Buzzing Dimmer - Most Likely cause?

WIAWSNB

ChilliBob said:

Thanks back at ya!.. I didn't know all halogens are dimmable - good (but probably not overly useful now!) to know. Nothing else written on any part of either the bulb holders, or the light its self or transistor bit at the top sadly. 

So I guess I've got a few options:

1. Buy a load of LED 12v bulbs, non dimmable, and replace switch with on-off
2. New bulbs, dimmable, new dimmer
3. Scrap the whole lot and get a new light

Clearly the last option is the most expensive and wasteful, I think it swings on if I can find something my wife (and to a lesser degree, me) likes as much/more than what we have.

I suppose in some kind of irony, the dimmer might be trailing edge, suitable for LEDs, but I doubt it - from memory these are fairly new and more expensive, so a good 10-15 years ago probably far from the norm. 

Will see what sparky and wife have to say!

If you are happy to not have it dimming, then option 1 is good, and very DIYable. £2 an LED bulb max, and a new switch. No sparky charge - that's surely going to be a minimum £50 on its own?!
Fit LEDs, and never have to replace one again. And, the whole light will consume no more than a single old halogen!
The G4 will be 12V. Pretty sure of that. 

ChilliBob

That is indeed a very MSE solution, I do feel I'd miss the dimming and colour control that I have in the rest of the house. One to ponder!

ChilliBob

Just to close this off, the sparky was round as planned, and managed to exchange the dimmer for a standard rocker (in about 3 minutes). Figured I'd do this at a zero cost idea - worked grand, no buzzing.

So, I'll get some g4s -£10 on Amazon for 10, and then if we want to replace at some point we can, knowing we've only dropped £10 on this! 

Heedtheadvice

Just buy a new dimmer if you want that facility.....