Burn odor from my black spotlight

[dor123]

My black spotlight emits an odor of burn when used with my Indonesian Philips golf-ball E14 60W incandescent lamp when pointing up.
The lamp have whiter color than my Sylvania Lynx-S 9W/827 CFL, probably 2900K.
What is this odor?

[Danny]

Unfortunately without smell-o-vision which we are yet to find a way to add to LR. I cannot help you. Sorry

[dor123]

Why that odor of something burned is presents when I turning on my black spotlight with the Philips golf ball E14 60W incandescent lamp?

[GreatNorburyStDepot]

Any sort of ‘hot’ smell or burning might indicate that the lamp glass has some sort of deposit on it (such as dust or grease). It might also be the surface finish on the spotlight itself which is causing the odour.

Some smells (particularly a ‘fishy’ odour) is usually caused by a type of plastic lampholder which has been badly scorched by heat. I’d also check the wiring to make sure it is ok.

I would be inclined to remove the bulb and try an identical one in the fitting, just to rule out any other causes. If the smell doesn’t appear with a different lamp, then you’ve found your culprit.

If the smell re-appears, then you know it’s something to do with the fitting itself. The fact that the spotlight has a black finish, means that it will both absorb and radiate the lamp’s heat more readily than if it was a different colour (ie white).

As an aside, I would tend to use a R type reflector lamp in a spotlight, rather than a golfball type. The heat and light is less controlled than with a reflector lamp.

[Kev]

It’s probably the smell of China electronics

[dor123]

Here is my black spotlight: http://80.229.24.59:9232/gallery/displa ... ?pid=21277
Closeup: http://80.229.24.59:9232/gallery/displa ... ?pid=21368
And @Kev: What is the connection between your words and the subject?

[Slyspark]

I'd suggest from the picture, that the burning smell is either the plastic lamp holder getting too hot, or even the black paint finish on the body of the fitting. This would be solved by lowering the wattage of the lamp, or using a proper spot lamp, which will throw the heat forward, away from the lamp holder. Worst case, an LED lamp will also run cooler.

I think Kev's comment was in reference to the usual poor quality Chinese lighting we see more and more of in the UK, where it's not at all unusual for fittings to fail in a cloud of smoke.