What’s not working properly specifically?
If it’s not working it’s not working so what about it is not working?
First do the easy.
Power, can you swap this
fixture with another
fixture to localize the problem? Process of elimination. If the other
fixture works, you know it’s not the dimmers or cable. Go back from there if it don’t work. Replace the cable if it don’t work with a new cable. Works, it was the cable, don’t work, it’s at the
dimmer, light board or control cable.
Etc.
If at the
fixture, you state the
fixture works. How did you determine this? Did it beep out on a ohms
meter or physically work for you somewhere else?
What
circuit on the
fixture did not work or do none of them work? (A word of caution about using live
power to test equipment that is said not to work. Bad Karma especially if it’s a internal wiring problem.) At very least Mayhem mentions a test bench, to this when working on equipment in question, such a
safety circuit is very necessary for your own personal
safety. Click the
GFCI goes before you ever know what happened. Or click the
fuse and or
circuit breaker goes. A
switch to turn on the
power is also very useful so your
hand is nowhere near the
plug much less
fixture in question - this all a part of the bench testing or remote test equipment. Hot patching a
fixture is bad anyway.
Given this is the
fixture and assuming everything beeped out in a it should work type of way, did you test hot to
ground and
neutral to
ground? Lamps and
fixture might seem like it’s all ready to go in beeping out correctly but if it shorts to
ground it’s going to pop a
circuit breaker. Only way you can tell is by way of metering to
ground also.
Next, it works now but after it’s bumped around a
bit or moved in general it no longer does. Did while you were doing the test did you do the wiggle test? Often stuff will
meter out than when you get it to the location it does not. All it takes is something for now making contact than later being bumped so it’s no longer in contact to make that difference. Just one
strand of a
wire twisted in just such a way so that for the moment you have
continuity will
meter out but be nowhere near in workable condition later. From
plug, to cable, to
fixture to contact between lamp to lamp
base lots of stuff could for the moment find descent
continuity than once bumped no longer be in contact if not even short to the frame of the
fixture.
In having a problem, be more specific, we don’t yet know if it’s a MR-16,
RSC, screw based or even
PAR 56 or 64 one. In at least the lamp
base or in series wiring there will be a lot of differences in what is what.
After this, in now working and playing catch up, is the
circuit not working or is the
circuit breaker popping?
If the as expected
circuit of the
fixture does not work, do the easy first. Cut the
plug, tug on each
conductor to ensure there was not a break, than re-install the
plug. While doubtful that a 12ga
conductor could
break in this application it’s possible. Thus while flexing the
plug or
whip to the
fixture, in some positions it will show contact and in others it will not. This given it’s not a MR-16 or MR-11 strip in which case it’s series and you looke for the indicator lamp of where the problem is. Do the below lamp and lamp
base testing and looking at also before you attempt to open up the
fixture.
Is the entire
circuit not working? At that
point and if re-installing the
plug does not help, it has to be the wiring if it’s a few lamps on that string. Or is this a three
cell cyc that has one lamp per
circuit? In that case it could still be a lamp and or lamp to lamp
base contact.
If three
cell cyc, and assuming that the lamp metered out, how does the lamp
base itself look? All kinds of carbon arcing and blackening or looking like shiny brass or is the nickel plating in good shape? Given this is a simple check and if a three
cell cyc, that contact would cause problems. A six
cell cyc light has the lamps tapped off the trunk (Term?)
line and at least one of the lamps would be working if localized to a single lamp
base.
If it looks like brass or both lamps on a
circuit don’t work, plus the
plug and it’s wiring is good it is an internal problem. We have done the easy before we open up the
fixture.
Knowing the results of the wiggle test and hot/
neutral to
ground testing will be useful here. Otherwise it’s more like some
wire that has come loose and might be in contact for now but is not later given we have eliminated the lamp
base as the problem.
In the lamp itself, how did it’s contact look? Was it dark if not pock marked with arc welding? Did in metering it out it look bad? Might have had the probes to a multi-meter find a place to make contact, but that does not mean the lamp
base itself will find that same place. As with the lamp
base, if bad, it could
meter out but also either be too high in resistance to function or not make contact with the lamp installed into it. Looking at the lamp and it’s contacts is another easy check before one opens up the
fixture.
Often what the lamp shows will match what the lamp
base is able to conduct. Put a new lamp into a bad lamp
base or even a bad lamp into a good lamp
base and they will work but heat up alot in destroying the other or will eiter conduct to an extent but heat up under use and perhaps later not conduct, or if bad spot hits bad spot not conduct even if all else seems good but one
point of contact. Lamp and lamp
base are easily fouled with bad stuff and once one is, it's easy to destroy the other. If this is a newer lamp in a new
base one might miss a bad lamp
base, but as with doing the easy first, inspecting the lamp is easy, pulling out the inspection mirror and flashlight is one step harder.
If the lamp's
base shows corrosion, you can suspect that the
fixture base also is corroded. If the lamp does not than you can cross out this part of why a lamp might not work as a cause but not yet the lamp
base. Doing the easy was only to look for a cause not cross out all of it. Much less is this the proper lamp. Dependant upon the
fixture, if a say 250v lamp, perhaps it's not getting bright enough in a 110v
system to note it working. Outside chance, but than of course I do have some 230v
HPL lamps much less some 250v
PAR 20 lamps, now where did they come from given I live in the land of 120v? A dim lamp can be lamp
voltage or
fixture high resistance short in having it's own symptoms to troubleshoot.
On internal wiring, your nose and eyes often can quickly determine a problem. Frequently a lamp
base’s wiring will melt down as a proximity thing to the lamp
base itself. This especially on
RSC type lamp bases. It’s completely possible that a lamp
base got hot and it’s wiring lost it’s
insulation. The wiring than shorted to the frame while in some positions, and not in others. Could be a temperature type of thing too with
insulation around conductors shorting out or just plain being broken at a connection
point. If inside the
fixture you don’t notice anything obvious, give a tug to all wires at the lamp
base and any inside connections and taps off the wires leading from male to female plugs. Didn’t mention if it’s a three
cell cyc if other fixtues wired from this
fixture still work. This is another step in localizing the problem but a less important one given it’s often easy to see.
Hope it helps, I’m still in the dark about this
cyc light type, much less what and how you tested it. Also in checking the
plug, what were you checking and looking at, much less what type of
plug it was. Very many details both to look at and note when asking for help in a way people are only able to surmise off what info you give.
Don't feel bad about not enough info however, I know of many if not most pro's in the field that would not be able to give more info on what is otherwise the process of elimination much less do the easy first and hone in from there.
Be cautious about plugging in a
fixture that is noted to be bad. This can often be very to an extreme dangerous given as much info as you have provided or even less in what you were provided that you were told about. This you should never do again in testing while live.
Also if it is currently working and only trying to
track down what others have said about it, such a
fixture should still not be trusted until in all ways it passes your inspection. There is frequent "Operator errors" in the industry, but only after your absolute best amount of testing and inspection. When it comes down to it, if you can't figure out the problem, don't use the
fixture and
send it up to the next eschion (sp) for repair - meaning factory or factory service center. Your life is worth more than a design or a show, much less that of someone else in touching what you certify is even more important yet. In wiring there is no room for mistakes.
If it's said it don't work, and it does be absolutely sure that it does safely or don't let it on
stage. Less about you and you not finding something about it than others getting killed by what you did not check. Than and only at that
point in weighing your inspection abilities to have looked at everything and knowing all about it, than assume it might be operator error. In this case, if the lamps don't work it's not and you need find the cause or pass it up to those that can. Don't use unsafe gear nor let others use it as part of a
fixture.