I have a wall fixture in my Brooklyn apartment's bathroom that is my only source of light. A sticker on the fixture says that it is Max 75W. The other day, the 14W / 60W equivalent CFL that was in it since I moved in burned out and I had to replace it. Since it is my only source of light in the room and it is 2015, I bought a 13W / 75W equivalent LED bulb to go in it, the highest I could find at the local hardware store. No problem, right? A 13W bulb is way lower than 75W.**
The strangest thing is, when I screwed in the new bulb, the light refused to work. When I screwed in a larger CFL, say a 20W / 75W equivalent, it also refused to work. Only when I screwed in another 14W / 60W equivalent CFL did it finally work. All brand new bulbs that work in other sockets around the apartment.
Does anyone know what might be behind this? Should I get an electrician in to check this out, or are some light fixtures just not compatible with LEDs?
** Ref: Can I put a 75 watt equivalent led bulb in a fixture that says 60 watts max?
Best Answer
I found the answer! @diceless set me on the right track in looking at where the foot of the bulb is connecting to the fixture.
Since it was an older fixture (installed in the 80's, I think), the hot contact (Number 1 in this diagram ) was bent down, and it was connecting with the smaller bulb but not the bigger LED bulb.
With the circuit turned off at the breaker I reached in with a wooden tongue depressor and bent it upwards slightly. Then, I made sure to screw the LED bulb in tightly. Flicking the switch it was bright as day!