light bulbs burn out when screwed in

16 years ago

My second electrical problem involves several separate light sockets on the same circuit. Most of the outlets and lights work and no tripping of the circuit breaker occur but when screwed in the light bulb of several sockets immediately burn out. If there is a short shouldn't the breakers trip? Can each light socket have its own individual short?

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Comments (7)

DavidR
16 years ago
Based on this item and the other one you posted, I think you have a loose neutral connection. It could be in a single multiwire circuit. It could also be outside the house or at the main panel. This is causing excessive voltage at these outlets.

This situation is likely to damage appliances and can be hazardous. I suggest that you open the main breaker and call the power company. If they tell you the problem is inside the house, then it's time to call an electrician.
rockwood84
16 years ago
how many volts are going to the outlets i have seen 220volts wired to light socket
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martin-electrical
16 years ago
Hopefully by now your problem has been found ......
If not you say bulbs burnout blow when installed in a rental unit correct ? Our the bulb bottoms giving you the frustration? Is this what is blowing out if so the fixtures have had the tenant treatment over tightened bulbs and shorted the center piece to the shell blowing out the solder connection to the bulb just before a fuse or breaker can trip a usual breaker has an instantaneous trip load of 10,ooo A for a 15A breaker solder melts at about 700d F it looses the race . If you haven't found a nuetral problem a 220 volt on light fixture problem try looking into the offending fixture sockets with a flashlight if any appear to be burnt I would consider this your reason (over zealous tightening I have seen people state I thought if I made it a tighter connection for the bulb it would be brighter....(sometimes you just would like to see how far you could screw them into the fixture)
flipmlam
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I replaced my light blub in my may tag dryer n it keeps burning out ! What could be the problem ? i put one in n right away it burned out replaced a new one again same thing happened ?
Ron Natalie
7 years ago
Bulbs rarely burn out when they're not screwed in :)

Make sure you are getting bulbs designed for appliance use. These are a bit more rugged than a stanard bulb.
toxcrusadr
7 years ago
What type of bulb is it? Voltage, wattage and shape?

I have not seen a dryer with a light bulb, but it would be nice to have one.
Ron Natalie
7 years ago
Not uncommon. Both GE and LG seem to provide them in most models. They're typically small low-wattage 120V bulbs (like a night light or old style christmas bulb) but you really want to not use these but the proper one because of the vibration issues...