GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

Yesterday I notices one of the bulb in the fitting in my kitchen wasn't working.

Luckily I had a spare bulb from when I had to replace a similar bulb in my bathroom & took 3 attempts to find a bulb that would go into the fitting.

I though it would be a 5 minute job, but while the blown bulb would do the usual quarter anti-clockwise turn with a little effort, it refused to then come out of the fitting.

I tried twisting it a few times but this didn't seem to make much difference.

It was getting late & decided to have another go when I had more time.

Today I tried gently prying it with a small screwdriver and the rubber coated handles of my pliers but that didn't seem to make much difference.

I also tried the other bulbs in the fitting & they came out just fine.

After thinking about taking the whole fitting down, I tried squirting a little WD40 into the fitting & leaving it for an hour.

When the hour was up I tried giving it a twist & it came out right away.

One of the connectors looked slightly tarnished, so possibly it had slightly rusted itself into the inside of the fitting during the 11 years it was in place, but I'm surprised it hadn't been freed by the amount of twisting I had given it.

After letting the WD40 in the fitting dry out I tried fitting the spare bulb & that has worked just fine.

It one of those odd little problems that needed a few things trying before finding the solution.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

Been there, done that!

it seems to me that the tolerances / production spread of the pins and holder make it difficult to withdraw the lamp even when fully unlatched.
At least those of us with an engineering "bent" will know which way to rotate it to unlock it, then it's a matter of jiggling.

I have a little suction cup that helps too.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

There are special tools you can buy to help with removal and replacement of GU10 bulbs, like this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Small-MR16-...dp/B008HSPLVU/
(Other suppliers are available)

It's a suction cup with handle. It sticks to the flat front face of the bulb, allowing you to turn the bullb in the fitting and pull it out. Often the bulbs are recessed inside the fitting, making it difficult to get a good grip with your fingers alone. The suction cup gripper solves the problem.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

When I was looking up how to remove the bulbs online I saw some ads for the removal tools.

I tried with the base of a hook I have in the backroom, but the sucker was a bit too big to get a good grip on the lens.

Only after I had finished did I realise I had a washing up brush with a sucker the right size on the end of the handle!

The fitting allowed be to access the outside of the reflecting dome, but there's a ring around the edge of the lens that is a tight fit. I could only just get the bit of a small screwdriver in to try prying away while pushing the dome with the pliers handles.

I used to work in an office with some recessed spotlights in the ceiling.

As I was the tallest working there I was occasionally asked to replace a bulb, these had a wire holding the bulb in place, but the connection was different with two straight brass pins that just slid off.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

I've used a car valve grinding tool to remove bulbs. It was OK as long as the bulb hadn't seized in the fitting which they often tend to do. Now I've got suckers that came with light fittings when we redecorated our living room but as the bulbs are now LED hopefully it will be a long time before I have to change them.

The fittings in my daughters house were particularly bad as the bulb holder was free to rotate in the ceiling fitting which resulted in one holder rotating and chaffing the wiring which then shorted out the lighting circuit. We replaced all the fittings and the new bulbs were LEDs.

Keith

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

I once had a mini Edison bulb snap off it's brass tip in the fitting, after making sure the fuse was turned off I managed to twist it out with some pliers.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

I am fascinated! Why would you need a washing-up brush to have a sucker on the end of the handle? Could you show a photo?
Colin.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

To stick it to the (tiled?) wall for storage?

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

I think the idea is so you can suck the bush to the edge of the sink when you're not using it.

I'll try to get a picture.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

Another useful application for WD40!

I've felt for a long time that the inventor of the GU10 lamp socket was a sadist who had inherited a terrible resentment of the customer. It speaks of a designer's determination to strictly meet the spec and not an iota more. Not only is there no means for the base to guide the contacts into their respective sockets, it has a coarse ceramic finish which resists one's attempts to slide the contacts across it into the sockets.

The fitting, whether downlighter or individual spotlight, normally gets in the way when inserting a replacement lamp, meaning that one is working 'by feel' unable to see the sockets.

Hopefully, as I progressively replace our numerous GU10s with their LED equivalents, replacement will become a lot less frequent activity and my language will naturally moderate.

Martin

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

We have many GU10 in our kitchen fitted when it was re-built, the builder had fitted Halogen bulbs, I saw an offer from CPC and bulk bought LEDs to replace the lot. Out with the steps and then several hours getting recalcitrant bulbs out of their holders. The LEds have proved more reliable but a couple have gone but have proved easier to change as they don't have the smooth glass face on them.
I used 7W Samsung bulbs and they proved a good replacement for a 50W halogen.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

When we had our conservatory rebuilt I specified LED lights so what did the contractors fit - halogen GU10s. I pointed out the order form and they returned a few days later with the correct LEDs. They also left the halogen bulbs which I passed onto a work colleague.

So far we've had no failures of the LEDs.

Keith

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

A large blob of blu-tack or similar material can IME be useful when removing GU10 lamps.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

Ref the brush. If it's like the ones we've had, the sucker is at the end of the handle, such that you can stand the brush up (worktop, draining board or whatever). Never used the feature ourself!

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

I always find it's a bit of a chore to line up the pins with the holes.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

GU 10's are a nightmare. I bought a 4 lamp directable fitting for our refurbished kitchen about three years ago and decided to replace the incandescent lamps with leds. The method I used to remove was two thumbs to effect the desired rotation and a wiggle to get them out. I used the reverse procedure to insert the new led lamps (purchased on the web) but it was very hit and miss and took forever.
Soon after we started to suffer from random flickering lamps and I used some spares to try to eliminate the problem, which didn't go away. I tried swapping "good" lamps for suspect ones to no effect, so in desperation, I removed the fitting , metered all the cables and checked for loose connections. After reassembly, I still had problems so, in desperation I went to Wilko and bought two boxes of own-brand GU 10 leds - problem solved! The lesson learned ? Don't buy really cheap rubbish on the internet when, for a few pence more you can get reliable consumables on the High Street!

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

I always put on a black neoprene glove and make a pad with thumb and the next two fingers,this gives good grip when removing a GU10,also helps when fitting one.Les

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

re #1
I used to use 50W GU10 in my kitchen lights. But when one popped it was a problem removing it. In the end I resorted to disconnecting the light unit and attacking it on the bench. I found the easiest way was to remove the circular glass cover , then snap off the centre bulb module ( gloves of course) and insert a large screwdriver in the slot left by the bulb module. Replacing thm again was also a pain.
As for the problem removing them, I have a theory ( perhaps others might put some bones on it), that th contact ,like those in the older high powered incandescant lamps were not man enough for the job and arcing /overheating of the contacts resulted.
I solved the problem by finding LED replacements ( something like 5w equivalent to 50 w) in a store .i can't remember the store (something like poundland etc). I remember fitting them pre the kitchen update in June 2018 and to date ( says he rubbing the nearest bit of wood ) none has failed.

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

I've had cheap GU10s snap off the base altogether and I've also cut my finger on sharp edges trying to turn them to get them out. I'll second the two-thumbs method and also the use of neoprene gloves.
The sucker-like device is okay as long as you don't have the other problem that seems to go along with cheap GU10 bulbs - cheap GU10 sockets! Fortunately you can also buy replacement GU10 sockets online and if you're having any issues with your fittings it's well worth replacing them

Re: GU10 Halogen Removal & Replacement
 

The sucker applied to the front can work, until you then find that you've only removed the front window of the lamp, leaving the rest behind stuck in the impossible socket.

Martin