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Thread: Trailing Edge Dimmer

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    Default Trailing Edge Dimmer

    Guys,

    Wondering if you can answer this......got a trailing edge dimmer and when wired in doesnt dim the light.....it reduces the brightness to about half but doesnt dim up or down it also has a slight flicker in it.

    Bridging out the dimmer brings the light back to full brightness.

    Does the dimmer sound faulty?

    Its a clipsal 32e450tm.

    Cheers



Look Here ->
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    Junior Member Jalorathis's Avatar
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    Default

    What type of light are you trying to dim.

    We use dimmers very frequently at work and i have never seen an issue like this unless there is a transformer involved.

    Jalorathis

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    Just a single incandescent light - 80w.

    Its wired up like this.




    In Picture 2 the bottom cable.....in position marked "1" is the hot active into the room.

    I was stupid not taking photos before removing to paint......

    would have saved me alot of hassle.

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    Uncle Fester's Avatar
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    Default

    Sounds like the triac in the dimmer is faulty and is behaving like a half wave rectifier.

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    So it looks like I put it all back ok?

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    Junior Member TZB's Avatar
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    Default

    Yes it does look ok. You say 80w lamp? Never heard of an 80w, 75w then 100w.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TZB View Post
    Yes it does look ok. You say 80w lamp? Never heard of an 80w, 75w then 100w.
    oops my bad....I knew it wasnt the 100w as we put lower ones in throughout the house and had a guess at 80w.

    You are correct yes its s 75w.

    Im happy its all together ok....looks like i need to get a sparky to replace that green box then?

    Cheers
    Last edited by Shibster; 01-06-08 at 09:40 AM. Reason: Spelling

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    Senior Member omega99's Avatar
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    it the right one for incandescent lights, must be faulty!! The mech has some writing on it, worries me usually standard mech's don't have that writing on them.
    what does the writing say??

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    Senior Member BCNZ's Avatar
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    Default

    Trailing edge dimmers are more designed for driving electronic transformers for low voltage lighting. Still, in theory they should still provide dimming for incandescents.
    It does sound like the module has gone S/C. Half brightness and flickering is a good indicator that the controlling semiconductor is shorted.

    I'd just replace the whole unit with a standard leading edge dimmer - about $30 from your local electrical supplier.
    It will come with wiring instructions as well.

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