Dépannage
Soft-fail diagnostic: lamp dimmer than expected
Fixture is on but the output looks weak — not failed, just visibly less bright than its peers on the same run.
A soft fail is rarely the lamp. The cause is almost always voltage drop, dirty optics, or a degrading lamp driver — diagnosable in five minutes without breaking the run.
Outils requis
- Multimeter
- Soft cloth
- Lens cleaner (no solvent)
Étapes
- 1
Clean the lens
Mineral deposits and organic film on the convex glass cost 15-30 % of output before they're visible to the eye. Wipe the lens with a soft cloth and water-only cleaner. If the output recovers, you're done.
- 2
Compare to a peer fixture on the same run
Pull the lamp from the soft-failing fixture and swap with a fixture that's visibly bright. If the dim follows the fixture, the housing is the issue (likely O-ring failure letting in atmospheric moisture). If the dim follows the lamp, replace the lamp.
- 3
Verify voltage at the fixture
Voltage at the socket should match other fixtures on the same run. A 1+ V drop relative to peers means the wire run, the connector, or the lead-wire entry is failing.
- 4
Check beam-angle aim
Sometimes the fixture isn't actually dimmer — it's aimed off-axis from the previous night-walk position. Re-aim and re-evaluate before swapping anything.