Houe wiring help

[Transcanada]

I encountered a strange problem recently. I live in Canada (120V). My apartment is around 60 years old. Recently in my kitchen light didn't work. The bulb was an "energy saver bulb". Replaced with another used "energy saver bulb" it wasn't work properly. I took the both bulbs to another holder in another room both lights work perfectly. Measured the voltage in kitchen light holder & it was good, 122V. I tried with a tungsten bulb & it was working good. Again tried with the above mentioned "energy saver bulbs" It had same problem. No light& when I screw them on holder sometime blinks.

The wires are too old. It has 2 joints. I changed the holder it had the same results. I put the old/bad bulb on a table lamp & connected to the holder via a "holder to plug" connector. The both bad lights didn't work. Unplugged the lamp from there & brought another plug It was working fine. Brought it back to kitchen, again didn't work. On the same setup(holder connector, table lamp) replaced the bulb with a tungsten bulb.... working good . Replaced with a new energy save bulb ...working good. Now the old energy saver bulb is the washroom & working fine.

The bulb holder & Bulb's connector are not rusted. Looks very good. There is no Dimmer or any other things

Now I put a new "energy save bulb" in my kitchen & it works good. Anybody have any idea.....?

[headengineer]

Compact fluorescents can be finicky! In other words, they don't like to be handled often!

[JP]

I’ve also seen flakey things from those energy saver lamps, I really prefer a normal light bulb. The best bonus is that if you break it, it won’t kill you or your family. Below are the instructions from our Environmental  Protection Agency on how to safely clean one up if you beak it.
How should I clean up a broken fluorescent bulb?

Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:
1. Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room
• Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

2. Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
• Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass pieces and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

3. Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug:
• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

4. Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding, etc.:
• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

5. Disposal of Clean-up Materials
• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

6. Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

And after all that they want you to believe that using these lamps will save the environment, that has to be one of the biggest jokes in the world! Regular light bulbs are made right here in North America, most energy savers are made in China, so instead of using the energy in your home it is spent transporting them around the world there is no savings. The only accomplishment is making someone with the right connections very rich, while we are given an inferior product that can kill us.

[Transcanada]

Compact fluorescents can be finicky! In other words, they don't like to be handled often!

I don't think its the answer for my question...

[JP]

Basically this is a very simple, if you have the correct voltage and a good socket making the right connections with a good light bulb it will work and has for a very long time. The only outside variable that you have is the CFL lamp which is known for causing problems as you have described.

[Transcanada]

JP:  Thanks for the replys

[Transcanada]

My wondering was when the bulb was attached on the table lamp, it was not working in the kitchen connection, but working other connetion.

[JP]

You are right, if the voltage is the same at both sockets it makes no sense why the lamp would work in one and not the other. That is why the focus has been on the lamp, energy savers have much more in it than a normal light bulb and it is possible that just moving it from one socket to another could change the lamp. The only other possibility would be the socket or a connection in the fixture that is changing by the action of changing the bulb.