Halogen ceiling lights suddenly gone dim

I have two sets of halogen lights on the ceiling of my kitchen/living room. There are 6 halogen spot lights in total and they have suddenly gone dim, all together. TV is still working, computer still working (on mains) so what is wrong with the lights? They have been installed for about 2 years and some of the bulbs have been changed, some the original ones.

Re: Halogen bulb aging

You've probably got a failing connection causing a rise in resistance, which will make voltage drop and in turn make your lights dim. (This should be moved to the fixed lighting forum.)

Re: Halogen bulb aging

The best MR16 LED retrofit reflector is made by Soraa, the Vivid with violet chip technology, closest to halogen in light quality. An LED retrofit may be less sensitive to voltage changes, since the power supplies are voltage regulated. Another potential problem could be, if your halogen runs on lower voltage, something could be wrong with the ballast, or dimming circuit/switch if your fixture has one of those.

If you have a pot switch to control the bright of the bulbs maybe there is the problem...


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Re: Halogen bulb aging

Lightdoctor said:

You've probably got a failing connection causing a rise in resistance, which will make voltage drop and in turn make your lights dim. (This should be moved to the fixed lighting forum.)

Click to expand...

If it is a bad connection, this is going to generate excess heat and could pose a fire hazard. The wiring for these lamps needs to be traced and corrected asap.

Replace it with leds...


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Re: Halogen bulb aging

PhotonWrangler said:

If it is a bad connection, this is going to generate excess heat and could pose a fire hazard. The wiring for these lamps needs to be traced and corrected asap.

Click to expand...

exactly! the key word is "fire". Find an electrician to diagnose and fix the problem. I'd recommend not using the light in the meantime.

Are these line voltage or low voltage halogens? If the latter you could have a failing power supply (see also, risk of fire)

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all the talk of "replace with led" are just silly and dangerous advice.
shut the lights off at the breaker till you can investigate.a glowing high connection in a wall/ceiling is dangerous and could start a deadly fire.
i did have a multiple head lv halogen fixture brought to me for repair with a dim and buzzing complaint.looked to be about 60% of normal.
was an open cap in an electronic transformer.easy fix.

Re: Halogen bulb aging

Anders Hoveland said:

The best MR16 LED retrofit reflector is made by Soraa, the Vivid with violet chip technology, closest to halogen in light quality. An LED retrofit may be less sensitive to voltage changes, since the power supplies are voltage regulated. Another potential problem could be, if your halogen runs on lower voltage, something could be wrong with the ballast, or dimming circuit/switch if your fixture has one of those.

Click to expand...

Ever heard of Green Creative? They just about blow everyone else out of the water.

BTW, an LED screw-in will not fix the obvious wiring problem.

Plus, I thought you just loved halogen...what happened to you?

Fionagillian said:

I have two sets of halogen lights on the ceiling of my kitchen/living room. There are 6 halogen spot lights in total and they have suddenly gone dim, all together. TV is still working, computer still working (on mains) so what is wrong with the lights? They have been installed for about 2 years and some of the bulbs have been changed, some the original ones.

Click to expand...

Hello, I just had this exact same problem happen. Kitchen ceiling lights were fine one day and the next they were all dim. All other lights in the house are fine. Did you figure out what the problem was? I will have an electrician come check it out but wanted to get some insight first. Thanks!

If they all dimmed at the same time, it's probably one of four things. 1. The bulbs are burning out all at the same time and the timing is a fluke. If you have any spare bulbs, change them out for the old ones. If they are brighter, problem solved. If not, move on to #2. 2. There is a loose connection in the box behind the switch. Get an electrician for this if you don't know what you're doing. If that isn't the problem, it could be #3. 3. There is a loose connection or damaged wire coming to the switch or going to the lights. Get an electrician to trace the circuit and see where the problem is. Most likely, if it's not a damaged wire, it's a loose wire in a juction box connecting the lights together in the ceiling. 4. You have too high a load on the circuit so there isn't enough power getting to your lights. Switch to lights that use less power or have an electrician change out the circuit with higher amperage wire and circuit breaker.