Fixing a Touch Lamp - part 1⚡

Touch Lamp Teardown and Repair - part 1
Part 1 is at • Fixing a Touch Lamp - ...
Part 2 is at • Fixing a Touch Lamp - ...
Part 3 is at • Fixing a Touch Lamp - ...
#lamps #electricity #electricalengineering #electronicscreators #technology #lighting #shorts
As I was finishing up these videos, I discovered that Big Clive had just posted an analysis of a touch control module, and his reverse engineering of circuits is usually right on, so I decided to just do the repair video and not analyze the circuit. For those interested in the technical details, I recommend Big Clive's video at:
• eBay mains voltage tou...
The full description and comments for the above video are quite informative, especially in regard to AM radio interference, LED bulbs sometimes damaging the touch control circuit, and general information about the circuit operation.
Here are two older Technology Connections videos on touch-control lamps:
• The touch lamp; a neat...
• A slightly explosive t...
Things to consider:
Read reviews of the module you intend to buy. For example, there was a $10 module on Amazon that I ended up buying. There was also a very similar module that seemed a better deal at two for $11, but when you read the reviews it looked like only about half of these actually worked, so you would be worse off. Quite a few replacement modules are defective as purchased or go bad fairly soon or fail immediately because of incorrect installation.
These modules are easily destroyed by static electricity. Don't work on them in dry weather and try not to shuffle your feet on the carpet before touching the lamp. You can ground yourself when working on the unplugged lamp, but for heavens sake don't ground yourself when testing a plugged-in touch lamp.
In the lamp I repaired, the LED bulb had apparently been damaged by the failing touch module and had to be replaced before the lamp would work. For testing touch lamps, new or old, use regular incandescent or halogen bulbs, not LED bulbs. Don't even think of using a CFL bulb. And be sure any LED bulb used is labeled as okay for dimming.
The modules I looked at do not use a relay, just semiconductors, so there is always a risk of full line voltage getting to the lamp body (and YOUR body), especially if an isolation capacitor fails. Obviously, people are not dropping dead in large numbers, so any leakage current is likely quite small, but I would still not locate such a lamp near small children or elderly people.
These lamps contain a sealed module with usually 4 wires - live, neutral, light, lamp base. The lamp base (or stand or shade) must be metal, though it can be painted, and must be electrically floating, not connected to earth ground.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT MAKING A WRONG CONNECTION CAN PUT FULL LINE VOLTAGE ON THE LAMP BASE AND BODY!
TRIPLE CHECK ALL CONNECTIONS AGAINST THE DIAGRAM THAT COMES WITH THE TOUCH MODULE.
DO NOT PLUG IN THE LAMP UNTIL YOU HAVE CHECKED WITH A MULTIMETER (ON THE OHMS SCALE) THAT THERE IS
NO CONNECTION BETWEEN BARE METAL PARTS OF THE LAMP BASE/CASE/BODY AND EACH OF THE CONTACTS ON THE POWER PLUG.
Carefully inspect all installed wire nuts (the plastic screw-on connectors) to be sure they are tight and no strands of wire are poking out.
In selecting a replacement touch control module, you need to consider:
size - it must fit in the available space.
number of wires.
voltage - 120 volt or 220-240 volt.
frequency - 50 Hz or 60 Hz.
dimming - is it on/off or 3-way (low-medium-high-off).
power rating - many will handle up to 150 watts but some are limited to 100 watts or less.
LED support - many specify incandescent lamps only - you want one that also works with LED bulbs. But not all LED bulbs will work. The bulb must be designed for dimming, but even so it may not dim properly.

[@Soltheowl]

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