Loosening light bulbs

[ecotourist]

A couple of times a year I find some random light bulb has "gone out". Often the bulb has just become loose and when I tighten it, it's fine again.

Why/How do light bulbs get loose?

Anything I can do to stop this from happening? I don't want to reef on light bulbs.

 

[spasm3]

I'm guessing vibrations from washing machine maybe, or loosening from thermal cycles.

 

[ecotourist]

I'm guessing vibrations from washing machine maybe, or loosening from thermal cycles.

Often these bulbs are not in a location where there is any notable vibration. For example I've had to tighten bulbs (over the years) in a high chandelier or an outside wall sconce.

"Thermal cycles" would mean that the bulb is being slowly unscrewed. Interesting idea.

I've also wondered if something is happening to the solder on the tip of the bulb. But that seems unlikely as there's never any evidence of solder transferred to the socket.

 

[dlundblad]

I’m guessing it’s the springy center tab inside the socket. Often times, bulbs are tightened too much, which pushes the tab in.

Take a pick to the tab and try to bend it out. When you tighten the bulb, back it off just a fuzz so the tab isn’t bent back in.

 

[ecotourist]

I’m guessing it’s the springy center tab inside the socket. Often times, bulbs are tightened too much, which pushes the tab in.

Take a pick to the tab and try to bend it out. When you tighten the bulb, back it off just a fuzz so the tab isn’t bent back in.

That's an interesting theory. It might be the explanation for why the bulb goes out, but I'm not sure it explains why the bulb is now loose in the socket.

 

[bdcardinal]

That's an interesting theory. It might be the explanation for why the bulb goes out, but I'm not sure it explains why the bulb is now loose in the socket.

I went around one day after I shut the breakers off and pulled the tabs a bit on all the light fixtures in the house. The bulbs started lasting significantly longer afterwards.

 

[dlundblad]

That's an interesting theory. It might be the explanation for why the bulb goes out, but I'm not sure it explains why the bulb is now loose in the socket.

The only time I’ve seen a bulb loosen was subject to wind and swaying. Simply turning it on and off won’t cause it to loosen.

The bulb is loose because the springy tab is too compressed. The tab is not only the + component of the socket, but it also tightly holds the bulb like the leaf spring inside an oil filter.

Bend the tab out a bit and reinstall the bulb. Check on it later.

How old is the light btw?

 

[ecotourist]

How old is the light btw?

I wasn't referring to one light. This has happened with a number of lights.

The last 4 were the garage door opener (twice in the past 2 or 3 years), the lights in the front entry (several bulbs), and 2 outside wall sconces (a regular event). The house is 32 years old so that's their maximum age. The garage door opener may be newer than that. The wall sconces are probably original. The front entry lights might be 10 years old but they're such an indefinite design it's hard to tell.

All are "older" for sure. In all cases these lights were maintained by someone else before me. So it's certainly possible that someone over-tightened bulbs in these sockets at some point.

 

[dlundblad]

The garage door opener I can see, but not your wall sconces.

Try my advice. See what happens.