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In my kitchen I have 4 halogen MR16 bulbs which I would like to replace with LEDs. I have been given loads of LEDs by a friend but I have found that when I fit them into the existing fittings the box bit at top (which the two pins come out of) is a little wider than the old Halogen one. As a result, I cannot push the housing back into the fitting ring.

I suspect I need to replace the ring that is in the ceiling and the housing dome too.

My questions:

  1. Are all rings a standard size and therefore if I just buy a nice chrome one for some where it will fit?
  2. Is the existing wiring/transformer/connector going to be okay with my new LEDs?

This is my first post in the DIY Stack Exchange, so please let me know if I need to supply more info etc...

The dome housing:

The dome housing

The whole fitting:

The whole fitting

The ceiling ring:

The ceiling ring

My old and new bulbs (old on the left):

My old and new bulbs (old on the left)

My old and new bulbs (old on the left)

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It's common for LED MR 16's to not fit the same as their predecessors. Those types have the AC to DC rectifiers built in and work with most any 12 volt supply. Those cans probably have a small 50VA magnetic transformer attached to it inside the ceiling for each can, verses one big gigantic transformer for all the lights.

As for the gimbal not fitting back in the can, sounds like you need to find a different LED bulb instead of trying piecemeal together multiple parts.

Your trims don't seem to be from a popular vendor such as Halo or Lightolier. Your best bet is to look for some part number and google it.

If you're still hard-pressed on replacing the trim kits and not the entire fixture, you might can buy a 4" GU10 trim kit from the local hardware store and use the MR16 bulb instead of the GU10 bulb, and maybe, just maybe it will cover the existing hole and/or not fall out from being incompatible.

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  • Thank you for getting back to me. I am actually looking to change the fittings (the ring at least) as the previous owners seem to have crudely painted them white and I'd like nice chrome ones again. Any idea what I should buy?
    – atwright147
    Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 0:05
  • I've updated my answer to address your comment.
    – Kris
    Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 0:16
  • I'd happily replace everything up to the plug that hangs out of my ceiling. For instance, I was thinking of getting these: amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00SWXQ0OM/…. I guess I need to remove the existing trim and measure the hole?
    – atwright147
    Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 10:46
  • Just to clarify, I would happily replace all of the bits you can see in my photos :-)
    – atwright147
    Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 12:12

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