Light Fixture Sparks
#1
02-20-19, 01:33 PM
Light Fixture Sparks
I have a 6 light candelabra light fixture switched to a 3-way dimmer and a second light switch. The light switch must be on for the dimmer to work. I replaced the six incandescent bulbs with LED drawing 5.5 watts each. When I turned it on there was a spark, flash and pop. The lights went off but the breaker did not trip. I figured although the light fixture and dimmer is 6 years old it was not LED compatible. So I purchased an LED Compatible Lutron Dimmer rated for 150w LED or 600w Incandescent. I installed it 2 months ago and it worked without an issue. The bulbs were still fine. Suddenly it did the same thing. there was a flash, smoke and an ember landed on my dining table. Breaker did not trip. The lamp holders in the fixture have no marks, the wires are snug, but 2 of the six bulbs have burn marks and separation where the glass meet the metal base. Question is, do I have a faulty dimmer, bad bulbs or bad wiring? How do I troubleshoot? Don't mind calling an electrician if the symptoms point to wiring.
#3
02-20-19, 03:17 PM
My guess is the dimmer output voltage has exceeded the voltage ratings of the LED bulbs.What is their rating and the output of the dimmer? You don't state the condition of the 6 LED bulbs after the last arcing incident. What is their condition? More troubling is the breaker not tripping due to the arcing. Could be the breaker is damaged in the closed condition or has a time delay. I would get an electrician to verify operation or replace the breaker. I would also have him meggar the wires in the cables from the suspect breaker to the bulb sockets in the lamp fixture to verify the wire insulation has not been compromised. This is more important than the fixture working.
#4
02-20-19, 04:42 PM
Group Moderator
2 of the six bulbs have burn marks and separation where the glass meet the metal base.
#5
02-21-19, 04:40 PM
They are new Ecosmart LED Candelabra bulbs rated at 5.5W in a Candelabra socket so I do not understand the compatibility comment. The Lutron Dimmer is rated for 150w LED and my 6 bulbs combined are 33w. They did work fine for 2 months so if I had wired it incorrectly they would have sparked and popped day one. As far as where it sparked I cannot tell bulb or socket obviously but the sockets look clean with snug wires and 2 bulbs are damaged between base and glass.
#8
02-22-19, 08:09 AM
Group Moderator
I hadn't seen that they worked fine for two months. A socket problem would have shown up immediately. I agree with joed. The electronics in the bulb base have burned up.
#10
02-22-19, 10:20 AM
beelzebob I cannot find the output voltage for the bulb or the dimmer in the specs just the wattage.The bulb sku from HD is 1002914646 and the dimmer from Lowes is Item # 761393. I confirmed that no breaker has tripped and the dimmer is fried because the light will no longer come on with working bulbs.
#11
02-22-19, 02:18 PM
reviews from HD site. seems your not the only one having issues.
2 of 12 died out of the box. 1 of 2 shorted and sparked while I was on top of the ladder. Terrible
I bought 12 of these lightbulbs for our outside coach lights, required by our Homeowners Association.
After installing all of them, only 1 worked.
After installing all of them, only 1 worked.
#13
02-22-19, 05:29 PM
My mistake. it was the 40 watt where those comments came from . I search for 'ecosmart b11sparking' to find it.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart...86X4/307897732
https://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart...86X4/307897732
#14
02-23-19, 08:54 AM
Your light setup is unique and not UL approved. You are driving LED bulbs (Ecosmart FG-03127in a fixture made by somebody) with a dimmer (Lutron SCL-153P-xx), While the components may be UL approved individually, most combinations are not. Lutron website states the dimmer works with most LED bulbs, but does not list those that do/don't . The same is true for the Ecosmart bulb (Home Depot website) regarding dimmers. Heat dissipation is the biggest problem when driving LED bulbs from 120 vac. In your setup, the dimmer is dissipating more heat than the bulbs when fully dimmed. When the dimmer is in the least dim position, the LED bulbs dissipate more heat than the dimmer. Looking at all these variables, dimmer position, bulb manufacturing tolerances,. bulb socket orientation (since heat rises the base of the bulb(where the heat dissipating electronics are) should be below top of bulb when installed) and number of bulbs in the fixture my guess is heat finally found the weakest points in your setup. Moral of the story here is you can't mix LED bulbs like you did incandescent. In my opinion, best to buy the LED bulbs,fixture,dimmer,etc., as a package.
#15
02-25-19, 08:00 AM
That was my conclusion after many hours of research. I was able to find a Leviton dimmer with documented compatibility to this light bulb, purchased it, installed it last night. Went to install the first light bulb with the dimmer off, and I heard a pop from the bulb socket (with the dimmer off!). I have now abandoned the project and will call a licensed electrician as these numerous pops has damaged the circuit even if it may or may not have been damaged before. Thank you all for your help, very much appreciated.
