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I have three small recessed lights, set into a false ceiling where a mini-central air conditioning unit is set. The lights do not turn on.

The lights are small E14 base mini-spots

  1. I replaced the bulbs, I definitely have 3 fresh bulbs
  2. I checked the fuse (of course), and in any case it shares a circuit with other lights which are working fine.
  3. I used a multimeter to check the AC voltage across the light switch itself, it shows a normal 230V when open and 0V when closed
  4. I checked the voltage across the contacts for each of the 3 fixtures. They show 230V (as expected) when the switch is on.

And yet, when I put bulbs in, they do not turn on. I could see how one fixture might become damaged, or the contacts bent, or a wire frayed, but all 3 is unlikely.

One strange reading. With the switch off, I thought I saw a ~50V reading across the terminals of each fixture, whereas it should be 0V. I thought I must have the meter wrong.

Working with 230V/50Hz AC European-style.

Any suggestions what I can do next?

deitch
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    You have a lose or broken wire. See http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/6685/insufficient-voltage-to-dryer-receptacle-what-next/6699#6699 – longneck Sep 11 '14 at 18:39
  • But the contacts of the fixture show 230V. @longneck – Mazura Sep 12 '14 at 03:59
  • Do you elsewhere have a working E14 lamp to try a known working blub from and to test your new ones? – Mazura Sep 12 '14 at 04:02
  • @Mazura I don't, but I have an E14 to E27 adapter, so I can check them. – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 04:59
  • @longneck then why would I see 230V across the contacts? – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 04:59
  • Heh, I guess we should of read his link... – Mazura Sep 12 '14 at 05:33
  • @Mazura yes we should. – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 06:16
  • @longneck, that is great read, thank you. I will try it. – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 11:22
  • Yes, if you had read the link then you would know that a broken wire can pass full voltage to something that has no load, like a voltage tester, but when loaded it fails. – longneck Sep 12 '14 at 11:22
  • Well, I tried it. I show proper voltages across the breaker closed and open. Two switches are next to each other. The one that works shows 220V across switch when open, as expected. But the one without lighting shows ~110V across when closed and 0V when open. I do have a single bulb in one of the fixtures. But what could lead to a 110V load across on 220V circuit? – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 11:47
  • All 3 fixtures show 230VAC (switch in on position) or ~10VAC (off position), which makes sense. But (a) they show it even with a bulb in one of the fixtures, and (b) the switch in on shows 10VAC across it and either 0VAC or 160VAC (!!) when in the off position! This is very strange! – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 12:10
  • Ignoring the readings.... I removed the fixture as you suggested, touched the bulbs straight to the wire, and it lit up. This suggests the bad wire may be in the fixture itself? – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 12:15
  • To add: the wires themselves, when removed from the fixture, show 230VAC across and light the bulb. The fixture itself is very simple. When wires connected, they show 230VAC across the contacts. Yet it does not light the bulb inside any of the 3 fixtures! – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 12:22
  • No one here will believe this. I figured it out, and it is too funny. The bulbs are just slightly - as in 1mm - so it cannot make it all the way into the future, but it was tight, so it felt like it was all the way in. Remove the screw in from the recessed lighting holder, it works. Doh! – deitch Sep 12 '14 at 12:45

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