I have an antique chandelier that was completely restored and re-wired about 2 years ago. I thought one of the 8 bulbs had burned out, however after replacing the bulb I realized the light bulb was fine, however that particular "candle" of the chandelier was no longer working.

Why would this happen? What can be done to resolve the problem? Does the entire chandelier have to be detached from the ceiling, dis-assembled and re-wired?

I look forward to your advice or help in this matter, as it is quite frustrating to see this beautiful chandelier with one light "off".

Frank Riela

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Originally Posted by Frank Riela

I have an antique chandelier that was completely restored and re-wired about 2 years ago. I thought one of the 8 bulbs had burned out, however after replacing the bulb I realized the light bulb was fine, however that particular "candle" of the chandelier was no longer working.

Why would this happen? What can be done to resolve the problem? Does the entire chandelier have to be detached from the ceiling, dis-assembled and re-wired?

I look forward to your advice or help in this matter, as it is quite frustrating to see this beautiful chandelier with one light "off".

Frank Riela

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Were the sockets new 2 years ago? What bulbs do they take: the smaller screw-in base? If they are old, I'm wondering if there is some corrosion in the socket or if the power terminal in the centre of the socket has been pushed out of the way or covered with something. Do not jamb anything to clean it/ bend tabs back in the socket until you turn the power off at the breaker/ fuse in case someone wired it incorrectly.

If that does not work, then I don't think there is an easy way: you'll have to take the chandelier down. Loose wires/ corroded connections or broken wires are all possible and I can keep speculating on causes... but its probably easier for you to describe what you see after you get this far. (i.e. how many wires, what colour, which wires connected to which other wires etc). Then someone will help with the next step.

Before taking it down check the contacts of the socket with a meter, if there is not power you can remove the socket and check the two wires connected to it. If there is no power in the wires, black is hot, then open the canopy and check where the wires for all arms come together. I think you will find a loose connection to the wires, could be the white too.

Thanks for your responses regarding the chandelier with the arm that does not work. The light bulb is a 40 watt candle type bulb with a small screw in base. All the sockets were new when the chandelier was rewired. I'm wondering... when the electrician hung it recently, he tugged on the power cord that goes up through the chain to the ceiling. Could this have loosed a connection? But then... it was working fine after that and suddenly stopped. Who knows??

That's how electricity works, its just fine until the circuit is broken then it doesn't work at all. The installation may have strained a connection that held together for awhile but loose connections tend to heat up and sometimes arc, causung them to fail. Check where that wire is connected, likely inside the canopy cover.