Lamp broken?

[htid]

I know nothing about electricity really, so forgive me if the answer is obvious

I have one of those desk lamps that has the arms which are made of metal going from the base, up to the head, same as this one mentioned in the first post of the thread.

Anyway the other day I had one of those tinfoil sweet wrappers and it accidentally touched the metal pole and the light just died! Why is that? The filament in the bulb is still in tact, so is it fixable?

Cheers.

[MadduckUK]

fuse in the plug?

[htid]

ok i'll give that a try...see told you i know next to nothing

[chicken]

fuse in the plug?

Sounds right, if you shorted it across the poles then the power wouldn't reach the bulb but be shorted back down to the plug, blowing the fuse.

Make sure you replace the fuse with a same-rated one!

[Rack]

Your lamp has a transformer in it changing the voltage from 230V to 12V. It could be magnetic or electronic.

Magnetic ones typically have a fuse internally as they can run away or over current.

Electronics can have a fuse, some do some don't.

You can tell as magnetic transformers weigh a ton, electronic ones are light. If the base is very heavy - more than required for stability - then it's probably magnetic.

Anyway, if it's an internal fuse that's gone there is probably not a lot you can do. Maybe pull it open and take some photo's. I have about a gazillion transformers here, I may be able to replace it for you.

Of course check the plug fuse first!

[Koolpc]

Change the bulb! Might be faulty. Just because the filament is ok doesn't mean it is not kaput.

[Rave]

Rack is right. Shorting the arms will have blown something in the transformer. If it's a fuse you should be able to replace it easily, if it's a transistor or something you're out of luck I reckon.

[BenW]

That thread you link to was mine, was doing some research for my A-level DT project.

I shorted the arms on the lamp with a screwdriver, only affect it had was putting out the bulb until i took the screwdriver away. You shouldn't have blown anything by touching both poles.

The lamp should still be fine if its the same as my one in the thread you link to