socket switched on.
External LED Lights worked correctly when a different socket was used.
Any ideas?

 

[mwatsonxx]

Fit a new socket.

 

[JohnW2]

Fit a new socket.

That may not help. It sounds as if the LEDs are lighting very dimly because of capacitive coupling across the switch contacts of the socket, so the same might happen with a new socket. Putting a 'suppressor' across the LEDs might well be the solution.

IF the current socket has SP switching, changing to one with DP switches might help, since the current would then have to leak through two capacitances in series.

Kind Regards, John

 

[bernardgreen]

Is the socket external and exposed to the weather, if so then there might be damp inside the socket and the damp is allowing a small amoumt of current to by pass the switch.

 

[bernardgreen]

Another possibility.........


The socket is wired reverse polarity ( Live and Neutral exchanged ) and the Live remains connected to the lamps even when teh swtch is OFF.

When the switch is OFF the lamps are dim because they have no Neutral other than some capacitive coupling to Ground or Earth ( same potential as the Neutral ) which allow a bit of power to reach the lamps.

 

[mwatsonxx]

External LED Lights worked correctly when a different socket was used.

Waffle and guessing won't fix it, but a new socket will.

 

[JohnW2]

Waffle and guessing won't fix it, but a new socket will.

As I said, it quite possibly might not 'fix it'. I wonder exactly what sort of 'fault' in the existing socket (which might well not be faulty at all) you are guessing might be causing the problem?

It sounds as if you are not familiar with sort of problem, which is quite common with LEDs (and sometimes even with CFLs).

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Waffle and guessing won't fix it, but a new socket will.

When did you visit the OP and determine that the cause is a faulty socket?

 

[securespark]

That may not help. It sounds as if the LEDs are lighting very dimly because of capacitive coupling across the switch contacts of the socket, so the same might happen with a new socket.

But didn't he say that the lights work fine in another socket?

 

[JohnW2]

But didn't he say that the lights work fine in another socket?

He did, but I don't think that proves very much, since the sort of capacitive (and/or inductive) coupling I was alluding to will vary from socket to socket, depending upon wiring etc.

My suggestion may, of course, not be the reason for the OP's problem, but nor is it necessarily due to a 'faulty' socket (so might persist, even if the socket is replaced). However, when LEDs 'light very dimly' when they are meant to be off, it is very commonly (at least, in my experience) due to the sort of mechanism I described.

Kind Regards, John

 

[mattylad]

Waffle and guessing won't fix it, but a new socket will.

Or investigating what is going on behind the front, so almost correct - an electrician or suitably knowledgeable person should be able to diagnose and repair this.

@ANGLER, perhaps it is best to unplug anything using this socket when not in use until you can get it sorted.

 

[JohnW2]

Or investigating what is going on behind the front, so almost correct - an electrician or suitably knowledgeable person should be able to diagnose and repair this.

One would certainly hope so.

However, I'm not sure what you mean by 'almost correct'. As I wrote early on, a new socket would not necessarily 'fix the problem', in which case mwatsonxx's statement would be incorrect.

I suggested what I believe is the most likely cause of what the OP is experienced. A "suitably knowledgeable person" (or probably even the OP himself) could easily confirm/refute that as a cause - all that is necessary is to put a very small load in parallel with the LEDs and see if that prevents them 'lighting very dimly' when they are 'switched off' at the socket.

Kind Regards, John