weird electrical issue? any ideas lol

ok one of our light fittings in the bedroom (ceiling) takes 5 Gu4 bulbs the halogen ones rarely last so I bought LED bulbs... ive tested all 5 in it and they all work in all sockets however they only one if one of the older Halogen ones are also in place if I put 5 led's in they don't work even if I only put 1 of the led's they don't work unless one of the older halogen ones are in place (its not specific to any of the 5 light points the only thing that's consistant is the led's only switch on if one halogen one is in place..

now ive noticed the led's say they are DC im assuming that may have something to do with it? anyone able to shed any light on it pardon the pun

First I am not a electrician, firstly do you have a dimmer switch inline if you do then you are not pulling enough current when changing from 35 watt halogen to a 4 or 5 watt LED bulb so this may be why you need to put a Halogen in to work.
If that is not the case then it as to be with the transformer again current pull.

The reason I mention Dimmer switch is when I changed and wanted to put a dimmer in specification it states not to use with LEDs.

Hope this helps.

You're below the strike-up current for the transformer M8, change it for a GU4 led-specific driver (about £5) and it will be fine.

cheers mate stumbled across this reading it online today... really appreciate the 2 replies...cheers

But do you run the LED transformer in line or remove the old one? I bought one for a ceiling fitting thinking I would just replace the one inside but no it was round and no room so ended up with 1 halogen in to power the other 3.

zad said:

But do you run the LED transformer in line or remove the old one? I bought one for a ceiling fitting thinking I would just replace the one inside but no it was round and no room so ended up with 1 halogen in to power the other 3.

Click to expand...

You replace the old one. Most 'transformers' for 12 volt halogens require a minimum current to operate correctly. They are designed for a minimum of 35W thereabouts. Typical led lamps are 5W, too low to trigger the 'transformer' that in most cases is NOT a transformer, it's a switch-mode psu.

So, ditch the old rather than just add the new!