Help me fix a lamp please

jenifromthebloc

Just as the title says, i have a table lamp that stopped working a few months back. Put in a new bulb but still not working.

What should i check next? Fuse in plug?

I know it probably sounds like a really stupid question but i've no idea where to start, my dad had us all spoilt rotten when it came to fixing things for us. But he sadly passed away in Jan, last time he was over in my house he said he'd bring his fase tester and try to fix it for me. Determind now to fix it myself, stubborn little lady that i am!!

Thanks for any help

meercat

Any chance pic
Check fuse
Check switch is on
(is there a switch on the flex or the lamp holder)
Check bulb works somewhere else
Check that the bulb is screwed down firmly if it's the screw type

Other than that I wouldn't advise messing about too much if your not too competent

jimmyw

If you still have that phase tester, or buy another, they are really handy for checking for power in circuits. Multimeter's are also handy, but you would want to be competent to use them.

Check with the power on to the lamp and if there is a switch on it to also turn it on and touch the tester (with your finger over the top of the tester to earth it) to one of the prongs in the lamp to check if the tester lights up.The light in the tester is subtle and you might not see it at first.

it might seem to go against the grain to be touching a screwdriver into a potentially live socket, but its not a regular one, its a screwdriver thats designed to do this without you getting a shock or worse.

If all that does not yield results, then the flex could be broke somewhere along the way.

M cebee

best not go at it with a phase tester

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

best not go at it with a phase tester

I was just reading about phase testers on a UK electrical forum.

One poster said he found out 30 years ago that you get a belt off them if touch something earthed with the other hand. You can percieve it alright, but sounds like that made the electrical fella terrified of them.

Not a good testing item anyway, but i have used them for testing light switching the odd time, as an indicator.

Anyway, a multimeter continuity test from plug pins to lamp pins is a better way.

Someone familiar with such testing is the way forward OP, after you try a new fuse.

jimmyw

M cebee wrote: »

best not go at it with a phase tester

Are the pc brigade out again?.Maybe people should not cross the road in case you don't know how and might get knocked down:(


Look, imo they are safe and I have used them loads of times.They are a quick way of checking for power. I have also used a meter too but everyone might not be confident in using them and that's fine.

The only safety precaution I would say is watch to see that you don't short out the blade of the tester on another metal piece while testing. But if you are not happy with doing any of the tests, then get someone who is.... OP

Bruthal

jimmyw wrote: »

Are the pc brigade out again?.Maybe people should not cross the road in case you don't know how and might get knocked down:(

What is the link between a professional electrician not recommending a phase tester for a layperson to fault find, and being PC?

jimmyw

Ah I was partly guessing that there would be someone who would mention something like this: What is the problem with phase testers? I am not saying you can do comprehensive testing with them,but as a quick check for power before doing further tests with other tools.

I have changed for instance a cable in a lamp before which meant taking apart the whole lamp and its still working, so I am not a total buffoon. That does not make me an expert by any means, but I used one in conjunction with a meter to check first.

I am not saying a word against a sparky.

M cebee

why would someone work live when there's no need and it may not prove anything.
He said it himself-there's a danger of a short circuit.

M cebee

and the lady is unlikely to be competent to test or repair-hence the original basic advice

jimmyw

Yes OP check the fuse first, then its up to you after that.

Bruthal

jimmyw wrote: »

What is the problem with phase testers?

I use them the odd time myself, as an indication at switches etc. I dont believe myself they are as bad as some say. But they are dodgy to use to confirm power is off on an item etc, or in some cases can light when the terminal being tested is not actually on. And the user is part of the test circuit, which has slight risks. Fas training centers will mention them as lethal, or useless etc, and its burned into apprentices brains then as such, instead of actually dealing with the exact workings of them, and the reasons for their failings as a test item.

A multimeter in voltage mode will function as a phase tester too, and is a lot higher an impedence than a phase tester, but dodgy because it might be used while in amps mode by mistake, which wouldnt be healthy for the user.

But for this lamp thing, simply trying a bulb, then try the bulb in an item to show its lighting in a properly working item, and change fuse in the problem lamp and try the bulb in it again, is better than using the phase tester for the non electrical person.

3ndahalfof6

plug it into a socket you know is working, saves the phase test, then if it does not light up work from there.

hohojojo

phase tester are fine to use as a screw drivers but nothing else, but until you get a wack off something you never know how dangerous they are and they will show you there is power there but really unless you know what power is there ie if there is a loose connect,rusted connection or you could have a small leak through on the switch, and people saying they are not dangerous to someone who has said they have never done anything like this before are even more dangerous fools.(i am an electrician by the way and have seen the damage these can actually do )


now to answer the the real question the lamp holder in desktop lamps tend to go from heat do not stick a phase tester into the holder as you could easily short it
now i would say if it is not obvious from a visual inspection see can you take it apart you have nothing to loose it already broken and look for broken cables, cables just after coming out of connections or any burning there is nothing in these fittings and so it should be fairly easy to spot

oh and one last open the plug it might be as simple as one of the cables have come out

and a pic of the fitting would help before you do any of this and what type of lamp does it take

Bruthal

hohojojo wrote: »

(i am an electrician by the way and have seen the damage these can actually do )

What damage have you seen a phase tester do?

M cebee

the troubleshooting that jimmy describes can usually be done a lot faster and safer with a non-contact tester
If youre used to them

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

the troubleshooting that jimmy describes can usually be done a lot faster and safer with a non-contact tester
If youre used to them

Yea thats actually what i use a lot now. Same one as this one

Very positive response from it.

M cebee

not much use for phase testers now
If you want to switch off live metalwork in an old install you might want one

hohojojo

robbie7730 wrote: »

What damage have you seen a phase tester do?

i know a sparks that left the trade because he used one on a cooker cable and the phasee tester lamp was gone and he got stuck to the cable and only for he fell backward he'd probably be dead now burnt a chunk of his hand and ended up in hospital cause the nerves were damaged he also found out afterwards that had put bolts in to the fuses holders in the board cause they tripping all his damage was his own fault for being lazy though.

and i saw a guy test what he though was a dead three phase board with one and had the same problem with the tester and shorted across two of the phases and he was lucky there was a bang and the mains fuses went but had to be walked to a chair left sitting for near 20 min before his sight came fully back after the flash

and thats just the 2 most memorable i have seen more and these guy are sparks

M cebee

the bolts wouldnt make any difference
How would you get stuck to it with a phase tester
They sound like clowns anyhow

M cebee

speaking of which ive cut through loads of live t+e's and swas and shorted busbars -i better keep quiet

Bruthal

hohojojo wrote: »

i know a sparks that left the trade because he used one on a cooker cable and the phasee tester lamp was gone and he got stuck to the cable and only for he fell backward he'd probably be dead now burnt a chunk of his hand and ended up in hospital cause the nerves were damaged he also found out afterwards that had put bolts in to the fuses holders in the board cause they tripping all his damage was his own fault for being lazy though.

Thats not the fault of the phase tester. Its incompetence. There is no guarantee for any tester to be absolutely certain to show a true result.

If a sparks for instance tested with a multimeter, would the reading of 0v be absolutely guaranteed to be true? No chance the meter is faulty, damaged test leads, or in DC mode? To test, then grab conductors based on a phase tester is asking for trouble, and not the actions of a competent person.

He should of tested the circuit while on first, to confirm the tester is working, and the circuit device is operating the correct circuit. Not just test and grab based on a phase tester. Often I myself would switch a circuit on and off several times to see the tester show this.

The fact he only found out after the event, that the fuse for the very circuit he went to work on were compromised, tells its own story, and almost makes it hard to believe.

and i saw a guy test what he though was a dead three phase board with one and had the same problem with the tester and shorted across two of the phases and he was lucky there was a bang and the mains fuses went but had to be walked to a chair left sitting for near 20 min before his sight came fully back after the flash

Again, what was he doing sticking a metal object in where it could short phases? He though it was dead? The probes on multi meters could of shorted that also, if the top of a phase tester could.

This has happened in boards because of many caused besides phase testers. I seen it happen in intel because a fella shorted 2 bus bars of a main panel with a ratchet arm, which again was due to bad practice on his part. Are ratchets dangerous too?

and thats just the 2 most memorable i have seen more and these guy are sparks

As has been said, there is a difference between using a phase tester to indicate which wire in a light switch is the SW, compared to checking circuits to be worked on are isolated, or to see is a 3 phase board or circuit from it, is live.

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

speaking of which ive cut through loads of live t+e's and swas and shorted busbars -i better keep quiet

Not as many as me id say:D

M cebee

jeez my bad,he grabbed the cable after checking it with the faulty phase tester and got stuck to it !

Out of interest do fas teach apprentices how to prove a cable is dead

ed electrical

Could also be the holder the bulb goes into. the conections in those can become loose. IF you send me a pic of the lamp I may be able to advise you how to proceed safely!

ED