Downlight transformer replacement

[SBYM]

Morning all!!

Total newbie to the forum, was hoping for some advice on replacing what seems to be a non-functioning downlight transformer...pic below...

Circuit is fine, all the other lights work, have checked with different globes. Anyways, I cannot find anything that looks like this and wanted to know if I can replace it with something more modern.

20240211_113645.jpg (142.08 KiB) Viewed 497 times

Any advice welcome! Anticipating someone will tell me to replace them all...seems our vendors did EVERYTHING on the cheap!

[Someone-Else]

Looks like a connector, too small to be a transformer.

More pictures would help, and what do you mean by "globe" Picture of that would be nice too.

I suspect the transformer (if there is one) is still in the ceiling space.

[ericmark]

You show a block connector poorly installed and the cable grip is not gripping the outer of the cable, with only two cores connected, and it would seem reversed or something as one would expect to see cable grip on the supply twin and earth not the flex. It should be extra low voltage as for low voltage since 1966 we are required to run and earth except for a pendent and clearly down lights are not a pendent so will require an earth running to it even if the lamp is class II. And there must be a parking place for the earth with British installations as regulations say "A circuit protective conductor shall be run to and terminated at each point in wiring" so there needs to be a terminal for it.

The typical replacement for the MR16 lamp (Since MR stands of multifaceted reflector and LED's normally don't have a reflector they are not MR16) can be a range of voltages from 12 (extra low voltage) to 230 (low voltage) with a host of connectors G5.3, GU10, E14 etc. And 16/8 inch is 2 inches, but many of the replacements are larger or smaller, some being surface mounted, and I have used 2 foot square down lighters, the word down lighter means it does not reflect from the ceiling, it does not refer to a type of lamp, but the MR16 was the most popular.

I love my meters

Clamp-meter-small.jpg (55.86 KiB) Viewed 485 times

they cover most of my requirements, from non contact volts and amps, DC and AC with wired volts, ohms, and frequency, and it is easy to forget not everyone has test gear, when I started playing with electrics as a lad I would actually bell things out, I had a battery powered door bell used for testing continuity, but this was with a 12 volt train set, not low voltage used in main house electrics.

But to guide you, really need to know what you have to test with, and what sort of lamp it is. The old quartz lamp with G5.3 pins was pushing a lot of power through some very small contacts and the connector blocks would fail quite often.

Today the main problem seems to be manufacturers labelling LED lights with the wattage equivalent in large writing, and actually wattage in small writing so people don't realise that the wattage is far lower, and the electronic transformers call the power VA where the bulb calls it watts, and people are not aware they are nearly the same, so transformer may say 20 - 100 VA but the house holder does not realise that means the bulb must draw 20 watts, an a 5 watt bulb will not work.

The toroidal transformer (normally round) does not have a lower limit, the new electronic transformers also don't have a lower limit but output often in kHz range, but older electronic transformers do have a lower limit, again output in kHz range, and some LED bulbs are DC only, some can become transmitters with kHz supplies, so manufactures often print 50 Hz on the bulb etc.

Yes confusing but that's the way it is.

[SBYM]

Looks like a connector, too small to be a transformer.

More pictures would help, and what do you mean by "globe" Picture of that would be nice too.

I suspect the transformer (if there is one) is still in the ceiling space.

Ah...thank you! Will do some more investigating. Much appreciated!

[SBYM]

You show a block connector poorly installed and the cable grip is not gripping the outer of the cable, with only two cores connected, and it would seem reversed or something as one would expect to see cable grip on the supply twin and earth not the flex. It should be extra low voltage as for low voltage since 1966 we are required to run and earth except for a pendent and clearly down lights are not a pendent so will require an earth running to it even if the lamp is class II. And there must be a parking place for the earth with British installations as regulations say "A circuit protective conductor shall be run to and terminated at each point in wiring" so there needs to be a terminal for it.

The typical replacement for the MR16 lamp (Since MR stands of multifaceted reflector and LED's normally don't have a reflector they are not MR16) can be a range of voltages from 12 (extra low voltage) to 230 (low voltage) with a host of connectors G5.3, GU10, E14 etc. And 16/8 inch is 2 inches, but many of the replacements are larger or smaller, some being surface mounted, and I have used 2 foot square down lighters, the word down lighter means it does not reflect from the ceiling, it does not refer to a type of lamp, but the MR16 was the most popular.

I love my meters <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">Clamp-meter-small.jpg</span> they cover most of my requirements, from non contact volts and amps, DC and AC with wired volts, ohms, and frequency, and it is easy to forget not everyone has test gear, when I started playing with electrics as a lad I would actually bell things out, I had a battery powered door bell used for testing continuity, but this was with a 12 volt train set, not low voltage used in main house electrics.

But to guide you, really need to know what you have to test with, and what sort of lamp it is. The old quartz lamp with G5.3 pins was pushing a lot of power through some very small contacts and the connector blocks would fail quite often.

Today the main problem seems to be manufacturers labelling LED lights with the wattage equivalent in large writing, and actually wattage in small writing so people don't realise that the wattage is far lower, and the electronic transformers call the power VA where the bulb calls it watts, and people are not aware they are nearly the same, so transformer may say 20 - 100 VA but the house holder does not realise that means the bulb must draw 20 watts, an a 5 watt bulb will not work.

The toroidal transformer (normally round) does not have a lower limit, the new electronic transformers also don't have a lower limit but output often in kHz range, but older electronic transformers do have a lower limit, again output in kHz range, and some LED bulbs are DC only, some can become transmitters with kHz supplies, so manufactures often print 50 Hz on the bulb etc.

Yes confusing but that's the way it is.

Can't thank you enough for all of this. There's a lot there...and yes, confusing...but I will digest and hopefully sort it out!

Thank you!

[ericmark]

Even as an electrician I get caught out, but in the main gone for GU10 lamps as you can buy smart versions, and there are no transformers to worry about matching up.

Given up with dimmer switches, again too hard to ensure dimmer matches the bulb, if I want to dim, use a smart bulb.

And for electronic switches, gone to TP-Link (Tapo) as powered with batteries no current is taken from mains, so no problems with shimmer or not switching off.