Hi, I have replaced the 8, 40w Candle bulbs in a light fitting with equivalent 1w LED bulbs. However when I now switch them off they remain on, not fully on but sort of glowing as if they had been dimmed. There is no dimmer involved and the 40w bulbs worked fine before. I have tried the one of the bulbs in a lamp and it works fine, going completely off almost immediately after switching it off. Any ideas on why this should happen and how to resolve it Thanks
I thought it was normal, my xmas tree led lights do the same. How long are you talking about, i guess less than a minute. Think about it JP, why should double pole switching alter it.
I had exactly the same problem with some GU10 fittings. I changed standard lamps for Led replacements about 6 months ago. They glowed permanently, even after the light switch had been off for hours. I never found the reason why.
The led lights require so little current to operate that if there is any induced current or leakage within the circuit then they will try to operate. Replace one of the lamps with the original halogen lamp, it will drain away any induced currents and the leds should go completely out
If the gap between the contacts on the switch is small then it will act like a capacitor and since AC current can flow through a capacitor then the switch doesn't turn completely off. With a normal bulb the light is not bright enough to see although some fluorescents will glow slightly in a dark room. With an LED light it only needs a small current to be fully on and hence the problem. Using a switch with a larger gap or using a DP switch as JP suggested should solve the problem.
I once had reason to suspect the electrical 'grease' inside some switches, having become inductive through small particles of copper worn from the contacts over the years contaminating the grease. Mr. HandyAndy - Really
George T: That isn't the best post you've made here, dear. It shows a complete ignorance of the nature of Capacitance and a lack of knowledge of switches in general...... I strongly suspect that this might be a 2-way lighting circuit. LED's and certain CFL's are prone to induced charges in the strapping wires between the switches. Lucia
Dunno Wal - should have mentioned loop in box tbqh as DP switching on loop in rose would be ridiculous. Just put up with the glow and stuff Mr B - flipping heck its only an auxiliary aurora.
Hi, The light in question is at the top of the stairs and in a 3 way lighting circuit. Replacing one of the bulbs with a halogen does switch all the bulbs off which is a solution but not very pleasing to the eye as the bulbs are all visible and the odd one sticks out. Will changing the switches have any effect then ? If it would what make is most likely to help ? Thanks
Changing the switches won't make any difference unless they are contaminated and tracking is taking place , very much doubt it. It's only a faint glow isn't it,, just put up with it, look upon it as a sort of night light. You could probably fit a bleed resistor inside the switch,,,but that's just complicating stuff