Strange problem with low energy light bulb

Seán O'Leathlóbhair · 2007-06-25T14:03:01+00:00

I am not sure if this is an appropriate group for this question. If not, please suggest a better one. I have a light in the house which I have wanted to switch to a low energy bulb for a long time. The hold up was that I needed a very small bulb. At last, I have found a small enough bulb but something odd occurred as soon as I put it in. When it is switched on, it works as expected. When it is switched off, it blinks every few seconds. So, I guess that there must be a problem with the switch If it is passing nothing then it would seem impossible for the bulb to do anything. I did not notice any problem with the previous incandescent bulb but I guess that if the switch is leaking a tiny amount, the filament would glow too little to be seen. I have a few questions: What is going on? Is a tiny current leaking, building up a charge in a capacitor somewhere until a sufficient voltage builds up to spark in the bulb and discharge the capacitor, and then the cycle repeats. Is it safe? Will it wear out the bulb very fast? Is it likely to be enough to replace the switch? (Actually three switches can turn this bulb on and off). Might I have to replace the wiring? (Much harder than just replacing the switches) -- Seán Ó Leathlóbhair