advertisement


Downlight bulb swap

Amber Audio

This is the Day
Appreciate a bit of help, tried sparky that fitted for info last weekend but he’s not answered yet. Surface mounted downlight has blown, not obvious how to swap bulb or find out what it is to buy one. Rather than crack on and break something thought I'd do the unusual and ask for help first.






 
I would be tempted to take that middle screw out and see what comes apart. If it was not meant to be moved, it would not be a screw!

Others are obvs cable clamp and earth connection.

It could be that the whole thing is the lamp assembly and you have to disconnect the wiring there to change over. My suspicion is that the light source there is surface mounted within the unit and there is not a replaceable 'bulb' as such.
 
I would be tempted to take that middle screw out and see what comes apart. If it was not meant to be moved, it would not be a screw!

Others are obvs cable clamp and earth connection.

It could be that the whole thing is the lamp assembly and you have to disconnect the wiring there to change over. My suspicion is that the light source there is surface mounted within the unit and there is not a replaceable 'bulb' as such.
Thinking similar, not very enviro though if it is, only bought them in 2019. Will ping sparky yet again cos my google foo has failed to bring up an exact unit. Having a bad time of it in 2021, NEFF oven failed twice and now the induction hob part is having a wobbly and we can’t get it fixed for weeks, the extraction hood blew last week and knocked out some lights and the built in fridge freezer has died and it’ll be 10 weeks to get a replacement along with a new hood.
 
My guess is the bottom screw (in the bottom pic) is the earth wire connected to the bulbs heatsink, which is part of the bulb. As it’s a LED bulb I suspect that it’s not possible to replace just the LED element. Another thought is that as LED’s are low voltage (1-2Vish) there has to be a voltage converter somewhere as that looks like mains wiring. I would suspect the electronics before the LED element.
 
Thinking similar, not very enviro though if it is, only bought them in 2019. Will ping sparky yet again cos my google foo has failed to bring up an exact unit. Having a bad time of it in 2021, NEFF oven failed twice and now the induction hob part is having a wobbly and we can’t get it fixed for weeks, the extraction hood blew last week and knocked out some lights and the built in fridge freezer has died and it’ll be 10 weeks to get a replacement along with a new hood.

That sounds like an extreme failure rate, i'd be checking the supply voltage. Any neighbours having similar problems?

On our supply xs voltage here was associated with lower voltage on the other phase which was a problem for computers.
 
No expertise in this area, but have you tracked the cable back to see if there is a connector and maybe a transformer in the ceiling void?
 
You can see Brown and Blue (and Green/Yellow) wires in the photographs of the unit - indicates that this is a mains powered thing - not using a transformer buried somewhere.
 
Thinking similar, not very enviro though if it is, only bought them in 2019. Will ping sparky yet again cos my google foo has failed to bring up an exact unit. Having a bad time of it in 2021, NEFF oven failed twice and now the induction hob part is having a wobbly and we can’t get it fixed for weeks, the extraction hood blew last week and knocked out some lights and the built in fridge freezer has died and it’ll be 10 weeks to get a replacement along with a new hood.

Though I bet the manufacturers of all these items claimed their environmental credentials in the sales blurb.

Regarding the integrated fridge/freezer, I would check that sufficient ventilation has been provided by the installers. Any top boxes above should have a 30/50mm gap behind to allow for convection cooling of the motor, sometimes a vent in the kick plinth is also required .
 
It's an integrated led download with internal driver. This is not repairable, if it has failed so soon it's under guarantee.
I presume others in the circuit work and that power is getting to it ?

Just read 2019 so over two years ? Probably not under guarantee then .
Have you had anyone check the electrics ?
 
Yes, looks like mains with the yellow/green wire. There are 3 lugs on the housing so looks like if you twist the housing in relation the the 'bulb' you should be able to remove the housing.
 
Just read 2019 so over two years ? Probably not under guarantee then .

I bet the sales blurb mentioned 50,000 hour lifespan.

The problem is these lights are not as green/eco friendly if you have to replace the entire fitting.
They are good for the profit margins and shareholders dividends though.

I was on a car forum earlier where they were talking about LED headlights lasting 7 years.....they cost £1000 each to replace.
 
Fancy headlights these days follow the angle of the steering, presumably an all integrated unit.

It's all helping to save the planet...
 
I would suggest that the OP has his mains Voltage read. Mine is 252V here which is just in spec however........... The EU harmonised on 230V but it was as most thing in the EU a fudge. The important thing is if you buy say a n electric light bulb or a heating element destined for the EU but not the UK and connect it to 252V it won't last long as its being over driven. The Rangemaster that the builders installed (possibly on the cheap) started to have heating elements failing after a couple of years and after 4 I chucked it out. The Italian made range cooker that was made for the UK has so far lasted 14 years. Ditto so 'long lasting' light bulbs blew quicker than a cheap ASDA one as this stuff was destined for the EU and not UK market.

For info:-

In the EU 230V -10% +6% (i.e. 207.0 V-243.8 V)

In the UK 230V -6% +10% (i.e. 216.2 V – 253.0 V)
 
Fancy headlights these days follow the angle of the steering, presumably an all integrated unit.

It's all helping to save the planet...
My father had a Citroen DS21 way back in the 1970's that had headlights that turned with the steering.
Ah, they were the days, when we could see round corners and get carsick at the same time. It also had the hydrolastic suspension or whatever it was called that caused the car to rise up and lower when started. Should have passed me a bag at the same time..
 
My father had a Citroen DS21 way back in the 1970's that had headlights that turned with the steering.
Ah, they were the days, when we could see round corners and get carsick at the same time. It also had the hydrolastic suspension or whatever it was called that caused the car to rise up and lower when started. Should have passed me a bag at the same time..

Beat me to it!

Remember some friends in Spain had one, bit of a gimmick at the time, they also cranked up the suspension to go over dirt tracks.

In those days some of the roads we drove from Le Touquet to Mijas were dirt track motorways.
 


advertisement


Back
Top