Lighting Issue

Context: At a house, all the exterior lights are the same type and use a LED dimmable light bulb, however the two light bulbs at the garage for some mysterious reason don’t brighten up as much as the rest and cannot be dimmed. Second problem is garage interior lights when using incandescent lights are dimmable however when using the LED light bulb that was used in the rest of the house and the aforementioned exterior lights, three are no issues. Any suggestions for where the problem might be?

We’ve also checked the wiring, the Lutron dimmable switches, that there is enough volts going into the garage, all is working based on site confirmation. Is there any other places we could check?

Jimmy

in General Discussion 3 years ago

3

Please log in, in order to post replies!

3 replies

Newest Oldest

andriywww1990 | 3 years ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4822 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4849 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(6) "203055"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(13) "andriywww1990"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$Blt0brWx/nXZUp/q2Jf/KmTQg2kVdJ1"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(22) "andriywww1990gmail-com"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(23) "andriywww1990@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2021-04-03 17:51:15"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(15) "Andrii Kusevych"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(203055)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(3) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

you know, if that rheostat (that is the old word for a dimmer) checks out, i would very likely want to jump the dimmer and see if those bulbs are still dim. if they are, i would question the integrity and safety of that circuit. i would do this in my own house myself and i would trace the issue back.

i am not telling anyone on here to do this. only a licensed electrician should do this. i am not a licensed electrician (i have formal training in electricity). Here is the problem in these old houses: sometimes we see lights dim on their own or things don’t seem right: that could be a loose connection or a broken wire. things like this can “arc” and when things arc (i wrote about how i stuck two knives into an outlet when i was a kid trying to get some electricity for some project i was working on and the knives contacted and arced, melting the knives) the get very hot, hot enough to start a fire. they now have breakers that can be installed that detect some sort of change in the electric current and will shut the circuit off (hopefully) before someth ing really goes wrong.

what i am saying is, something like this should be checked out for the safety of the occupants of the house.

andriywww1990 | 3 years ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4823 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4824 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(6) "203055"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(13) "andriywww1990"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$Blt0brWx/nXZUp/q2Jf/KmTQg2kVdJ1"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(22) "andriywww1990gmail-com"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(23) "andriywww1990@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2021-04-03 17:51:15"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(15) "Andrii Kusevych"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(203055)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(3) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

i think bobjbbkln is correct. but all a dimmer switch is a variable resistor. if you want to get technical about this, take an ohm meter and check the resistance on one of the known good dimmers (at max) and check the resistance of the garage dimmer at max. do this with the breakers off. i will bet you that bobjbkln is correct and that will be show with higher resistance in the dimmer switch.

there must be a way to check the resistance over the entire circuit. the thing is, if this is an old house, and all other things are equal and the dimmers are working, the resistance on a line could indicate something else. i am not an electrician, but when i run into this sort of thing i began to ask myself a lot of questions. is the line over loaded with something else? could there be a loose or faulty connect?

the owner of the tinker’s wagon is getting his home inspection license. he took a basic electricity class (a long time ago). he is not an electrician and if he ran into this sort of thing on a home inspection and could not determine what was causing the lights to be dimmer on another circuit, he would advise the clients to consult with a licensed electrician.

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 3 years ago

string(1) "2"
object(WP_User)#137842 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4810 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(1) "6"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(13) "shahnandersen"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(13) "shahnandersen"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(31) "brownstoner@brownstoner.com.old"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(27) "brownstoner.com/renovation1"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2006-09-08 20:12:54"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(6)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Try changing the dimmer switch in the garage to a more modern one. Cheap and easy.