XPost: misc.consumers.frugal-living   
   From: mung_me@att.net   
      
   On 5/31/2012 4:06 PM, j wrote:   
      
   I took apart the fixture today and found out why. Let's review the   
   evidence:   
      
   > The spare bath in my house was added in the '60s. There is a fixture   
   > over the sink with a double light socket, one faces left and one faces   
   > right,it's one piece.   
      
   Note the "one piece".   
    >   
   Common at one time.   
   >   
   > So today I wanted to put a fan in this otherwise unused bathroom. I got   
   > an edison base adapter and screwed it in one of the sockets. Plugged in   
   > the fan and nothing. Didn't matter how it was switched. So I went off to   
   > get a bulb to test the other socket. When I screw in the bulb, it does   
   > not light but the fan goes on. The fan seems to be fine and the bulb is   
   > completely dark.   
      
   Note that the fan worked fine, it's not that it struggled on partial   
   voltage, and if it was wired in series, the bulb (an incandescent) was   
   completely dark.   
      
   This removes the series connection theories. And certainly the 220v   
   theory that depended on it.   
      
   So, what we have in the socket in the dead middle is a U shaped flat   
   copper strip. The hot wire is soldered to this and each end of the U   
   contacts a bulb center contact. For the ground threaded part: there are   
   two of these with a solder tab. They are facing outward, of course, but   
   the tabs are together and the ground wire is soldered to the left socket   
   that had the bulb screwed in. The tabs are in turn soldered to each other.   
      
   So, what happened?   
      
   The connection between the two tabs broke apart. When the bulb was   
   screwed in it pushed it's ground tab out enough to contact the other tab   
   and send power through it's "ground" connection.   
      
   The winner is: Jim Wilkins   
      
   Why didn't the bulb light? The "hot" contact was oxidized enough to be   
   an insulator.   
      
      
   I have pics and video...   
      
      Jeff   
      
     Unscrew the bulb and the fan turns off.   
   >   
   > WTF!   
   >   
   > Who cares to gamble a wild ass guess?   
   >   
   > Obviously the fixture has to go! But very strange.   
   >   
   > Jeff   
   >   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)