Lighting--a buzz and a click?

19 years ago

I have a house from the 1960s that has light switches set up so you "bump" them on or off without changing their resting position. This causes a loud click near the light fixture if you are turning it from off to on or on to off, but if it is already off and you hit off or it is already on and you hit on, it buzzes.

For some reason, I have the word "solenoid" in my head for this, but I haven't the slightest idea how this setup works. Could someone enlighten me?

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Comments (5)

beacher003
19 years ago
You are correct. You have lighting controls that were popular back then but rarely used residentially now.
You have switches and relays. The click you hear is the contacts closing and the hum is the magnetic relay being held closed.
Depending on the brand, such as Touch Plate etc, you may or may not find replacement parts.
reyesuela
Original Author
19 years ago
Hmmm. If it breaks, how hard will it be to replace with a normal switch?
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beacher003
19 years ago
It depends on the system you have but in all honesty it's usually not very easy.
You really need to have an electrician take a look at it to see how it's wired or see if you can locate replacement parts. If you can, it's a good idea to have some extra for down the road.
I don't think anyone uses that style of control on residental any longer.
dim4fun
19 years ago
If you are hearing the clicking and buzzing coming from the light fixtures in your home this can be bad news in terms of maintenance. This type of system is supposed to be centralized lighting control where the lighting circuits originate from one or more large panels of relays. Some installers chose to put the relays at the light fixture junction boxes to cut down on expensive runs of 120V wiring. A relay fits through a knock out hole with the low voltage solenoid and connection protruding into the wall or ceiling space and the high voltage end is inside the box. To replace a relay you have to remove the fixture and fight with the wires and clamps in the box to get the relay out. This is sometimes not possible to do and the plaster must be removed to get the plaster ring off. The relays seem to be fairly reliable. The switch contacts wear out, switches get stuck and the main transverter needs replacing more than relays.

It is easier to replace a centralized system with a modern lighting control system leaving the plaster intact. If remodeling one room at a time and removing plaster then it is easier to get rid of a distributed system putting in traditional switches instead.

TouchPlate and GE still have "some" parts available but there are other more obscure systems that have completely disappeared.

Here is a link that might be useful: How it works.
cobraguy
19 years ago
If this stuff starts to die switching to X10 is a viable option.