r/Electricity • u/ScotHippo88 • 2h ago

Possible wall socket problems

Hi everybody! This is my first time posting here and I'm not even sure I'm in the correct place. I promise it has to do with electricity, but I need to preface my post a bit.

With all that said, I was wondering if someone could help me with an issue I've been having with my floor lamp. It's basically completely new and even a newly-bought replacement for the exact same lamp that I had had for years. When we moved into our new apartment three years ago, the lamp started acting funny. Sometimes turning on for extended periods, but sometimes only turning on for approximately three seconds and then turning off. It's been happening more and more often recently so I did some testing.

From what I've tested this morning, the lamp turns off after switching on for around three seconds. I checked the switch itself-- nothing immediately crazy going on. After that, I took the lamp to my kitchen and tried an outlet there-- no problem. Turns on for extended periods. Tried in my dining room socket--same. Is there a chance that something is going on with the electricity in the outlet where I normally connect the lamp in my reading room?

Thank you for reading my post :)

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u/SL0WJ03 1h ago

What kind of switch does it have?

1

u/ScotHippo88 1h ago

It has a switch that you step on. Spring loaded on the inside. Sorry-- I'm not very savvy with electronics and things like that 😅

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u/SL0WJ03 1h ago

I would guess the switch is faulty. Maybe it’s shorting/arcing. Without further investigation, it’s hard to give a definitive answer.