Reply To: Lamp trouble: Help diagnose or suggest replacements

[blinky465 17178xp 2]

@lawnor – it sounds like a worn connector, or loose wire somewhere. At best, it’ll just mean a crackly connection and the lamp going off intermittently. If you’re unlucky, make sure your lamp doesn’t have a metal base! (because you really don’t want to be touching anything metal if there’s a stray connection running 240v mains that could possibly come into contact with it).

If you’re competent with eletronics, I’d find where the wire goes into the on-off switch and check the strain relief hasn’t failed and there are no wires that have worked lose over time (or possibly, just the copper multi-strand wires have corroded and snapped due to constant flexing over the years). If that connection looks good, check where the wire goes into the bulb holder (the same might have happened there).

If you’re not comfortable messing about with electrics throw the lamp out.

Seriously. Having a loose mains wire that could possibly come into contact with a metal surface? Just get rid of it. Plastic casings are less of an issue (the device will just fail or -worst case – short out and go bang, but any exposed metal surface + loose wire = danger!)