and in my room, I have to change the light bulb once every four or five days. They all go "out of order" in five days roughly. I thought the lightbulbs were defective, but I see them keeping on going "out of order" in only several days!!

Thanks a lot for your help!!

That all stops when you start paying for your own electricity.

Wow, it has taken just under 3.5 years to make your first post and this was the best you could manage?

Do you have a meter?

Remove the bulb and meter the voltage and amperage in the socket to see whether that are within spec for your power system with the switch off and on. I agree that something is fishy here.

Edit: Also, if you know how, pull the fixture and inspect the wiring. If you don't know how, search Youtube for "fix light fixture"; you'll find a bunch of videos.

Also, don't sweat the small stuff. I was a member for years before I worked up the nerve to try answering questions, as opposed to asking the odd question and searching the site.

A question
Are they "compact florescent bulbs "
the type you replace incandescent bulbs with and last over 10,000 hours and are rather expensive

if so they are VERY VERY susceptible to over heating in Closed lighting fixtures

If they get too hot then the circuitry fry's


if they are just the cheep "incandescent bulbs"

then there is an over voltage problem
install a dimmer switch

Other ideas, is there a lot of vibration? something like your bedroom is above the garage and you can feel the garage door open/shut. If the voltages check out like John_W recommended, then maybe try something like the new LED lights, I believe some are dimable and they are not a vulnerable to vibration.

It sounds like a faulty socket. Get an electrician to take a look: I do not recommend do-it-yourself electrical installation!

All one needs to know about electricity...never, ever touch the copper wire.

Since you ask, you should NOT attempt any diagnosis or repairs that may involve any voltage other than change the lamp.

Could be wrong lamps for the ballast.

Any number of electrical issues from bad ballast, wrong ballast, bad connections, radar like fire control or ground approach nearby, a non-linear device or many on that line causing harmonics. Even wrong frequency.

lol. http://openbookproject.net/electricCircuits/ Ghosts?

this

when dealing with mains power supply always remember one thing
electrician is cheaper than casket

The power company might be able to come in and test that circuit. With suitable care, your parents could also test the voltage and amperage coming out of that socket. However, repeated blown-bulbs is a strong clue that the power coming to that socket might be double-voltage (220v on an American 110v circuit), which would be a pretty serious wiring problem and potentially dangerous.

Without further ado, discuss your observations ... not on a Linux forum ... but with your parents, who live in the same house with you and would die along with you in the same electrical fire.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but it's a light socket we are dealing with, it's not that complex. Simple multimeter something like http://www.harborfreight.com/ac-dc-d...ter-37772.html set it to read AC, touch one probe to the center of the socket and one probe to the outside (do not touch both with the same probe!!) read the number. If you unscrew the light fixture from the box then you can just touch the wires where the insulation has been stripped. If you happen to hit both wires with the probe it will short and probably trip your breaker. If you find that the fixture needs to be replaced find the breaker that controls your room (turn on the light when you find the breaker the light turns off). Simple unscrew the wires form the old, replace with the new one, with the breaker off.

Standard disclaimers apply, do not cross the wires, do not stand in a bucket of water while preforming the tasks, consult with your parents if you're underage/unsure of steps, make sure power is off on circuit before removing wires, etc, etc.

kill the breaker (fuse\switch panel box) make sure the house is powerless and bust out the flashlights and manuals, ☠ reread and triple-check ☠, work before restoring power then maybe hit [Solved]