Replacing recessed halogens

dahamsta

I can't for the life of me get a dead bulb in one of these - see attached - useless recessed lamp holders out. I've replaced them before in another apartment, so as far as I know it's just a matter of pushing up and giving a slight twist to the left or right, but it's not happening for me. Last time the gf replaced one she cut the hand off herself off rough glass at the edge of the bulb. Is there a knack?



adam

Hagar

Sometimes lighting kits like that come with a small black sucker. You just press it on the front of the bulb until it sticks then twist. Very handy. You can then use the sucker to twist in the new one. Just break the seal by lifting the edge with a finger-nail. If you have to buy spare bulbs try to buy some which have a sucker.

AckwelFoley

It depends.

There are 2 types of these lights, mains fed and 12 Volt ones.

One toye is "press and twist" however the other type is a matter od either a "sucker" which ive never actually seen or as i do a flat head screwdriver on opposing sides and simply "lever out" the bulb, these types of bulbs are 2 simple pins pushed into 2 matching holes.

Do you know which you have?

dahamsta

Not my house so I don't know for certain, but unless the black thing is a very small stepdown transformer, I'm guessing it's mains.

(This is from the attic, the one I'm having trouble with is in a downstairs room.)



adam

10-10-20

It's mains. Black thing is a encapsulated connector block.
From looking at the image of the bulb, you don't have the inner ring to secure the bulb to the enclosure anyhow, so that points to it being mains anyhow.
I'd go with pulling the GU10 downlighter out of the ceiling and detaching the mains wires. It may be easier to free then.
If that fails, see if those screws on the back of the unit will free-up the bulb holder enough that it will pull out of the enclosure. As with any of these pieces of guidance, ensure that the mains power is isolated prior to starting work.

Oh, and a final edit... to release the bulb, rotate it anti-clockwise a quarter turn.

dahamsta

I removed the inner ring, if it's just a skinny metal clip you're talking about.

I don't see how to pull the downlighter out of the ceiling without damaging the plasterwork. How do I release the long metal retaining clip on the right-hand side of the photo above (there's another one on the other side).

I can't work from the other side, as I mentioned above the one I need to replace is in a downstairs room so I don't have access.

I've tried rotating the bulb to no avail, but I wasn't sure which direction it was so I'll try again. It's very stiff though. (As the actress said to the bishop.)

Thanks,
adam

Sparky

Put some washing gloves on and rotate the bulb anti-clockwise.

Depending on the fitting, they can be hard to turn. The washing gloves is my quick method to removing them
better grip for your fingers

dahamsta

Oooh, that's a thought. I'll give that a bash.

dahamsta

No good I'm afraid. I can turn it a quarter turn anti-clockwise, but the bulb doesn't pop out. I've tried leveraging it but nothing's happening, and I don't want to do it too hard for fear of breaking it. Although I may just have to do that in the end...

adam

CJhaughey

The fitting should pull out straight downwards,try holding the lip of the fitting and pulling down carefully.

sunnysoutheast

The fitting will pull downwards as CJH says, try to get your fingernails in under the lip of the fitting and pull gently. There will be two small square metal loops that hold the fitting in against the side of the hole - when you see these push them outwards and the big metal loops should fold up and you can pull the fitting out.

Do it slowly and you shouldn't damage the ceiling too much. Also wear goggles of some sort if you're underneath the fitting because of the dust.

Oh and turn the power off.

SSE