DonL
Jack of all trades Master of one
That is vintage advice, but one that I expect you will revise after you think about it -- unless you know of a "13o volt" LED bulb.
LOL. That is Funny right there.
Thanks for the Reach.
That is vintage advice, but one that I expect you will revise after you think about it -- unless you know of a "13o volt" LED bulb.
A loose neutral connection in a multi-wire circuit can cause higher than normal voltages. Probably not what's happening here, though.Every loose connection I've ever seen resulted in lower voltage and I've never known lower voltage to burn out a bulb.
If this purportedly loose connection were so loose as to cause successive cold starts to prematurely burn out a bulb, then I think the OP would have mentioned it. I think Jim is not an EE.
A loose neutral connection in a multi-wire circuit can cause higher than normal voltages. Probably not what's happening here, though.
I'll second the rough-service bulbs. YOu might want to consider LED or CFL bulbs for this, but some are better than others for vibrations. When a bulb gets older, if you were to look at the filaments under a magnifying glass, you'd notice that over time, parts are thinner than others, and vibrations can make them break at that weak point. Rough service bulbs tend to have either thicker filaments, or more supports, or both. Compare an old incandescent bulb with a new one, and the older one will tend to have a blackish haze on it...that's the metal from the filaments that boiled off and redeposited on the cooler glass globe.
It also may be time for some service on the opener itself...springs can get weak with age, some rollers need grease (some don't) but regardless, check their bearings. If the springs get weak, the whole opener will have to work harder and may vibrate more, so you may need to adjust them.
Did you understand post #24?What I still continue to find unusual is that both bulbs burned out at the same time. It seems unlikely that vibrations would cause exactly the same amount of deterioration so that both bulbs reached the breaking point simultaneously.
I can check with a meter, but I don't see how that would be the cause in this case. The motor and lights are wired together and there is a single plug that powers both. Both lights burned out as soon as the motor kicked in, and in this case the motor can't be on a different pole in the panel than the lights.Did you understand post #24?
Do you have a voltmeter?
Well you were right about vibration being the problem. One was indeed burned out, but it had been loosened enough that it corroded the contact. The other bulb had just loosened to the point that it was no longer making contact. I'm still amazed that both stopped at the same time, but it clearly had nothing to do with a voltage spike and is totally unrelated to any other bulb issues I've had.OK... Sorry. I failed to catch the part that these two bulbs are part of the garage door opener, and therefore therefore are powered by the same pair. The vibration from the motor starting and the opener housing jumping moving the filaments enough to short things out in each bulb seems to be the best match to the symptom then.
The cure is LED bulbs. They are maybe $10 each, and will not be delicate.
This is awkward, but...
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