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Posted by DaveR on December 2, 2005, 10:24 am
I have a Lutron Skylark model 600-P dimmer that smokes and causes a
burning smell when it is turned on.
I took the switch out and found that the smoke is coming from inside
the switch itself; the external wiring connections are solid.
I did not take apart the switch itself to inspect the connections
inside, figuring that those connections are pre-configured.
Am I simply looking at a switch that has gone bad, or is there
something else that could be wrong?
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Posted by Sacramento Dave on December 2, 2005, 10:37 am
show/hide quoted text
> I have a Lutron Skylark model 600-P dimmer that smokes and causes a
> burning smell when it is turned on.
> I took the switch out and found that the smoke is coming from inside
> the switch itself; the external wiring connections are solid.
> I did not take apart the switch itself to inspect the connections
> inside, figuring that those connections are pre-configured.
> Am I simply looking at a switch that has gone bad, or is there
> something else that could be wrong?
Your lucky your house didn't go bad with it
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Posted by Chris Lewis on December 2, 2005, 10:54 am
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> Am I simply looking at a switch that has gone bad, or is there
> something else that could be wrong?
If it's been fine until the smoke, it's probably going bad. If
there's a wiring fault (ie: a short), dimmers usually fry
instantaneously[+]. It would be highly unusual for a wiring fault
to only draw enough current to make the dimmer overheat without
going kaboom.
You should also check the wattage of what the thing is driving.
Most dimmers are limited to 500-600W, and some to 300W. If this
is a new installation, or you recently relamped the circuit with
higher wattage bulbs, I'd strongly suspect a simple overload, which
you can resolve by choosing a higher capacity dimmer, or reducing
the quantity/wattage of the lamps.
Check the wattage regardless of whether it's a new circuit
or new bulbs.
In any case, once a dimmer starts to smoke, I'd replace it.
[+] dead shorts thru on-state Triacs tend to be a bit
on the fast and spectacular (or at least noisy - "gunshot" type
noises aren't uncommon) side. They usually fry faster than the
fuses or breakers do.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.
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Posted by DaveR on December 2, 2005, 12:13 pm
On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 15:54:08 -0000, clewis@nortelnetworks.com (Chris
Lewis) wrote:
show/hide quoted text
>If it's been fine until the smoke, it's probably going bad. If
>there's a wiring fault (ie: a short), dimmers usually fry
>instantaneously[+]. It would be highly unusual for a wiring fault
>to only draw enough current to make the dimmer overheat without
>going kaboom.
>You should also check the wattage of what the thing is driving.
>Most dimmers are limited to 500-600W, and some to 300W. If this
>is a new installation, or you recently relamped the circuit with
>higher wattage bulbs, I'd strongly suspect a simple overload, which
>you can resolve by choosing a higher capacity dimmer, or reducing
>the quantity/wattage of the lamps.
Thanks for the advice. This dimmer was newly installed
(professionally) 3 years ago and it has been working fine until
recently. I did see the occasional spark when turning on the switch
but I was told this is common in the Skylarks and not necessarily
dangerous. None of the bulbs have been changed. It is a 600W dimmer
driving exactly 6 100W bulbs.
I guess I will just replace the switch.
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Posted by Chris Lewis on December 2, 2005, 12:18 pm
show/hide quoted text
> Thanks for the advice. This dimmer was newly installed
> (professionally) 3 years ago and it has been working fine until
> recently. I did see the occasional spark when turning on the switch
> but I was told this is common in the Skylarks and not necessarily
> dangerous. None of the bulbs have been changed. It is a 600W dimmer
> driving exactly 6 100W bulbs.
> I guess I will just replace the switch.
Uprate the dimmer to something beefier - say, 1KW, or, lower the
wattage of the bulbs. Ie: switch to 75W quartz halogen - more light,
less power.
I don't like devices run at their extreme limit. It'll probably run
warm all the time, and the lifetime will be shortened (as it was).
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.
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> burning smell when it is turned on.
> I took the switch out and found that the smoke is coming from inside
> the switch itself; the external wiring connections are solid.
> I did not take apart the switch itself to inspect the connections
> inside, figuring that those connections are pre-configured.
> Am I simply looking at a switch that has gone bad, or is there
> something else that could be wrong?