So I pciked up a desk lamp at a garage sale for better lighting whem I work on building or whatever. Plug it in and no light. So go buy a new 12VAV/20 watt replacement bulb and still no light. Test with the meter, putting out about 13 VAC at the lamp socket. So figure maybe the socket female pins are maybe a little worn out so 2 pieces of ‘haywire in the sockets’, test and have 13 VAC at the end of the ‘haywire’. Touch a new bulb to the of the wires and still no light. What I am missing here?
Sorry to say now you know why it was in the garage sale. 
I never buy electronic anything at a swap meet/ garage /yard sale unless I have tested it out.
Is it florescent? If so, may have a higher starting voltage. The one that I have (about 30 years old) has a button switch to turn it off and on but to start it , have to hold the switch down for a few seconds until the ends of the tube start to glow. Then you can release the button and the light will work.
what does the voltage drop to when the lamp is connected?
are you sure the original bulb was 12v?
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
what does the voltage drop to when the lamp is connected?are you sure the original bulb was 12v?
Greg
That’s probably it Greg. If seen lots of bad supplies that will deliver idle voltage but no current. Give 'em a load and the voltage falls right off.
Randy,
How much did you pay for it?
Randy McDonald said:Noel...;)
So I pciked up a desk lamp at a garage sale
So I know he picked it up at a garage sale…if for a couple of bucks he needs to toss it. The dang things can be dangerous…I know with the experience I had with a garage sale pickup. Should have know better. Just toss it .
You know guys, not everyone here is completely incompetent in trying to repair things. Perhaps he just liked the look/design of said lamp, and is willing to invest in it to get it operating again.
Garage/yard/lawn/thrift sales can be wonderful places to find the raw materials for wonderful creations/DIY repairs. As long as a person is aware of the dangers of picking up someone else’s cast-offs, there isn’t any reason they should be told it was a wrong move simly because of the venue for the purchase.
Randy, I assume since you mention it uses 12vac bulbs, that the device doesn’t use bulbs with a built in ballast like modern CFL tubes that screw into a standard light socket. Is it possible the ballast has gone bad? Can it be replaced?
Jason…it was a ‘freebie’ at a sale, so no money invested. Just has me perplexed on why it won’t work. Just a simple halogen desk lamp. Says right on the lamp…12vac/20 watt maximum. And as far as I know Halogen don’t require a ballast. Got’s me baffled.
Try another bulb.
I find the percentage of “brand new” products that are defective to be quite high.
Ralph