what the heck?

[MidnightsBrokenToe]

I have a problem with a light.
The problem started last night, about five minutes before house opened. The light (a fresnel, if that makes a difference) started flickering during the curtain warmer cue, of which it is NOT a part. When I tried to patch it at 00 intensity, it stayed on. So I checked the dimmer, where nothing seemed wrong. I turned the dimmer off and back on, and the light just stayed on. I checked the lamp (I made sure it was seated correctly in the light) and thought about replacing it, when my SM said that house was opening in two minutes...so I unplugged it the light and left it like that for the show. I'm told that the absence of that light doesn't make a noticable difference, so I'm considering leaving the light unplugged for the last two shows. But I still want to know what the heck is going on.
I'd probably have a better idea if I had taken an actual lighting design class, but my school's theatre department doesn't offer one.
House opens in an hour, so I might figure something out, but my solution for the moment is to leave it out completely.

[cutlunch]

It sounds like the dimmer channel. When you get a chance try another light in place of the fresnel on this dimmer channel. If this light plays up then it is the dimmer channel. You will need to get a qualified serviceman to fix the pack.

Depending on your setup and whether you have a spare channel you could patch the fresnel onto another dimmer channel. But I agree if the absent of the light isn't noticeable I wouldn't rush before the show to fix it.

[MidnightsBrokenToe]

Thanks...I vaguely remember that last year, when I designed for another show, I had a similar problem with a light in that general area in the light grid, and the problem may have been with that same dimmer channel; you may be right.

[icewolf08]

What kind of dimmers do you have? If you have ETC Sensor Dimmers or Strand CD80s or C21 (or any typr of SCR dimmers) it is possible that you have a bad SCR. One of the things you could try is: put the dimmer in question in a different slot and see if the light that is now conected to the dimmer acts in the same way. If it does then you probably have a bad dimmer module.

[gafftaper]

Originally Posted by icewolf08

What kind of dimmers do you have? If you have ETC Sensor Dimmers or Strand CD80s or C21 (or any typr of SCR dimmers) it is possible that you have a bad SCR. One of the things you could try is: put the dimmer in question in a different slot and see if the light that is now conected to the dimmer acts in the same way. If it does then you probably have a bad dimmer module.

Icewolf's right. Sounds like a bad dimmer. If you have a way to swap modules do it. Or if you have an old patch panel system repatch it.

[highschooltech]

It could be a bad dimmer or for that matter a brain. We had a brain fry and it allowed the dimmers to bypass logic so no matter where they were on the rack they brought up the same channel. Very strange no one had seen anything like it before.

[LightingGuruJmac]

Depending on what kind of Dimmers you have will depend on what I think the problem is. If it is and ETC sensor dimming reck and you have a CEM, the CEM modual could be set or could be fried and the dimmers are by-passing it so the light is staying on. I would check the settings on the "Brain Module" and see what they are. Hope this helps!