I have this problem with my bathroom lights -- when first turned on all is fine and then after about five minutes they start to go off and on cycling about every 30 seconds.

I have replaced the toggle switch and traced the wiring as much as possible without breaking into the wall. I can't see any easy way to get the light fixture down. It's implanted behind some of the nice cabinet work and if I start prizing things with a crowbar, something is going to get messed up. This problem seems like a bad connection somewhere that heats up and cools down causing the off/on scenario.

Has anyone else had this problem or know a good way to get to the fixture without damaging the woodwork?? My fixture has 5 12v bulbs that have the bayonet type fitting --- like the old car bulbs for your tailight.

Thanks for any help,

Sounds like a resetable circuit breaker to me. They trip on overload then cool off and reset and then overheat and cool off and overheat etc

One of two things. Bad circuit breaker of to much current draw.

quote:

Originally posted by Frank Strong:
I have this problem with my bathroom lights -- when first turned on all is fine and then after about five minutes they start to go off and on cycling about every 30 seconds.

I'm with Gary on the resetting auto CB. I see you say "lights" and "they", indicating plural.

Can you isolate it to one light?

Can you pull out the bulbs one by one and isolate a bulb that might be drawing too much current?

What does a voltmeter do with all the bulbs out?

What numbers are the bulbs? It is possible that none of them are the guilty party, but all of them together could be too much for the breaker. Going to lower current light bulbs could make a difference.

Can you measure the current draw? What does an ammeter tell you with all the bulbs in? What does an ammeter tell you with all the bulbs out? Put it in series at the switch.

FWIW mine had a fluorescent two-tube fixture and an incandescent light built into the ceiling fan. They were on a fused light circuit.

I have reduced the number of bulbs from 5 to 3 and it did make a difference in the initial time that they would stay on but I have not tried a voltmeter yet. Good idea.

Where would this 'resettable fuse' be located? I tried under the bed and nothing fits that discription or is isolated to the bathroom lights.

Thanks,

I am thinking that if they are cycling on and off that they don't have a large enough supply of dark to suck.

This sounds like a bad connection (High Resistance)in the circuit. If memory serves the CB's are non-resetting per RVIA code. The reason it takes longer with less bulbs, but still fails, tells me that it is a resistance issue. Drop the fixture and check the splice connecting the fixture to the Barth harness. With the lamps on, a bad connection will get warm, bad ones discolor. The key is not to throw parts at it until you isolate a bad one.

You definitely have a power problem that needs a solution. You can connect a voltmeter to one socket and install one bulb at a time until you see an appreciable drop in voltage. It may be a weird bulb problem, a socket that has failed or even a bad fuse or circuit breaker. Most of the lights are on a single circuit that you will have to trace. Once you find the problem and correct it you might try replacing those lights in the bathroom with LED's. Here are some replacements: http://www.superbrightleds.com...56-x18-T.htm%23OTHER
Although they are $17.95 each plus shipping they will never need replacement and they will draw 176 milli amps rather than 13 watts at one amp each. That converts to six lamps = 1,050 thousandths of an amp versus 6 amps for the incandescent lights. (If my math is correct).

As an added thought I had a problem with resetting a circuit breaker that seemed to go nowhere. I got a friend to stand outside at the big electrical panel on the roadside and connected the wire and after a short time he could hear and feel the circuit breaker "pop". After a few cycles (they automatically reset when power is shut off) we found the "bad" one. These are two post breakers mounted to the panel that can go bad. There are a number of "extra" ones in the Gillig chassis that are not connected to anything that you can swap out. Otherwise they are available in most electronic shops. One can go bad and fail under load.