Why Your Halogen Down Lights Are Not Working.
Why Halogen Down Lights Are Not Working After Changing The Globe
Halogen Down Lights not working is a common electrical problem that we attend to for our customers and I am excited to explain it for you here today. If you have replaced the halogen down light globe with a brand new globe there are a couple of things you can check yourself before needing to call an electrician.
There are a few components to a halogen down light that could become faulty and why halogen down lights are so expensive to have in your home. Not only do they draw a lot of electricity but they are also at high risk of becoming faulty and you needing to pay for an electrician to come and replace components.
WHAT COMPONENTS OF A HALOGEN DOWN LIGHT CAN FAIL?
12V HALOGEN GLOBE
These globes operate at around 300 degrees celsius so are vulnerable to blowing from inrush current, surges and duration of use. You can legally replace these globes yourself.
LAMP HOLDER LEADS AND SOCKET
This is where the halogen globe plugs into - these can burn out from loose contacts or from the heat of the globe. If these fail, you will need a licensed electrician to repair.
THE DOWN LIGHT TRANSFORMER
This is what turns the electricity from 240V to 12V. Your lighting feed will be hard-wired into this device and then wired to your globe from here using the lamp holder. If these fail, you will need a licensed electrician to repair.
WHY HALOGEN DOWN LIGHT TRANSFORMERS ARE NOT WORKING
The main reason why a halogen down light is not working is because of the heat it is exposed to in the roof space. The halogen down light is a piece of electrical equipment that operates at a very high temperature and therefore is at a high risk of failure in all components. Some typical reasons why halogen down light transformers fail are:
INCREASED TEMPERATURE
The transformer is installed too close to the halogen down light globe which increases it's normal operating temperature. The transformers need to have adequate airflow to allow the device to regulate its own temperature.
EXCEEDED OPERATION TIME
The transformer has exceeded its operation time. Every time you use your halogen down light, you expand draw heat through the coils of the transformer which causes expanding and contracting of the metals. Over time, they become less efficient and eventually fail from the heat.
MOISTURE
Moisture entry into the coil which causes internal arcing. Any moisture will increase the likelihood of the electricity jumping across from active to earth or active to neutral. This is the same for any piece of electrical equipment.
INSULATION
Transformer and fitting covered by insulation. This is a very common problem we see and a huge risk to you as a home owner as this is a leading cause of roof fires in Australia.
HOW TO REPAIR A HALOGEN DOWN LIGHT TRANSFORMER
You cannot repair a halogen down light transformer as when they fail, it is usually from internal arcing due to the reasons about and therefore the transformer will need to be replaced with a new one to fix the light fitting. It is illegal for anybody to replace a transformer without an electrical license so you will need a licensed electrician from this point after you have changed the halogen globe and the fitting is still not working.
IS THERE A BETTER SOLUTION TO HALOGEN DOWN LIGHTS?
Yes! We highly recommend that everyone consider upgrading all of their halogen down lights to LED down lights. Halogen down lights are unsafe, expensive and have a high rate of failure which can be a time burden on you if you are always changing globes.
LED down lights are easy to install, all of your unsafe halogen equipment is removed, they operate at a fraction of the operating cost of halogens (up to 80% energy saving) and rarely fail if you purchase a high quality fitting.
Hope this article answered your question why halogen down lights are not working. If you would like to know more or get a free quote, please get in touch with us and we will be more than happy to help you improve your home.