Light with multiple bulbs burnt wiring help

[pb63]

Hi guys, recently one of our lights has been playing up. It's one with multi bulbs. Piccy below.

I investigated tonight and noticed that some of the wiring appears burnt when I took the end cap off. A tad worrying. Is it fixable? Why has it happened? Thanks for your help

 

[Iggifer]

I’m afraid to say, probably not. If there’s enough slack that you can cut back to get to clean un-burnt copper insulation then you could repair but doesn’t look like there’s much slack.

How old is the fitting? That’s clearly a manufacturers defect (so long as you didnt overload it with higher wattage lamps than the maximum rating)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

some of the wiring appears burnt when I took the end cap off.

Appearances do not deceive. That wiring is ruined.

A tad worrying.

Indeed. It could have started a fire.

Is it fixable?

The light fitting will need to be rewired, internally - the burned wires cannot be renovated and reused. Do you like the light?

Why has it happened?

A poor connection resulted in a high-resistance joint, which got hot, and hot enough to almost set fire to the insulation and the connector.

Badly made light and/or using poor quality connectors inside.

 

[pb63]

I’m afraid to say, probably not. If there’s enough slack that you can cut back to get to clean un-burnt copper insulation then you could repair but doesn’t look like there’s much slack.

How old is the fitting? That’s clearly a manufacturers defect (so long as you didnt overload it with higher wattage lamps than the maximum rating)

Lamp was in the house when we moved in. Have never changed a bulb in 5 years in it so don't think it's been overloaded with high watt lamps. Shame as I really like this light fitting and would be a shame to throw away.

Would it be a big job to rewire it?

 

[pb63]

A poor connection resulted in a high-resistance joint, which got hot, and hot enough to almost set fire to the insulation and the connector.

Badly made light and/or using poor quality connectors inside.

Thanks. Yes it is worrying. I think the light was from John Lewis so surprised it's such poor quality.

I do like it, but if it's not safe, it's going in the skip.

 

[JohnW2]

Lamp was in the house when we moved in. Have never changed a bulb in 5 years in it so don't think it's been overloaded with high watt lamps.

What wattage lamps/bulbs does it have?

Shame as I really like this light fitting and would be a shame to throw away. Would it be a big job to rewire it?

Re-wiring ought to be pretty straightforward, so I imagine that would probably cost a fair bit less than buying a decent-quality replacement.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Iggifer]

It would be a somewhat big task to rewire it yes, and tbh, not worth it.

I'd start looking at new fittings.

 

[AnotherTom]

It almost certainly can be rewired, but it could be a bit tricky to join all those wires neatly in a small space. I would DIY it but you might be more comfortable taking it to a pro. At a guess I think it might take me a bit more than an hour, and use less than £10 of parts.

(or it might turn out more difficult, and take all afternoon....)

on the other hand, if it is John lewis they are usually very helpful.

 

[Iggifer]

What wattage lamps/bulbs does it have?
Re-wiring ought to be pretty straightforward, so I imagine that would probably cost a fair bit less than buying a decent-quality replacement

You can have that job! If I were inclined to rewire it, I'd start by checking I could disassemble the lamp holders before I spent any money on anything. They could be crimped/riveted into place. Same goes for the cabling into them.

 

[Iggifer]

It almost certainly can be rewired, but it could be a bit tricky to join all those wires neatly in a small space. I would DIY it but you might be more comfortable taking it to a pro. At a guess I think it might take me a bit more than an hour, and use less than £10 of parts.

on the other hand, if it is John lewis they are usually very helpful.

As per my post above, take it down and see if you can disassemble the lamp holders. If you can't without breaking them then you're looking at £20-30 in lamp holders alone, plus some cable.

 

[JohnW2]

You can have that job! If I were inclined to rewire it, I'd start by checking I could disassemble the lamp holders before I spent any money on anything. They could be crimped/riveted into place. Same goes for the cabling into them.

Yes, I would also check all those things first - but, unless it were 'cheap and nasty' (which doesn't seem all that likely), I would be reasonably hopeful of being able to disassemble it.

As has been said, it would be all a bit crowded where all the cables come together, but I'm sure I would manage somehow (provided I got that far)!

Kind Regards, John

 

[AnotherTom]

hehe, I thought better of my first guess and edited my post before I even saw your reply.

assuming it comes to bits easily, assuming the cables are joined to the holders in a convenient way..... But I would always take things to bits as the first port of call. Even if I'm not sure how to put them back together ;p

 

[pb63]

It has 12 bulbs which are 10 watt 12volt. Which is what it says on the light fitting they should be.

As I say in 5 years never had a problem, never changed a bulb either.

 

[pb63]

Re-wiring ought to be pretty straightforward, so I imagine that would probably cost a fair bit less than buying a decent-quality replacement.

Kind Regards, John

Ok great sounds like a challenge then. I'll disconnect it and see how much I can take it apart....

Another DIY mini project... Thanks all for your help and opinions

 

[JohnW2]

It has 12 bulbs which are 10 watt 12volt. Which is what it says on the light fitting they should be.

Fair enough. The fact that they are 12V bulbs means (assuming they are each supplied from a 12V transformer or power supply**) that the currents involved would be 20 times greater than if they had been 240V ones - which may possibly have some bearing on the fact that the wires have overheated (although it obviously should have been designed so that wouldn't happen).

** I suppose an alternative might be that they were all wired in series, and fed from a 120V transformer, but I would rather doubt that).

Kind Regards, John