Lutron Faedra Dimmer Died - Why and What To Do?

16 years ago

I had a Lutron Faedra Dimmer installed for my single entry hall sconce light, and the dimmer died. Background: the light fixture has an incandescent 60w bulb - very straightforward. The Lutron Faedra is the FA-600, for incandescent use, 600W capacity, single location dimmer. I typically keep this light either slightly dimmed, maybe about 80% of full brightness, or night-light dimmed late at night. After about two years, the fixture's bulb burned out; pretty normal given the amount the fixture is used. However, when the bulb burned out, somehow that made the Faedra dimmer die. I remember hearing a "snap" as the bulb burned out. Nothing else in my home was affected, and nothing tripped. I can tell that the dimmer is dead because (a) I replaced the bulb with a new one and the light still doesn't work, and (b) the dimmer has tiny LED lights to indicate the level the bulb is dimmed (see photo in link below), and those indicator lights are out. This dimmer cost about $35, kinda high for one that now needs replacing, although not the end of the world. I have a few questions:

- what caused the dimmer to die when the bulb burned out?

- if I replace the dead dimmer with a new Faedra, is there anything I can do to prevent the same thing happening again?

- is it the Faedra that is the problem? Or could there be something wrong with the wiring?

- my electrician, who did TONS of WONDERFUL work in my home when I renovated it 2 years ago (and he was Code-OBSESSED, OMG, was he), installed this dimmer at the time of all his other work. But, can I myself replace the new one? I hate to call someone just for this little job, but if you guys think I need an electrician, let me know.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lutron's Faedra FA-600 Dimmer

Featured Answer

Ron Natalie

16 years ago

First make sure the thing is indeed getting power (i.e., a breaker is not tripped).

Sometimes (especially cheap) bulbs can temporarily draw many times more current than they are rated as they are burning out and toast the dimmre.

Doubtful there is any problem with the wiring.

You can replace it yourself, just TURN OFF THE POWER. This may be a little dicey since you don't have any way to see if it's on with the dimmer blown. Get a tester to make sure before doing anything where you could possibly touch a conductor with your body parts.

Just replace it with the same connections as the original.

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Comments (6)

stinkytiger
16 years ago
Hi,

Dimmers do blow when the bulb blows. It happened to me and yes it sort of gets expensive at $US 35 a dimmer. What happens is that when the bulb blows is is often that you get a bright flash when you turn it on. Then nothing it is dead. That bright flash is the bulb drawing lots of current in a current surge. That current surge typically fries the dimmer. The breaker will not trip because it all happens in a fraction of a second, much faster than the breaker can react to.

The dimmer you can replace yourself. However remember to be careful when ever you are dealing with electrical power. I would also recomend getting a tester called a 'Volt Tick' or 'VoltAlert' see the link. These are about $US 20. Fluke makes a good one, but you can get other brands at your local store, e.g. Home Depot. What they do is alert you to live power. You do not have to make contact with the copper wire, just place the tester near wires. I found it realy useful to check to see that your power is off before touching anything.

Replacing the dimmer is a 30 minute job for a once in a while fixer like me. Pros can do it in like 10 mins or less. You will need a screwdriver and some wire nuts and a new dimmer.

Warmest regards, mike.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fluke VoltAltert Tester
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gilshultz
16 years ago
As stated it is very common when a bulb blows it takes the dimmer with it. Most times it is the only or last bulb on the dimmer that does it. This can be observed with fixtures that have several bulbs in them.

What happens as stated above it draws an excessive amount of current as seen in the flash. Normally this current does not take the dimmer, the triac has a very high single cycle surge capacity. However, the bulb, is connected by a piece of wire. The excessive current treats the wire as an inductor and charges it.

When the filament opens the inductor reverses polarity does as all inductors do. At that point is raises its output voltage until its internal energy is dissipated. This can easily reach several hundred volts in a few nanoseconds.

Guess what the triac does not like high voltage and the substrate punctures through destroying the triac. That is why most times but not all times the last bulb takes the dimmer, if there are other bulbs they adsorb the small of inductive energy. Failure Analysis of the triac proper would show this, I have seen this several times.

You might like to look up some studies done several years ago I think by either GE or Sylvania.
juliet3
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you Ronnatalie and Stinkytiger (sorry I haven't been able to check back in til now). I appreciate you explaining what happened, and your advice on how to replace the dimmer. I sure am relieved I don't have to call an electrician for this small job - I was worried I'd have to spend $200 for an electrician to replace a $35 dimmer. I will also buy that Voltalert Tester - sounds like a bargain for something that is very essential, and that I will likely use again in the future.

Gilshultz, I very much appreciate the time you took to respond, but it was mostly over my head. I wouldn't even know where to look up studies by GE or Sylvania, and those studies would likely be over my head too - I am going to be replacing a dimmer for the first time in my life, so that's the level of DIY that I do!
gilshultz
16 years ago
Good luck!
I think it will install properly and work.

As far as the explanation that is OK, some may understand it but the majority probably will not. To condense it down as long as there is still one good bulb operating on the dimmer the odds of of the dimmer failing when a lamp blows is slim, ie change the bulbs before there is only one left if possible.
johnzane
7 years ago
I own and operate a dance venue in San Francisco. About 8 years ago I switched completely to Faedra dimmers, that's about 28 switches. Recently I've begun replacing the incandescent flood lamps in my recessed can lights to LEDs. Even though the Faedras are not rated for LED lamps, they appear to work just fine. Dimming is not as smooth as with filament lamps, but I don't mind, especially with the savings in power. I did lose a Faedra to an electrical short, but I've never experienced a failure due to a lamp burning out (though I'm not discounting it). I have four of them banked together, and the heat output is considerable. I fully expected those to fail years ago, but so far, they've held up just fine. I'm disappointed Lutron has discontinued this model. I think it's the most elegantly designed switch in their entire line, and I love how they gently dim off, rather than turning off abruptly. After years of good service, I highly recommend them.

Lutron Faedra Dimmer Died - Why and What To Do?

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