# can light problems



## marjth (Oct 24, 2008)

I installed four can lights in my living room. the other night i was sitting out there with them on and all of a sudden one goes out...  no big deal  thought bulb burnt out. five minutes later another one goes out. now im getting kinda pissed that both bulbs burnt out so soon( only been two months from install).  about 20 min later the first one to burn out comes on. i check the bulbs, there both tight. so i shut all of them off. hour later i turn them on and the all come one. so i was wondering do the can light balists shutoff if they start to get to hot? is this normal? or do i have some wierd electrical problem. it makes me a little nervous. i checked the wiring and it looks ok.


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## Blue Jay (Oct 24, 2008)

What type of bulbs do you have in the cans? CFL, incandescent, floresent


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## inspectorD (Oct 24, 2008)

Those are called reset lights, not recessed. 
No one told you? 
You have a bigger bulb than what is suggested for the unit. They heat up and shut off.
Get a smaller watt bulb.


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## spaz2965 (Oct 24, 2008)

you have to high voltage light in them the will sut off when over heated try a 60 wat buld this will fix problem 100 watt to high


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## Square Eye (Oct 24, 2008)

There are 2 types of recessed lights, Standard and I.C. rated. I.C. rated lights have a thermostat inside them that will kick off at a predetermined temperature. The wattage of the light you use in these lights is critical but the type of bulb you use is also critical. They must be a reflector type light and the lower the wattage the less heat build-up you will have. You might even consider not using a halogen bulb as the halogens generate more heat than a standard incandescent. A compact florescent may work but the fixture has to be rated for the type of bulb you use.

Standard recessed lighting doesn't have the thermostat.  So, if you have a standard recessed light that turns itself off and comes back on on it's own, your house may very well be haunted


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## marjth (Oct 27, 2008)

thanks everyone  i have 65w bulbs in there im gonna try lower wattage bulbs


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## Square Eye (Oct 28, 2008)

I've had great luck with 50 watt PAR bulbs in a flood pattern design. If you use halogens, you can get by with much lower watts values than standard lighting.


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## scanada (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm having the same problem. There's 4 lights....2 are standard 120w floods, the other two are CFL that look like flood lights. These are the ones that shut off after 20-30 min, then turn back on after 10 min or so.


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## JoeD (Mar 26, 2011)

Your light are overheating, turning off on safety switch, cooling down and then coming back on. You either have too large a wattage bulb or the fixture are improperly installed without proper ventilation.


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## scanada (Mar 27, 2011)

Joe, I think you might have hit on my problem....I'm going to check in the attic to see if insulation is covering up the cans.


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## JoeD (Mar 28, 2011)

Certain cans are rated to be insulation contact and other are not. It could be that they used the wrong cans for an insulated ceiling.


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## emmets (Apr 18, 2011)

@Square Eye,.. thanks for explain


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