Recessed light troubleshooting?

[wahoowad]

I have numerous 10 year old recessed ceiling lights in my kitchen that accept standard bulbs (I use LEDs in them). One can is on it's own circuit and has stopped working. The bulb I am swapping in works in other lights so I have a good bulb. This circuit powers a light switch that turns on an under-counter light (and it works fine) and this ceiling can that doesn't work, so the breaker/circuit/switch are all working. It is unlikely the wiring from the switch to the can has stopped working although I will visually inspect the switch later today as well as drop the can and ensure the connections there are good.

Do these cans have circuity such that the can could have failed? It isn't an LED recessed light so I assume it's just a normal light bulb socket.

 

[semipro]

Most recessed lights have some sort of thermal protection. Some reset themselves (like a breaker). Others don't (like a fuse).
I'd suspect that has failed or that you have a bad connection between the fixture and wiring or a bad bulb socket.

 

[Sparkey127]

Some cans have thermal cutouts that can go bad

 

[wahoowad]

I put my Fluke meter on it, some sparks shot out, so it had power and then started working! LOL!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

There's a little strip that sticks up from the bottom of the socket and touches the bottom of the light bulb. See if that got bent down. Turn the power off before playing with it.

 

[brenndatomu]

I have a light that, due to the way the base is made, takes a bulb that has a lil longer "neck" than some (most) bulbs do...especially LED bulbs...the first time I had to replace the 100W bulb that was in there when I bought the house, I played heck finding a bulb that would work...and I pulled some hair out until I figured out exactly what the issue was!

 

[EbS-P]

I don’t understand why we are still using these. My Contractors put 8-10 between two bathrooms just To install led retrofit kits. None of them are well air sealed. Would have been much better to use the slim mount LEDS that fit a regular junction box. But what do I know. Heck the could have even initialed them center on a joist instead of me have to look at this off center light for the the rest of my life.

Hope you figured it out.

 

[Corey]

Possibly a loose connection in the branch feeding the recessed light? You might have bumped it just enough to make contact, then your spark shower was enough to arc weld the wires for better contact.

I had similar, but reverse happen years ago. Lightning struck a power pole about 100 feet from the house. When the power came back on, 5 of 6 recessed cans (all on the same circuit) in the kitchen worked. I did the old bulb swap-a-roo and found all bulbs worked, too.

Ultimately, one of the wire nuts in the junction box for that specific light needed about 1/4 twist to re-establish contact and make the light work. I went ahead and replaced all wire nuts in that junction just to be sure. But how three wires can be stuffed in a wire nut with a metal liner and NOT make contact?!? beyond me!! I think of all the times I've had a wire I DIDN'T want to contact anything... set it two feet off to the side and some how, some way it will work it's way back into contact with the one tiny point I didn't want it to touch!

 

[begreen]

I put my Fluke meter on it, some sparks shot out, so it had power and then started working! LOL!

That may be a bad connection. Check it out. Heat can build up if the circuit is just being made by a strand or two of wire.

 

[fbelec]

take the bulb out and use a flashlight to look in the socket. look at the rivits that hold the socket in place. those are supposed to be the neutral or white wire. those are usually brass or aluminum. brass is better. if you see any discoloration on the rivits that is your problem happens all the time with recessed or basement lamp holders or cheap plastic sockets. the tab in the middle is your black wire ( hot leg ) and usually ok unless it is completely flat and doesn't make the connection but i hardly ever see that. the discoloration on the rivits is from heat. the more it heats the more carbon it makes and it snow balls from there. the heat doesn't necessarily come from the bulb. the rivits start loosening from the socket moving when replacing bulbs. the more loose it is the more carbon it makes until the bulb goes out. then touch the bulb and the light turns on again. you can usually tell before it happens when the bulb (incandescent) flickers.