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We have a 6 light 20w low voltage halogen light fitting in our kitchen which went off with a loud 'POP' last night and tripped all of the downstairs lights.

It is a spiral-type bought in B&Q (called Spiralus) and manufactured by Poole Lighting. Over the last week or so, the lights have flickered occasionally but last night everything went off. I understand these types of fitting have a problem with overheating. The light was on for approx. 5 hours before it went off. Would you suggest changing each 20w G4 bulb or does it sound like the full fitting is 'goosed' and requires replacement?

Any ideas or suggestions welcomed. Thanks.

[quote="MW73"]We have a 6 light 20w low voltage halogen light fitting in our kitchen which went off with a loud 'POP' last night and tripped all of the downstairs lights.

It is a spiral-type bought in B&Q (called Spiralus) and manufactured by Poole Lighting. Over the last week or so, the lights have flickered occasionally but last night everything went off. I understand these types of fitting have a problem with overheating. The light was on for approx. 5 hours before it went off. Would you suggest changing each 20w G4 bulb or does it sound like the full fitting is 'goosed' and requires replacement?

Any ideas or suggestions welcomed. Thanks.[/quote]

MW73
OBVIOUSLY ASSUMING THE CONNECTIONS ARE CORRECT ,
CONNECTED SOUNDLY , AND THE LAMPS WERE NOT HANDLED
DIRECTLY COMING INTO CONTACT WITH YOUR FINGERS,
AS OIL FROM THEM CAN CAUSE HOT SPOTS ON LAMPS AND DECREASE LAMP LIFE , THEN IT IS POSSIBLE THE FITTING IS FAULTY.
AND SHOULD BE RETURNED.
I HAVE EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH THIS TYPE OF FITTING.

BLAKEY1963

Thanks Blakey1963.

The light fitting has been installed for approx. 18 months, and the work was done by a qualified electrician. We haven't had any real problems with it until now.

Take the light down and check for burnt cables and or loose connections, if you cannot find any get a spark to check the fitting, if faulty return it to shop. N.B. sounds like an installation problem i.e. cable/s compressed thus compromising insulation resulting in a short circuit or phase to earth fault.

Thanks Electricman. Checked the fitting last night and everything seems to be in order. No sign of burning, wires don't seem overcrowded or squashed, etc. The light was installed about 18 months ago although never had a problem until now. Contacted the manufacturer and explained what happened (loud 'POP' etc) and they suggested it was probably a transformer problem, as they are prone to overheating. Can't imagine the light not working just because one of the bulbs goes out. They are sending a replacement transformer unit for me to fit into the existing fitting. Fingers crossed.