Hi - i'm a newbie with a lighting problem

[Caroline]

Hi All

Could anyone advise please?

I have a circuit board which can take up to about 16 plugs, when all 8 plugs for my DH lights are plugged in the lights will not come on - despite previously working fine.

When the plugs are in the circuit board seperately they work - what could be the problem?

Thanks
Caroline :confused:

[wombat]

how many bulbs is your transformer for (the plug bit) these work on number of bulbs NOT number of lights. maybe you are overloading the transformer?? i'm sure someone will know for sure but thats the first thing that came to my mind

[Caroline]

Hi

Ahh, the transformer so thats what its called - is holding 8 bulbs, i do have 2 chandalier lights which i thought had one bulb each.

Thanks for your reply.
C

[wombat]

no prob, hope you manage to get it all sorted!!

[Amanda]

Hi Caroline

http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg221/hamandap/th_Senthooranwelcome.jpg to the forum as Vicky says that could be the problem that your transformer is unable to take the quantity of bulbs you have plugged into it, check the bulbs not the amount of light fittings you have

[gemini37]

Hi i cant think of many reasons why your lights wont come on, apart from to check amount of light bulbs you have, especially in chandeliers cos might be more than one bulb in each, also check that all wires going into connectors are in well, my trusty father(electrician) also told me when i was putting in lights to make sure that no kinks in wires or no significant weight on them as this could damage wires, so at worst this could be your problem, hope you get it sorted soon

[Caroline]

Afer adding the lights to my house i laid floorboards which you have to iron over to make them stick, could the heat have damaged the wires maybe? The iron was on a very low heat and i put masking tape over the wires to protect them a little.

Is replacing wires easy to do or would it be better to just replace the lights?

[cookie]

HI Caroline, are the bulbs in your light replaceable ? if they are you could try replacing the bulbs just incase they have blown when you were having problems with transformer,its maybe worth a try before you pull eveything apart.

cookie

[stu]

Hi Caroline,
This sounds like the transformer is having too much current drawn from it and a circuit-breaker is cutting in to prevent it from overheating. Check the number of bulbs (not lights) that you want to light up when all 8 plugs are plugged in. If you're not exceeding the number specified/recommended by the transformer manufacturer then it's likely that you have a transformer fault. It is probably unlikely that a blown bulb or a damaged wire would stop all lights from working. Also, if possible, ask someone to do a continuity test on all the circuits with a multimeter - this would identify any iffy wiring or connections.
Regards, Stu. www.dollshouseart.com

[mad-on-miniatures]

Hi Caroline,

Sorry to hear you are still having problems with your lighting.....I got your email, thankyou.....I was going to suggest the same as stu....check the amount of bulbs not lights and...after asking hubby he suggested what stu said, so......hope it works .....let us know how you go on...:D

[gemini37]

Sorry to hear you still havin light problem, i have asked my dad and he says same thing as others have told you, try one light plugged in at time and see if they light up, then you can see if you got faulty bulb or light by just replacing bulbs, bit of trial and error am afraid, if non work you prob have transformer problem so worth changing that before you think of having to put in new lights or wire, hope you get some joy soon xxx:

[mez]

I don't think the ironing would have affected your wires as the wire is not affected by heat only the plastic coating. Even if the coating had melted I think the wire should still be able to conduct the electricity. I am sure you will get it sorted if you follow all the tips given to you so far;)

[Caroline]

Thanks all for your responses. I've not had time to check the lights yet, and have had a wii for my birthday so the house is a little neglected at the moment.

Would i have to get an electrician to do the continuity test??

[Caroline]

Hi All

Thanks for all of the responses - i've not had time to do much to my house yet so my investigations has gone no further.

The strange thing is that all lights previously worked when plugged in.