How do dimmer switches fail




















When the power indicator LED starts blinking rapidly, it is ready for setup. Overlamping a dimmer switch is the most common reason a dimmer switch fails. When a dimmer switch fails, the lights might not go out but remain on, burning up electricity and requiring a change out of the dimmer switch. A power surge can also take down your dimmer. One of the most common causes for premature dimmer failure is over-lamping.

Dimmer switches are designed to handle a specified maximum load in watts. Quite often, when a single dimmer switch is used to control a number of light fixtures, this maximum wattage is exceeded.

Most dimmers are designed to fit a standard wall box opening, which makes it easy to replace the switch for any incandescent or halogen light with a dimmer. With a standard single-pole dimmer , a single switch controls the light. With a three-way dimmer , you can control a light with two switches. Headlight dimmers work in a different way. The dimmer switch actually controls two separate circuits. When the normal lights are turned on, the dimmer sends a small current to an electric switch called a relay.

This current closes the switch , turning on the normal headlights. As an example — if you have a dimmer switch with a maximum rating of W rule of thumb translates to 40W you can run five 7.

Dimming the bulb , will likely cause erratic behavior such as flickering or buzzing and ultimately may cause damage to the bulb. Any dimmer switch is compatible with incandescent or halogen light bulbs as the following conditions are met: The dimmer switch is rated for the same voltage as the lighting application.

The total wattage of all lamps is less than or equal to the maximum wattage rating on the dimmer switch. Your dimmer switch is overloaded Every dimmer light switch has a maximum load, measured in watts, that it can safely handle. If your dimmer switch is excessively warm, you may have too many bulbs running off it. How does a light switch cause fire? Answer: The terminals can very slowly loosen, causing resistance at the point of connection.

This causes heat, which can start a fire. An old dimmer switch made to work with incandescent bulbs won't work well with LEDs. If bulbs connected to a dimmer are flickering , this is likely the reason why. Click to expand Great, so you have the five wires in at the dimmer switch are you ok with allocating those wires?

The new dimmer switch may have a different configuration. I will probably be tied to a rock and have my liver pecked out daily for walking you through this though, as we are not "encouraged" to take you step by step through this.

I will cover my derriere by saying get an electrician in to sort this out. There we are, you have been advised. I see your photography is as good as mine, it's nice to see someone with the same skills as me on the forum photo wise.

Reaction score 3, I never knew an umbilical was coloured like that! Adrian Granger Brown said:. Excuse my flippancy! No offence meant There is a back box look deeper obewankanobe. I was going to say obviously a man of few words, but now it is a man of few letters Reaction score 9, Rented place?

It's up to your landlord to fix this, surely. You must log in or register to reply here. Replies 47 Views 4K. Oct 22, ElectroChem. Article Connected Accounts - Link your account with social media if you wish. Replies 0 Views 1K. Oct 1, Dan. Article I apologise for the dangerous advert displayed recently. Replies 37 Views 6K. Oct 26, Jurassic Sparks.

Replies 5 Views 3K. Oct 26, BenCos Replies 2 Views 4K. Oct 6, telectrix. This is one of the largest sources of complaints regarding leading edge dimmers and can manifest in a number of different ways. The first is the LED light simply not working, no matter what position the dimmer is in; this is usually an issue with the dimmer itself.

All dimmer switches have an operational range which denotes how many Watts of lights they can work with. Because LED lamps use a lot less power to operate than a conventional filament or halogen, they may fall under the minimum load required for the dimmer switch to operate. Trailing edge dimmers are the more modern type of dimmer switch, they operate in a different manner to leading edge dimmers and suffer none of the inherent disadvantages that type does.

These devices operate in a manner which does not produce some of the undesirable traits found in leading edge dimmers. Because of their suitability for use with LEDs, trailing edge dimmers generally have a lower rated operating range than leading edge dimmers. What this essentially means is that if you are using a trailing edge dimmer with conventional lamps, not as many lamps would be able to be controlled by a single dimmer switch.

With LED lighting becoming more and more common in domestic installations, this is not likely to become an issue.



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