1. At the risk of insulting you, have you tried a different bulb with
similar results? If not, you know what to try next.

2. See if the center contact inside the socket is mashed flat so it
can't make firm contact with the tip of the bulb base. If so, Turn off
power and pry that center contact up with a L-bend on end on a piece of
wire....straightened paperclip works well for that.

3. Does the bulb flick on if you give the socket a swat? If so, there
may be a "loose disconnection" where the feed wires attach to the
socket. Turn power off, drop the socket and see/fix.

4. The switch itself may be bad or one of the wires connected to it may
be loose, particularly if it's a back stabbed connection. Solutions are
to replace the switch or change to the screw connects.

Let us know what you find.

Jeff

Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.


Timur Tabi wrote:
I have a light fixture in my garage, and when I put a normal
incandescent light bulb in it, I cannot reliable turn the light on.
That is, when I flick the switch to "on", I can see the bulb turn on
for a fraction of a second and then turn off, and stay off. If I
repeat this process a few times, the light will eventually stay on for
a few seconds, but then turn off again.

The fixture does not have a light sensor in it, and it was working
reliably for years until recently. Can anyone give me a clue as to
what's going on?