Chandelier, 2 of 6 arms still unlit after replacing 2 sockets

13 years ago

2 arms of my 6 arm chandelier will no longer light. It is not a bulb problem (checked that). The arms are 180 degrees apart. I suspected the sockets went bad. Bought replacement ones at a local lamp store and installed them myself. This did not fix the problem!

I noticed the chandelier has been rotated multiple times, most likely from cleaning it. So now I suspect a wiring issue. I did some troubleshooting with an LED circuit tester.

Using the tester, a good arm (socket) shows:

1. LED lights up when I contact the Right (hot) screw to the Left (neutral) screw of the socket.

2. LED lights up when I contact the Right (hot) screw to Ground (the adjustable socket holder).

3. LED does NOT light up when I contact the Left (neutral) screw to Ground.

Using the tester, the 1st bad arm (socket) shows:

1. LED lights up VERY FAINTLY when I contact the Right (hot) screw to the Left (neutral) screw of the socket.

2. LED lights up when I contact the Right (hot) screw to Ground (the adjustable socket holder).

3. LED does NOT light up when I contact the Left (neutral) screw to Ground.

Note that for these tests of the 1st bad arm, the socket was NOT wired in the 2nd bad arm . I repeated the test on the 1st arm socket with the socket wired in the 2nd bad arm and found that the LED DID light up when I contacted the Left (neutral) screw to Ground in the 1st socket! This should not happen, right?

Using the tester, the 2st bad arm (socket) shows:

1. LED lights up when I contact the Right (hot) screw to the Left (neutral) screw of the socket.

2. LED lights up when I contact the Right (hot) screw to Ground (the adjustable socket holder).

3. LED LIGHTS UP when I contact the Left (neutral) screw to Ground. This should not happen, right?

Note this test occured with the socket wired in the 1st bad arm.

If anyone can make sense out of this, please help. Or suggest an alternative troubleshooting approach. Thanks in advance for your help.

Comments (3)

randy427
13 years ago
Do not use this chandelier until it is repaired!!

Rotating the parts of the chandelier have caused the wires to pull out of their connectors. A stray hot wire could cause arcing and a fire or shock hazard.

The fixture needs to be disassembled to gain access to the wire connections in the core. When reassembled, the various parts of the chandelier must not freely rotate relative to each other.
mary_228
Original Author
13 years ago
I checked the wire connections in the core and there appears to be no disruption whatsoever. After taking the fixture down from the ceiling, I examined the wires at the top of the fixture and there appeared to be no damage either. What's next?
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wayne440
13 years ago
This type of problem is easy to troubleshoot, but the needed techniques are difficult to explain via the written word. Considering this, your most expedient course of action is either;

Find someone nearby with modest electrical troubleshooting experience and have him/her repair your fixture.

OR follow these three steps;

(1) go to nearest home improvement store /lighting supply house

(2) purchase new fixture

(3) install same