On Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:00:10 -0700, aspasia wrote:



Excuse top posting -- wanted to thank all the amigos who so quickly
and generously gave of their know-how. Will try the prying up
maneuver first & go from there if it doesn't work.

Aspasia

How embarrassing! A lesson in making sure to check EVERY step in the
path, and take NOTHING for granted!

Summary: Bulb in 5 socket fixture went out. I screwed in new bulb
but didn't go on. Posted on this NG.

I tried prying up the metal strip in socket as suggested below, but
didn't help.

So peered sadly at the fixture, wondering how the hell to get that
one socket out.

Days -- weeks -- later, another socket went out. In the course of
changing that bulb, I screwed another bulb into the first socket.

Bingo! Went on.

I hadn't checked whether the damn BULB I first tried was good.
Turns out it wasn't. But I assumed the SOCKET was bad.

Grrrr!

Aspasia



On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 20:26:56 -0400, "John Grabowski"
wrote:


"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
There are two wires attached to the socket. One goes to the tongue at the
bottom of the socket and the other to the screw shell. Sometimes these
wires
are riveted to the socket, and a rivet loosens up. This would require
replacing the socket. Sometimes the wires are attached by screw terminals
which can come loose. This would require retightening. Sometimes the
tongue
at the bottom of the socket becomes depressed, and the lamp doesn't reach
it
to make contact. This would require carefully prying it back up. At some
location in the fixture, all 10 wires come together and are spliced to the
feed wires. Its possible one of the wires for the dead socket came loose
here, and would need to be reconnected



Additionally I have recently begun to see candelabra sockets without a full
shell inside. There is a strip of metal on on the inside instead and if it
is bent too much outward the bulb will not light. Look inside the socket to
see if this is what you have. The cure is to take a small screwdriver and
gingerly push the metal strip towards the middle of the socket a wee bit.



aspasia wrote in message
...

My D.R. ceiling fixture has 5 sockets. When changing bulbs.
I noticed that one socket did not work. I shut off wall switch; tried
unsuccessfully to look inside socket; swabbed it out with old
toothbrush *; sprayed with Cramolin (used for audio equipt),
but no luck.

Any educated guesses on why one of 5 would have crapped out?

And what is best approach to reviving it?

TIA

Aspasia

* old toothbrushes are very handy for all kinds of odd jobs.