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New to Dollhouse Lighting


phoenixjoni

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I recently bought a used Duracraft Victorian Mansion vm-800. I am just starting on re-doing the inside of it. The dollhouse was already wired with lights using the flat tape method. It did not come with the 12V  power cord and transformer.  I just purchased one for my dollhouse. I have never seen the inside of a dollhouse lighted in person before now.  I took pictures of some of my lights. In person they glow a dim reddish glow. They do not give off much actual light at all. However, they look much brighter in a photograph.  Is the dim reddish glow  normal?  I also have a few  2, 3 and 4 arm chandeliers that have a burnt out bulb or have a non working bulb.  Are they repairable?

I am going to have to remove carpets and Wallpaper anyways, so I will have access to the tape wire.

Looking for some suggestions on what I should do?

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Dim lights can mean that the transformer isn't powerful enough. What transformer are you using? You have a lot of bulbs there and need one of the larger transformers (the specs for the transformer should say how many bulbs it supports).

Some lights come with replaceable bulbs and some don't. If the bulb can be replaced you should be able to unscrew the shade (if necessary to reach the bulb) and then either unscrew the bulb (if it's a screw-in kind) or pull it out (if it uses pins). If they are replaceable bulbs, it's possible that they've just come loose and need to be screwed back in or jiggled slightly.

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fov,  I purchased the largest transformer that Cir-kit has the  CK1009D 12VDC 40W Tabletop. I think it said good for up to 160 3v bulbs. 

I did wiggle a few of the bulbs that were out and they  did come on. I still have a few that did not. Those probably need the wiring connection re-checked or replaced. 

Some of the light are bright, some are dim red, and a couple are tiny barely there dim red dots of light.

 

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Hmmm. I don't have an answer for this because I use hardwire--I don't know how it works I only know how to make it work. So I'm looking forward to hearing the answer on this question...

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I don't think round wire vs. tape wire would make a difference here. Either way, the light lights up (good connection) or it doesn't (bad/no connection). A weak connection with the tape wire shouldn't result in a dim light.

If the dim/reddish ones are all those ceiling lights, it's possible that's what they look like. I have some similar lights in one of my houses and they are dimmer than the others. It doesn't seem normal though.

I don't know if this is how it works, but maybe someone who understands electricity better than me can say -- if some lights were 12V and some were 16V, would one type be dimmer than the other? Dollhouse lights come in both 12V and 16V.

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The small dome ceiling lights are all dim red. One thing I did notice, is the longer the system is plugged in the brighter those dome lights became. They never get what I would call bright, but they were better after about 15 minutes. Some of the plug in floor and table lamps and newer looking wall sconces are much brighter.   

I agree, its probably not the connections. In some cases a bulb was simply loose, but a light is either on or off.  It must be the bulb type used in those dome lights is weaker somehow or it maybe similar to using a tiny nightlight vs a 100 W light bulb in your own livingroom. I don't really know how some lights could get less power than other ones with the same power source. 

Looks like I am going to need to replace all those older dome ceiling lights. 

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