John From Detroit
Well-known member
Had the old "lights getting dimmer and brigher" problem last week but strangly... ONLY ONE FIXTURE.. Finally managed to look at it at the right time and figured it out... One lamp (It is a 2 lamp fixture) was blinking on and off on occasion as things vibrated.
Pulled the lamp (IT is either a 1156 or a lower power version of same) and .. The dang insulator/washer for the center contact broke and fell out (AH, the problem) as the spring behind it came out too.. Caught the spring, protected the center pin and did what needed to be done for a few days (used other lamp)
Finally got around to doing something about it.. Finding single contact socket repair kits is .. NOT EASY (pilot has 'em in the catalog, I have part number if anyone needs, but few stores stock) Got luck last spring on a close out shelf and cleaned them out. But I used the last one about a month ago.
Have the old control board for the furnace (The one that's deader than a doornail) So I de-populated part of it (Removed the components to in this case the trash bin since I have no projected use for that specific part and I broke it in removal anyway) and cut a circle out with my Dremel. .. Center drilled it, and then sanded it down to size.
Dang thing works.
And that PC board stuff (Glass/exoxy I suspect) should, in theory, last far longer than the 7 years the original part lasted.
NOTE: If you don't have scrap circuit boards lying about like I do (Handy being a certified electrnics nut, er, hobbiest/technician) you can get some at any electrnics parts store, Radio shack used to stock it but alas don't know any more.
Oh, Do remove the copper from around the center hole.. (Dremel very useful, in my case there was none to remove at that point behind a low quality board they took it off and recycled it).
Pulled the lamp (IT is either a 1156 or a lower power version of same) and .. The dang insulator/washer for the center contact broke and fell out (AH, the problem) as the spring behind it came out too.. Caught the spring, protected the center pin and did what needed to be done for a few days (used other lamp)
Finally got around to doing something about it.. Finding single contact socket repair kits is .. NOT EASY (pilot has 'em in the catalog, I have part number if anyone needs, but few stores stock) Got luck last spring on a close out shelf and cleaned them out. But I used the last one about a month ago.
Have the old control board for the furnace (The one that's deader than a doornail) So I de-populated part of it (Removed the components to in this case the trash bin since I have no projected use for that specific part and I broke it in removal anyway) and cut a circle out with my Dremel. .. Center drilled it, and then sanded it down to size.
Dang thing works.
And that PC board stuff (Glass/exoxy I suspect) should, in theory, last far longer than the 7 years the original part lasted.
NOTE: If you don't have scrap circuit boards lying about like I do (Handy being a certified electrnics nut, er, hobbiest/technician) you can get some at any electrnics parts store, Radio shack used to stock it but alas don't know any more.
Oh, Do remove the copper from around the center hole.. (Dremel very useful, in my case there was none to remove at that point behind a low quality board they took it off and recycled it).
