1

I have three pendants and a 5 bulb fixture over my table it has Antique Edison bulbs in the fixture with yellow tint I want brighter bulbs, I purchased LED equivalent bulbs and when I put two or more into the fixture the dimmer will not turn on or off the fixtures. Can someone help me to understand why? could it be the dimmer switch? we purchased house with the dimmer switches here, fixture works with the bulbs it came with even when I dim them.

Improve this question
6
  • 2
    Is the dimmer rated for LEDs? Are the LEDs rated for dimming? Dimming LEDs is weird.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented May 16, 2018 at 16:35
  • The LED are rated for dimming, but not sure if dimmer switch is it was here bought house 1 month and a half ago.its 11 years old
    – Lora Isolano
    Commented May 16, 2018 at 16:37
  • I suspect the dimmer is just a little too old a design to work with "dimmable LEDs". But if you haven't done so already, try replacing ALL bulbs in the fixture at one time - there may be some interaction between the different types of bulbs when used with a dimmer.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented May 16, 2018 at 16:44
  • ok thanks for the suggestions I will try new dimmer switch. I did try all bulbs in fixture and the LEDs will just stay on and switch will not turn the fixture on or off or dim.
    – Lora Isolano
    Commented May 16, 2018 at 16:47
  • I have some Edison style LED's and an LED compatible dimmer, but it doesn't work well with either of the 2 brands of Edison-style LED"s I have (which claim to be dimmer compatible). Not sure if they use a different LED driver than "normal" LED bulbs or what. However, I found that if I put a single 25W incandescent bulb in the fixture, then the LED bulbs work great. The drawback is that it looks weird to have 1 incandescent and several LED"s in one fixture.
    – Johnny
    Commented May 17, 2018 at 0:06

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

This is common with older dimmers and LED's. Old dimmers use a small amount of power to activate the switch (almost always silicon controlled switch called an SCR or thyristor) the small amount of power is enough to light the LED's. You need a dimmer that is LED compatible I would get a quality name brand dimmer as not all dimmers are created equally.

Improve this answer
1
  • Thank you for the input. I will surely try a new dimmer switch.
    – Lora Isolano
    Commented May 18, 2018 at 0:08

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.