Need Help Finding the Problem (and Solution) with my Lighting

Submitted by bigpapi7 t3_10ee4py in DIY

I had an LED light fixture installed in my upstairs hallway that worked without issue for a year and a half, before it started flickering beyond use the past week.

I bought 2 new switches and tried both of them. When the new switches were installed, the light would not work at all, not even a flicker. With the old switch installed, I still get the flicker.

The fuse controlling this switch also controls 4 other bedroom and closet lights that work fine. However, it also controls the kitchen light, which for some reason won't turn on at full brightness. Every now and then, it will turn on full brightness for a week or two, then go back to about 75% brightness for a month.

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At this point I'm full of questions and no answers. Did I somehow buy two bad switches from Menards? Does it sound like an issue with the fixture? The Fuse? Or could it be a larger problem with the house's wiring? (It is an old house, built in the 50s)

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I'd like to fix this myself, but getting stuck in determining what the actual problem is. All help is greatly appreciated.

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wirral_guy t1_j4qlgcu wrote

>I had an LED light fixture installed in my upstairs hallway that worked without issue for a year and a half, before it started flickering beyond use the past week.

Chances are that the electronics are going bad in the fixture if it's flickering badly. Can also show as a repeating on/off cycle.

> I bought 2 new switches and tried both of them. When the new switches were installed, the light would not work at all, not even a flicker. With the old switch installed, I still get the flicker.

Have another look at the connections on the new switches - if they didn't work at all chances are that you messed the connections up rather than a fault in both.

It's possible that you are getting voltage fluctuations because of old wiring but I'd check the above 2 things first.

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bigpapi7 OP t1_j4qw1t0 wrote

Thank you, I had a friend come by to try the switches as well in case I messed up the connections but got the same result. I’ll try a new fixture

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An_ConCon t1_j4qnh8j wrote

LED drivers probably going bad. Lots of these are replaceable units.

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AKADriver t1_j4quevq wrote

Your house actually still has fuses, or is this a circuit breaker? Not likely the problem, just thought I'd clarify because breakers can go bad in weird ways. Or, if you do in fact have glass fuses you might have some seriously old and questionable wiring inside the walls.

My thought is the kitchen light junction box has a flaky connection in it or the kitchen light itself is faulty (is it also LED? CFL? flourescent tubes?) and this is affecting everything 'downstream' (the hall light).

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bigpapi7 OP t1_j4qw9gz wrote

Sorry, circuit breaker. Thanks for clarifying.

The lights in the kitchen are recessed canisters. All of them are at the same brightness level whether it’s the full thing or 75%, so it has to be either the switch or a voltage issue

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ntyperteasy t1_j4r30p1 wrote

I don't think this is good. It sounds like you have some non-dimmable bulbs on a circuit with a dimmer. That will always end badly.

I would disconnect the wires from the first fixture that started flickering and see if that solves your problem.

Do you have a dimmer or a switch? For troubleshooting, you can replace the dimmer with a simple on-off switch and see if everything works properly like that. If it does, then its a poor interaction between the dimmer and the LEDs. Not all dimmers are rated for LED's and not all LED's are dimmable. Check what you have...

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bigpapi7 OP t1_j4raomv wrote

Both the hallway light and kitchen lights are regular on/off switches, no dimmers.

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AKADriver t1_j4qx7dr wrote

I would start at the junction box for the switch to the kitchen lights then. Look for burnt looking stuff, loose wire nuts.

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falderol t1_j4r5p1f wrote

Hire an electrician. It sounds like there is a real problem and you dont want a fire.

Edit: what kind of light in the kitchen, and is the kitchen upstream from your problem LEDs.

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UnlikelyApe t1_j4u2264 wrote

I'm pretty comfortable chasing wiring with a multimeter, BUT 90% of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at. Some electrical jobs can be surprisingly cheap when hiring a professional, and it doesn't hurt to get an estimate.

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bigpapi7 OP t1_j4ram2o wrote

The kitchen lights are recessed cannisters. Closer to the circuit breaker than the LED hallway light.

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falderol t1_j4rgm2r wrote

So you may have an issue at the kitchen light. Is there a dimmer there?

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bigpapi7 OP t1_j4rhwr5 wrote

No it is a regular on/off panel switch

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falderol t1_j4rj0x8 wrote

It does not sound good that the lights are dimmer than they should be.

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bigpapi7 OP t1_j4rlymq wrote

Agreed, I’m looking for potential sources of this issue so i can find a solution

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viomoo t1_j4qx1qn wrote

Have you added any power line internet adapters recently? I had flickering LEDs and this was the cause. Guess anything else plugged into the same line could cause issues as well.

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