New Light fixture on a dimmer does not dim, it starts flashing..?

[strangways]

Hi, I replaced a broken ceiling light fixture with a new one from Ikea. The fixture is on a dimmer switch. At max power it is fine, when I slide the dimmer down, the fixture does not dim, instead it starts flashing. Does this suggest that the fixture is not compatible with a dimmer, or is it not wired correctly? The manual says nothing about dimmers. If a fixture is not compatible with a dimmer, is there some component I can add to make it compatible?

Thanks here's the fixture:

[DerbyDad03]

By "flashing" do you mean "flickering"?

I see that the page recommends LED's. Did you install LED's? If so, did you install LED's that are specified as dimmable?

What kind of bulbs did you use?

IOW it might not be the fixture, it might be the bulbs.

[Ralph Mowery]

Are you using the regular old type filiment bulbs or the newer CFL or LED type bulbs? Many of the newer ones will not work well with the older dimmers.

[trader_4]

And the picture shows LED, though apparently it doesn't come with them. 99% he's using LED or maybe CFL

[philo]

That's correct. One has to have the type that specifically says it will work with a dimmer

[trader_4]

And if you want to go further, LED manufacturer's typically have a list of compatible dimmers that will work with their bulbs. So far, the LEDs I've bought work with just ordinary, old dimmers. At least they dim OK. But IDK if there are any possible longer term effects on life, etc by using an ordinary dimmer instead of one that's on the list.

[philo]

I have Halogen lighting in the kitchen and the light is very good.

Obviously no problem with a dimmer as they are incandescent.

I see they now have LED replacements but a friend said the lighting spectrum of the LED's is no where as good and can even cause depression.

I guess for the couple more $$$ I may spend on energy, I should keep them.

[trader_4]

I posted a new thread a couple weeks ago about the Philips Warm Glow LEDs. They are the only ones I've ever seen that dim to what I consider to be acceptable lighting for most areas. All the others you get a cold, fluorescent light when they dim. With these you get an orange glow, very similar to an incandescent. I've looked at them side by side and you can't tell it's an LED. They come in various form factors, from recessed retrofit to ordinary bulb type. They are the only ones I'd use for an occupied area that you want dimmed.

[gfretwell]

There usually is no "spectrum" in LED lights. They are pretty much one color and dimming them does not change that. There is no hardware reason why a LED could not color shift as it dims but it would require a smart controller that tuned the color. I have not seen one like that yet but it may be out there.

[gfretwell]

Cool, I will have to look at these.

[trader_4]

Check out the Philips Warm Glow. It does color shift. I don't remember the numbers, but it's a soft white that's like 2700 at full bright, but drops like 500 lower as it's dimmed. Looks just like an incandescent when dimmed to me.

[makolber]

I've seen this simply done on equipment rack lighting...its just two LEDs in there, a white and an orange, set up so the white one dims with the voltage and the orange one dims slower,, so as you dim it down, you get more orange and less white..

it was pretty cool, so to speak; m

[clare]

it says Light bulbs sold separately. IKEA recommends LED bulb GU10

400 lumen (3 pcs).

You likely put in non dimmable LED bulbs. Replace with dimmable GU10 LED bulbs and it will work just fine!!!!

[clare]

Not just MIGHT be - guaranteed to be.

[clare]

Many will not work with ANY dimmer. The bulbs need to be specified as DIMMABLE or they WILL flash when dimmed. Been there - done that ...

[clare]

Depends what colour temperature LED you use. I use the 4000K and above - what they call "daylight". I buy dimmable so they will work both on circuits with and without dimmers. I had some non dimmable

3200K GU10s and they looked likd dimmed halogens.

[philo]

Me too, once I use up my spare Halogens

[DerbyDad03]

I bought some dimmable 100W equivalent LED's from earthLED to use in a bedroom ceiling fixture. They dim down OK, it's the "dimming up" that's a problem.

When you move the dimmer away from 0, you get nothing until - owww...too bright - then you can dim them back down to almost nothing. The thing is, I use dimmers mostly to avoid the harshness of turning on bedroom or bathroom lights when it's dark. I just need a little glow and the LED's I bought take too much power to initially turn on.

[Diesel]

Neither. It confirms you purchased the non dimmable bulbs for it. You need to replace them with dimmable ones. The fixture has no circuit board inside, it's a straight shot from power source to the bulb receptacles. So, you need to use the dimmable version of those bulbs.

Yes, you bought the wrong bulbs. You need one of these: