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Totally OT:question for a sparkie or elec engineer


Superstu

12-Sep-2012
6:32:41 PM

There must be a sparkie out there in chocksterland.

When i turn the bedroom light off at the wall switch, it still continues to glow at about 5% of original brightness. Is this faulty wiring in the cieling or a faulty switch? No other light on that circuit has this problem. Very weird. Only noticed it this week, house is 40 years old.


ajfclark

12-Sep-2012
6:38:00 PM

CFL? They do glow for a while after they're turned off but it's only noticeable in a dark room. Maybe try a different bulb?


Superstu

12-Sep-2012
6:42:05 PM

Yep one of those swirly CFLs. Waited five minutes but it wouldnt go away.
Needed to replace globe in same socket one week ago; hence the suspicion I got a wiring problem. Or evil spirits.


ajfclark

12-Sep-2012
6:50:37 PM

Given they're mechanical, I'd suspect the switch itself before the wiring.


Superstu

12-Sep-2012
6:59:59 PM

Ah, forgot to mention, when i flipped the mains power to remove the globe, the 5% brightness went out. Hence probably not CFL doing weird shit right?


Zarb

12-Sep-2012
7:02:24 PM

Along these lines, my bedroom in my old house used to have that after glow and it shitted me to no end. Then I realised that if I turned off the lights in the adjacent room, the lights in my room would loose their glow.

One Day Hero

12-Sep-2012
7:05:30 PM

You have a short happening Stu. If no one qualified responds, I can give you my hacker version of how to track it down.


Superstu

12-Sep-2012
7:10:42 PM

I dont see how the length of my 'happening' has to do with it?

rightarmbad

12-Sep-2012
7:12:21 PM

Nothing wrong with your house.
Happens all the time with cheap compact flouros.


Miguel75

12-Sep-2012
7:13:44 PM

On 12/09/2012 Superstu wrote:
>.... Snip.... Or evil spirits.

If none of the 'electrical' fixes work try Matthew 17:20-21....


Miguel75

12-Sep-2012
7:17:30 PM

On 12/09/2012 Superstu wrote:
>I dont see how the length of my 'happening' has to do with it?

He he, Stu has a short happening;)

Heh heh heh


Superstu

12-Sep-2012
7:26:47 PM

On 12/09/2012 Miguel75 wrote:
>On 12/09/2012 Superstu wrote:
>>.... Snip.... Or evil spirits.
>
>If none of the 'electrical' fixes work try Matthew 17:20-21....
>

As a militant atheist, I generally reserve matthew 17:20-21 for stuck camelots and recalcitrant wires.


Miguel75

12-Sep-2012
7:58:17 PM

On 12/09/2012 Superstu wrote:
>On 12/09/2012 Miguel75 wrote:
>>On 12/09/2012 Superstu wrote:
>>>.... Snip.... Or evil spirits.
>>
>>If none of the 'electrical' fixes work try Matthew 17:20-21....
>>
>
>As a militant atheist, I generally reserve matthew 17:20-21 for stuck
>camelots and recalcitrant wires.

Interesting; As a militant Christian I generally reserve swearing and cursing for recalcitrant wires;)

MrFrank

12-Sep-2012
8:09:51 PM

Do you have a rcd protecting the circuit ? If not you may have an earthing problem with the light. That or a floating Neutral. I would have an licensed electrician look at it ASAP,

One Day Hero

12-Sep-2012
8:21:43 PM

Hmmm, Rightarmbad is probably right. Seems that induction from all the other wiring in the house can cause compact flouros to glow when they're switched off.

Or, you may have rosellas nesting in your ceiling, and they've stripped metres of wiring back to bare copper and used the insulation to line their nest. I know that sounds far fetched, but it happened to some friends of mine and the resulting short bypassed one of the light switches.............but that's probably a lot rarer than the induction thing.

I just got a popup on my computer telling me that I can add extra inches to my happening. Would you like me to forward the link, Stu?


Superstu

12-Sep-2012
8:28:01 PM

Well i reckon i owe rightarmbad a beer! I replaced el cheapo woolworths CFL with a brand name globe and voila no more evil spirits!

I may have saved myself the $$$ of getting a sparkie in or a few hours pfaffing with a multimeter, by i'm now curious why it can occur. Is the wall switch not completely opening the circuit and the more expensive globe simply able to ignore a small current?

Or has the switch oxidised and a bit of carbon deposit keeping the circuit closed? The switch is the bunnings variety installed two years ago (the ceiling wires weren't replaced if i recall)

Or as ODH suggests, i got a shortie somewhere up there.

The sparkie i used when i did the renos did say i was missing earth in the light circuit cos of the age of my 70s brown brick heritage listed townhouse.


Superstu

12-Sep-2012
8:59:13 PM

On 12/09/2012 One Day Hero wrote:
>Hmmm, Rightarmbad is probably right. Seems that induction from all the
>other wiring in the house can cause compact flouros to glow when they're
>switched off.

Is that wire to wire or just live wires affecting the globe?


ajfclark

12-Sep-2012
9:13:14 PM

On 12/09/2012 Superstu wrote:
>Well i reckon i owe rightarmbad a beer! I replaced el cheapo woolworths CFL with a brand name globe and voila no more evil spirits!

Where's my beer? First reply in says to try a different bulb.

rightarmbad

12-Sep-2012
10:46:02 PM

Yep you have no earth wires in your lighting circuit.
No old homes do, nothing to do with it.

If you live close by a TV transmission tower, all your flouros glow.
Some to the point of some people putting up a light with no wiring as an outside light.

It's just shitty cheap bulbs.
I could explain, but don't really want to explain a bunch of electronics on a climbing forum.

Killkenny please. (or however the fruck you spell it)


ChuckNorris

12-Sep-2012
11:08:50 PM

It is spelled f---.

There are 32 messages in this topic.