We have about a dozen ceiling fans in our house. I decided to replace the incandescent bulbs with the newer energy efficient bulbs. Everything is great except for one fan.

It boggles the mind!

All three older bulbs work fine. I put in three new bulbs and only one of the three works. Okay, I think to myself, two of the bulbs are bad. So I get a new pack, put them in and still does not work.

Okay, I think to myself, I have very bad luck and I got two packages of bad bulbs. I decide to take two of the newer bulbs that I just put in on a different fan (which is working) and put them in the two receptacles that have not been giving me any luck. Mind you these work as they were on a different fan and worked perfect.

They don't work!

As I am scratching my head thinking, okay, two of the three light receptacles went bad. Must have shorted out or something when I changed the bulbs.

I then decide to put the old bulbs back in and VIOLA it works! I scratch my head again, take out the bulbs, and put in the two new bulbs and nothing!

I play more "musical light bulbs" with both the new and old light bulbs with the ten other fans that work and this one fan for some reason will only accept 1 new bulb and the other two have to be the older bulbs!

What the heck is going on? Do I have a ghost playing games? How can this be? Its impossible!

Thank you!

I think I got this correct, those new bulbs work in the other fans, just not in this one fan, right? Put your old bulbs in this one fan, unscrew one bulb at a time and use a test probe to check for power, should get 120 vac in each socket doing one bulb at a time. Now take out all three bulbs and test for power in each socket, do you confirm 120 vac in each socket?

In this ceiling fan only one of the three light sockets works with the new bulb. The other two only work with the older bulb. All the other fans in the house of the same model work with the new bulbs!

So did you check for power with a probe into the socket when a bulb would not light?

I do not have a probe, just a voltage tester.

A probe is a tester, one with a black and a red wire with contacts on the end. What kind do you have? You have to be able to reach inside the socket touching the cenetr of the base and then the side threads.

It is a cheap yellow voltage tester that has the red and black wire w/ contacts and measures 460v, 277v, 220v, and 110v.

The voltage tester read 110v in the light socket.

What a mesa, it should work if bulbs are proven good. Try tightening beyond What is normally done, fingers crossed.

It is a mystery! I think there is a gremlin in the house playing tricks on us!

I did try to over tighten the bulbs and it still does not work!

$1 million reward to anyone that can figure this out! ;-)

It makes no sense what so ever. It boggles the mind. It truly is a mind blower!

HELP!

I have had two sockets in 60 years that seemed too deep. The bulb threads bottomed out before the base tip could touch and make a circuit. Shut off the power and reach down inside the socket with a small picklike instrument and pull the brass tab slightly more up on an angle. PS let me know if I am a millionaire, online with Ebay as we speak.

Thank you ballengerb1! I will give that a try when I get home tonight. Thank you again for your patience and help! I will post this evening after giving it a try!