Light fixture is flickering

[FinderOfSpiders]

The light fixture in one of my rooms has randomly started flickering after about 20 years of use. I tried 8 different bulbs and the flickering doesn't go away so I think it has something to do with the wiring of the light. I took it down and saw this:


I think the loose wire at the top was meant to go in the larger wire nut at the bottom and just came undone when I took the light down. (we compared it to a similar fixture elsewhere in the house). Took the nut off, added that wire back in and twisted the nut back on. We also wrapped the broken insulation in electrical tape and then screwed the whole thing back in place.

The light still flickers and is even dimmer than it was before I "fixed" it. Does anyone know what commonly causes this problem? Did I probably just do a bad job? should I just call someone to fix it for me since I'm not very comfortable working with home wiring?

All help is much appreciated

 

[littlespark]

What’s all the glass wool doing there?

 

[FinderOfSpiders]

What’s all the glass wool doing there?

Great question. Aside from holding dozens of spider corpses I don't know. Maybe it's heat insulation because the plate that sits against the ceiling is metal? But this is my first time taking a fixture down so I figured it was supposed to be there.

 

[littlespark]

I’m just thinking, if there’s a low voltage transformer or LED driver in there, or other type of control gear, it will have overheated.

the cracked insulation suggests heat, or just old age.

What sort of bulbs does it take?

 

[FinderOfSpiders]

I’m just thinking, if there’s a low voltage transformer or LED driver in there, or other type of control gear, it will have overheated.

the cracked insulation suggests heat, or just old age.

What sort of bulbs does it take?

It takes two E26 I think is what it's called after some quick googling. It's just the most standard size. About 5 years ago switched to super bright LED bulbs from incandescent but they still draw less power than the standard incandescent ones did so I figured that wouldn't cause a problem. Oh yeah and this fixture would kill standard incandescent bulbs at a rate of about 1 every 6 months unless I left only one bulb in. Then it would last forever.

 

[littlespark]

E27?…. The big screw in type?

they don’t need any electronics to work, just mains voltage at the lampholder.

my advice is to clean off all that itchy stuff. Shouldn’t be there.

just noticed your location, so some advice may be more UK based, but electricity is electricity

The fitting itself may need rewired to get rid of the cracked insulation

 

[FinderOfSpiders]

E27?…. The big screw in type?

they don’t need any electronics to work, just mains voltage at the lampholder.

my advice is to clean off all that itchy stuff. Shouldn’t be there.

just noticed your location, so some advice may be more UK based, but electricity is electricity

The fitting itself may need rewired to get rid of the cracked insulation

These are the bulbs that I put in the fixture and they say E26. google says they're interchangeable with E27 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YEMKIY8/

Also before i took the fixture down to try to fix it myself, there would be a loud pop from the fixture sometimes when i turned the light on. It's most likely the fixture right? If it's probably the fixture i think i'll just replace it with something bigger that can hold 4 bulbs which is something i've been meaning to do anyways

 

[James]

that is an old fitting.
over time it can be the case that the spring pushing the center pin towards the lamp gets weak with time.
added to that, the fact the cables are in a poor condition due to age and possibly heat, i would just replace the fitting with a modern one and be worry free.

 

[FinderOfSpiders]

that is an old fitting.
over time it can be the case that the spring pushing the center pin towards the lamp gets weak with time.
added to that, the fact the cables are in a poor condition due to age and possibly heat, i would just replace the fitting with a modern one and be worry free.

which part is the fitting?

 

[James]

The entire assembly, basically a new light fitting.
base, bracket, lamp holders and all internal wiring.

If you go and buy a new light from a diy shop, it will include everything you need.

 

[FinderOfSpiders]

The entire assembly, basically a new light fitting.
base, bracket, lamp holders and all internal wiring.

If you go and buy a new light from a diy shop, it will include everything you need.

cool beans because i was planning on replacing the whole thing.
I was looking at this light fixture:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E0YGKG

I like that it has four E26 sockets and the one it would be replacing is dome shaped as well. The current one is 9 inches wide while this one is 20 inches. Should I expect to have to cut a larger hole in the ceiling?
Since it has more sockets will it be compatible with the wiring already in place for the 2 socket light?

 

[James]

That looks fine, it’s surface mount so hole has not got to be made any bigger

 

[FinderOfSpiders]

Alright I got my light in. In one of the pictures it says max 60W type A. I'm assuming that means don't draw more than 60W per socket and since i plan on putting 4x 15.5W LED bulbs in, that should be fine right?

The wires on the fixture are black and white with what I'm assuming is a bare ground wire. The three wires coming from my ceiling are all white. Does positive/negative matter or can i hook it up either way?

With the old light, the ground wire coming from the ceiling isn't connected to anything but this light has a ground wire so should I connect it?