On 10/27/2008 3:18 PM Frank Warner spake thus:

It's the little things that drive you nuts.

Yep.

We've got a light fixture over our kitchen sink. For the first three
years of its existence it worked flawlessly. We keep it on 24-7 as a
night light and for accent.

The fixture used one bayonet type florescent lamp. It's on the same
circuit as the dishwasher and disposal.

About six months ago the lamp burned out. We replaced it and it worked
fine. A month later, the new lamp burned out. This repeated about four
times when we finally decided to replace the fixture entirely, figuring
there was something wrong with it (faulty ballast?) instead of the
bulbs. Now we have an incandescent fixture with a single 40 watt
candelabra bulb.

These bulbs burn out with the same frequency, about every 3-4 weeks. So
now I think there's a problem with the wiring.

I've looked around at some DYI forums and one fellow had the same
problem for years. He said he fixed it by going to the panel. The
neutral wire to that circuit had repeatedly heated and cooled and
worked itself loose. He said he retightened the neutral connection and
the problems stopped.

I'm not at home right now so I can't check, but does this sound like a
possible solution?

The solution depends on the problem, and you haven't yet determined what
that problem is. First thing I'd do is measure the voltage at the light
socket; is it over 120 volts (nominal, meaning in range ~ 108-130
volts)? If not, then the problem is elsewhere (high humidity from sink?
vibration in floor above ceiling? too much heat in fixture?)


--
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the
powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

- Paulo Freire