I have a 14w Nvision brand compact fluorescent bulb on a three-way switch circuit in my stairway that pulses very weak light, from near the base of the discharge tube, about every second, when the switch is in the "off" position. Looks like a weak strobe light. I checked the "off" voltage across the empty socket - it was about 5v. One of the three way switches has a lighted toggle, for what it is worth. The lamp fixture is a can light, new, and seemingly properly wired but cannot tell if the body of the unit is grounded, as only the hot and neutral feed wires are visible on my side of the metal fixture reflector. All I can figure is the low voltage is charging a capacitor in the bulb base, and the capacitor periodically discharges its stored energy into the bulb. How can I trouble shoot (if this is necessary for safety) the source of the low voltage in the lamp socket? And is this in any way a fire danger? Thanks, Roger
- posted
17 years ago