Wiki

This page covers table lamps, desk lamps and floor-standing lamps.

Summary

We often see table lamps and the like at Restart Parties. Often, these are quite old - maybe the owner has had them for many years and has a personal attachment to them, or maybe they simply took a fancy to them in a second hand shop. Others are relatively new and have just stopped working. Some may have frayed wires and be positively dangerous. Whatever the history there is a good chance they can be given a new lease of life.

Safety

An electrical safety test is highly recommended, including a visual check, both before and after a repair, especially for an older item.

As with any mains operated item, it's a good idea to have the plug on the bench in front of you before starting to work, so you can be certain you didn't forget to unplug it.

Repair

The first and most important task is to inspect the electrics. A frayed lead, cracked plug or cracked or faulty switch must be replaced. Check the fuse with a multimeter on a low resistance range.

If the lamp uses a filament bulb, check this too with a multimeter. A faulty low energy (compact fluorescent or LED) bulb can only be positively identified by substitution.

If the lamp uses a mains voltage bulb (of whatever sort), test continuity between the plug and the bulb holder with a multimeter on a low resistance range. To do this, touch one probe on one of the pins of the plug (but not the big earth pin) and see if you can get a zero reading by touching the other probe on one of the contacts in the bulb holder. The switch may be off. Try it in the other position. Now repeat with the probe on the other pin of the plug. If you can't get a zero reading in either case then there is a break in the wire, or the switch is faulty.

Lamps using a low voltage halogen or LED bulb normally have a transformer or an electronic equivalent in the base. This is harder to test but you should still be able to test for continuity between the plug and the transformer and between the other side of the transformer and the bulb.

Getting inside a table lamp with a decorative base such as glazed porcelain is sometimes a little tricky. A porcelain base may have a paper and felt bottom to prevent it scratching a polished surface, and you may need to remove this to get inside. Sometimes you may have to unscrew the top. You may have to pull the lead from the plug into the base in order for it not to get impossibly twisted in the process.

The bulb holder may need replacing. This may be plastic or brass, and with or without an integral switch. Other brass fittings such as threaded tubes and nuts to fit them may also need to be replaced. A wide range of such parts is available online, as well as decorative and fabric-covered flex for an authentic restoration of a vintage lamp. Simply search online for "lamp parts" or "lamp fittings".