The lamp blinks when the switch is off: causes and solutions

Energy-saving lighting devices actively displace old uneconomical incandescent lamps, because the positive effect of new technologies is obvious to all users.

Nevertheless, they have their own peculiarities as a result of which a person may be puzzled by some strange phenomenon. For example, sometimes it happens that a lamp blinks when the switch is off. But it is relatively easy to deal with this if you discover the true cause of the breakdown.

Why are the lights blinking?

Modern technologies for lighting allow saving and are designed for long-term operation. At the same time, high-tech products have a more complex structure.

This is the case with energy saving lamps. As a result, this feature sometimes leads to their abnormal operation. And everything is complicated by the fact that the user who first encounters any malfunctions does not know what to do. But in many cases, problems are resolved quickly and simply.

At least in the case of flicker, this is the case. And to understand why an energy-saving light bulb or a group of them periodically blinks when the switch is off, it’s quite superficial to get acquainted with the individual design features of modern light sources.

So, you need to know that any device of this type can only work on direct current. And he is supplied with an alternating supply voltage, which must be converted. The diode bridge is responsible for such a procedure, but after performing the necessary operation, the current of the desired voltage is obtained, but with high ripple.

The design of modern lamps is quite complicated, which, along with significant savings, can present various unpleasant surprises in the form of emergency operation

To smooth out existing vibrations in energy-saving devices, a filter capacitor is used. With the passage of which the current reaches the desired condition and is supplied to the lamp startup circuit.Then the used lamp lights up. This happens when the whole chain is working properly.

But blinking when the switch is off indicates that some kind of failure has occurred. And the reason for this is the accumulation of electricity by a filtering capacitive capacitor designed to smooth out pulses.

The fact is that all the accumulated electricity when a certain level is reached is fed to the start-up circuit of the lighting device. Next, a normal contact closure occurs and the supply voltage forces the bulb to perform lighting.

But since the energy charge in the filtering capacitor is small, it is instantly consumed and the glow stops. As a result of this process, a blink occurs.

And then a new cycle of energy storage begins, feeding it to the start-up circuit, and so it can go on indefinitely, or rather, until the energy-saving lamp breaks or the problem is fixed.

Often, the source of problems with the blinking of the lamps are switches equipped with a backlight, or rather, neon or LED lighting devices mounted in them

Moreover, the described reason is the only possible one. That is, it can be clearly stated that blinking occurs only due to the accumulation of small volumes of electric current by the filtering capacitor. Now you need to figure out where it comes from when the switch is off.

Reasons for the accumulation of current on the capacitor

Despite the accumulation of electricity in the filtering capacitor, in most cases it remains operational. And the mere presence of current simply indicates a problem.

Its source may be 3 reasons:

1. Backlight located on the switch.
2. The presence of leakage currents.
3. The developed resource of the lamp itself, its individual elements. For example, the starter of a fluorescent energy-saving lamp.

To solve the problem quickly and at low cost, you should familiarize yourself with the causes of flicker / blink closer.

Reason # 1 - switch backlight

The industry is trying to increase the competitiveness of its products making it more functional and convenient.

For this purpose, many switches are equipped with backlight lamps that help people easily find their location in the dark. But the way they are connected to the circuit often allows current to get to the filtering capacitor, which will lead to blinking.

The photo shows capacitive filtering capacitors. They are able to accumulate a certain amount of current and supply it to the lamp trigger circuit.

This happens because the backlight is installed parallel to the switch itself. This is done so that this element can always fulfill its duties.

But when the switch contacts are open, all the available electric current is supplied to the backlight. And then a small amount of it falls on the energy-saving lamp, which leads to abnormal operation of the filter capacitor. This phenomenon is so frequent that it has become the main cause of blinking.

The use of any power or additional resistance in the circuit of an incandescent lamp are simple ways to solve the problem. The photo shows the last option

Fighting this cause is easy, and there are several simple ways among which a person can choose the right one.

Method # 1. Replacing a switch with a product without a backlight. This is not unprofitable and the problem will be fixed quickly.

Method # 2. Disconnect the wires of the backlight lamp - that is, you just need to break the power circuit by snacking on the necessary wires. Any specialist or the user himself will be able to do this in a few minutes, if he has the appropriate skills. Such a solution is considered the most inexpensive, but the backlight will have to be sacrificed.

Method # 3. Add an incandescent lamp - in this case, all the current from the backlight will be spent on heating its filament. And since the supply of electricity is small, it will not lead to any results, but the filter capacitor will not blink.

The advantage of this option is that the backlight can be saved, and the cost of elimination will be minimal. But the aesthetic properties of this method are doubtful, since incandescent lamp in any chandelier, masking is problematic.

Method # 4. Add low-power resistance to the circuit - this is a solution to solve the problem similar to the previous one. That is, an additional element will consume the entire supply of current; therefore, it will not accumulate in the filtering capacitor.

The recommended power of resistance is 2 W, while the rating should be within 50 kOhm. This option is the least popular.

Method # 4. Connect the backlight to the wiring separately from the circuit breaker. Thus, it is possible to save the LED. But it will work continuously, that is, even in the on position of the switch, although the costs will be negligible.

If you use a switch without backlight, it will be less convenient, but a person will significantly reduce the likelihood of blinking, flickering

Despite the simplicity, the appropriateness of this option is doubtful, even for safety reasons, a person is better to do with any of the previous methods.

Since the described case is the most common cause of electricity falling on the filter capacitor, and, consequently, blinking energy saving lamps, then you need to start the search for the problem with it.

And it may also be useful to know that in modern switches two types of backlight are used: neon and LED. And most often the first type of lighting devices leads to abnormal work.

Reason # 2 - leakage currents

Often wiring or other circuit elements are in poor condition. Which can lead to the formation of so-called leakage currents.

That is, despite the switched off position of the switch, electricity can again be supplied to the filter capacitor. As a result, the energy-saving lamp used is blinking / blinking.

Damage to the wiring is far from the most frequent, but one of the most unpleasant causes of the blinking state of electric saving lamps

Such cases are less common than abnormal work. backlight, but this option can be much more dangerous. Since leak points can only be caused by serious reasons.

These include the following:

1. Insulation damage.
2. Incorrect wiring.
3. Poor connection.

Any damage to the insulation can occur in the case of using low-quality wires, other elements of the circuit. And also the development of a resource can lead to the indicated consequences. That is, isolation is often destroyed due to its "venerable" age.

Incorrect wiring also often leads to the fact that when the circuit breaker breaker, the current will still flow to the lamp. This happens when the rules for performing work are grossly violated.

As a result, the circuit breaker breaks the so-called zero, but not necessary phase in this case. Such an oversight can be detected by yourself using a voltage indicator, which can be successfully replaced with electrical clamps.

Sometimes blinking can be eliminated only by replacing the wiring, which is unprofitable, but this is a necessary procedure - otherwise, there is a possibility of more severe financial losses, and there is also a threat to people's health

Poor wiring also often leads to leakage currents. This can happen due to a number of reasons.These include poor connection of wire strands or their incorrect connection to other elements of the circuit. For example, poor contact between the wires and the switch connector.

The owner of the room needs to understand that the poor state of the wiring poses a danger to the health and life of every person who is in it. This is especially true in situations where the old and ineffective Soviet TN-C system is used as grounding. Therefore, immediately after identifying any shortcomings, they must immediately be eliminated.

Reason # 3 - Lamp Life

All kinds of modern lighting devices have a huge resource, but it will someday be worked out. Therefore, this reason for the blinking of the lamp also needs to be borne in mind, since this is not uncommon.

And the probability of such a problem becomes especially high when the energy-saving lamp has worked for several years. Moreover, a person should not be surprised that the manufacturer promised a service life of 10 years or more, and the malfunction appeared earlier.

It should be remembered that you should not save too much on the quality of components and the wiring itself. Since often this results in additional and significant financial losses

There are many objective reasons for the early development of a resource. For example, such can be voltage drops, low or high temperatures and other non-optimal conditions. By the way, blinking itself also leads to premature failure of any lighting device.

The most common cause of flickering of end-of-life fluorescent energy-saving lamps is starter. In this case, it will turn out of the situation by simply replacing the indicated element, all the more it is inexpensive.

And also it is worth remembering that the buyer may come across a poor-quality lighting device. To avoid this, it is necessary to purchase products from world famous manufacturers.

For example, these are Philips, OSRAM and a number of others. Their products are more expensive than domestic or other manufacturers, including Chinese, but marriage is extremely rare, and the performance characteristics are as stated.

Independent search for the cause of the malfunction

If the energy-saving lamp used in the lamp or other product starts blinking, then you need to start fixing the problem right away. Since each lighting device has a resource limit by the number of inclusions.

That is, each such cycle reduces the operating time, and if they are repeated often, then in just a few days the service life will be reduced by many months, or even years. In addition, as indicated above, with faulty wiring, there may be a threat to the health of the owner of the house, his family, relatives, which should not be allowed.

Troubleshooting should be performed only by a trained master, and with a special tool, in compliance with all safety measures provided for in the guidelines

The procedure for troubleshooting should begin with the simplest methods that do not require costs. And if they fail, then move on to more complex ones.

So, first of all, it is necessary to check the operability of the bulb itself. Why it can be rearranged to another place, tested with neighbors, friends. If blinking continues, you just need to replace the light fixture.

When, after installing the lamp in a new place, the malfunction does not occur, then replace switch. In order not to spend money, it can be taken for testing from another place and, preferably, it was without a backlight. When the cause is identified, you just need to buy and put a new switch.

If this also does not work, then the owner of the premises should look for a problem in the wiring.But when performing any electrical work, it is important to remember that all of them are potentially dangerous. Therefore, it is necessary to observe measures to prevent and prevent risky situations, have sufficient skills and have the appropriate tool.

To find out the reason for the LEDs to glow after disconnecting from the power, information will help next article, in which all the options for the occurrence of such situations, as well as methods for their elimination and prevention, are analyzed.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

In the first video, you can see how the lamp blinks and get additional information about what to do:

The following video talks about one way to troubleshoot, namely, replacing a filter capacitive capacitor:

Video story about the connection errors of the switch, which can lead to blinking of lamps:

It’s relatively easy to understand the reasons for the blinking light when the power supply is open. For this, a person needs to have a moderate supply of special knowledge and skills. But it is necessary to search for the problem promptly, as well as the elimination of identified shortcomings.

Since almost any malfunction can be potentially dangerous for people. In addition, untimely elimination leads to additional financial losses.

Please write comments in the block form below, ask questions, post a photo on the topic of the article. Tell us how you determined the cause of the blinking light. Describe how to fix the problem.