On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 09:53:26 GMT, "Dave P"
wrote:

| I found my bedroom light bulb had failed yesterday - it's a standard bayonet
| fitting below a ceiling rose. However, it wasn't as simple as just changing
| the lightbulb - the bulb had fallen out of the fitting. Inspection of the
| socket showed that it had largely melted, in fact one of the two metal
| spring-loaded electrical connection pins had dropped out, covered with burnt
| plastic and melted lead from the bulb contact. The bulb had fallen out
| because one of the socket cut-outs, which retain the lugs on the bulb, had
| just disintegrated or melted with the heat.

A bad contact generated enough heat to melt things, but did not draw enough
electricity to trip anything.
|
| It sounds like I was lucky not to have a house fire, wasn't I (or not?)?
| Why would this happen? Why didn't the relevant MCB on my CU trip (they seem
| to do so - irritatingly - every time a bulb in the house blows!) The fitting
| was only about 4 years old, is wired perfectly OK, and it's months since
| I''ve changed the lightbulb which has worked perfectly ever since. I find
| it pretty scary to think what migh have happened, and I haven't a clue why.

I have changed to energy saving ?bulbs?, long ago, so changing them is a
very rare occurrence. Also because they use less power they do not run
anything like as hot. I have a bad contact in my bedside light, which I
must change sometime, but as it only uses 7 watts it is never going to burn
out.

--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients.