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20th November 2008, 10:54 AM
|  | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation:  | | | [SOLVED] Non PC electrical conundrum
I have a lamp socket that is guaranteed to trash any bulb within 60 seconds.
Bulbs burn at their correct wattage but only last the stated 60 secs. It has eaten 3 in the last hour.
Any ideas?
I am about to annoy it with probes - if nothing heard please call the emegency services.
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 11:14 AM
|  | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
Is it an earthed or non earthed type?
Is it a desk lamp or a ceiling one?
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
20th November 2008, 11:15 AM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
no earth....and it smells like a cooked PSU
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 11:26 AM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
So, is it a desk lamp?
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
20th November 2008, 11:27 AM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
Yus - this is fun - like a Q&A session! Hi Rik!
It is the bottom half of a lava lamp - but it still blows the bulbs when running open.
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 11:35 AM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | |
Q&A lol.  Sounds like the cable may be suspect to me. I don't know how "up" you are with electrics but if it was me I would check the connections in the plug then in the lamp unit itself then replace the cable if there is nothing obviously wrong. Also, avoid coiling the cable or running it very close to any other cable that carries a fair load.
Mains cables emit a small amount of EM radiation which will be amplified may times when the cable is coiled up in any way. This will generate heat too.
Cables too close to one another can cause voltage spikes and voltage rises.
Hope that helps in some way.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
20th November 2008, 11:45 AM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
Thanks Rik
You may be right about the cable - what I don't undertstand is if it lights up OK how does it blow bulbs? It ate 1 x 40w and 2 x 25w today and they all appeared to be bright enough but not to bright. And as there is no earth and no short, what's going on here??
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 11:47 AM
|  | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Jul 2008, 8,171 posts. Location: UK Norfolk ..... Reputation: | | |
I have a lavalamp does exactly the same thing Albert
__________________ Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming...
Damn, What a ride!! |
20th November 2008, 11:48 AM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
I suspect an insulation breakdown in the cable somewhere. The resistance can also be affected.
Did you notice if the cable heats up at all?
BM, some lava lamps can draw quite a bit of current. I suspect your may also need the cable replaced.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST".
Last edited by Rik; 20th November 2008 at 11:51 AM.
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20th November 2008, 11:55 AM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Jul 2008, 8,171 posts. Location: UK Norfolk ..... Reputation: | | |
It was a off the market job
__________________ Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming...
Damn, What a ride!! |
20th November 2008, 11:56 AM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
I am going to test this thing with my little tester, but not until I have had the lunch...
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 12:20 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
Albert, unless you have a 10,000 volt insulation tester then you are unlikely to find the fault.
One other thought tho, does it have a mains switch, if so, is it in the unit or an inline one on the cable?
BM, it may well be down to poor build quality and/or design then.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
20th November 2008, 12:27 PM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
I do have one of those but when it heard I needed it, it hid. I'll get the little eegit shortly.
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 12:44 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
You need to connect a probe to each terminal and test. The needle should only jump a small amount very quickly, If it takes more than a second to reach zero or stays above zero then you definately have an insulation problem.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
20th November 2008, 12:49 PM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
Cannot find it but found a lesser beast which I used - there is a massive resistance somewhere so will now try and get the base off without wrecking it completly - by the look of it it is not supposed to come apart!
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 12:51 PM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Jul 2008, 8,171 posts. Location: UK Norfolk ..... Reputation: | | |
Be careful Albert
__________________ Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming...
Damn, What a ride!! |
20th November 2008, 12:52 PM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
Thanks sweetums - I have disconnected it! I'm in the middle of building a couple of new systems so it will happen slowly.
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
20th November 2008, 12:53 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
Make sure you unplug it before ripping it apart! I doubt you would be foolish enough to do it live but I thought I'd issue the warning as a precaution.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
20th November 2008, 12:56 PM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
In truth I'm more interested in using it as a bolas at the moment as I think it is a heap o'junk.
__________________ Confuse and Prosper. |
21st December 2008, 02:35 PM
| | TST Oracle | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 8,001 posts. Location: Market Haemorrhoids, Middle England Reputation: | | |
Closing update - would you believe that I can find nothing the matter with it and a fourth bulb has lasted several weeks now. Must have been a bad batch of bulbs from Wilco!
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