TROUBLESOME LAMP NEED NOT WIND UP AS TRASH

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 31, 1993                   TAG: 9302010279
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Curt Richert
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
TROUBLESOME LAMP NEED NOT WIND UP AS TRASH - FIX IT
Have you ever owned a lamp that had a switch you could swear was temperamental? A loose power plug that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't? How about lamp wiring that looks ready to short-circuit?
Here are some remedies for those problems.
To avoid injury, be sure the lamp is unplugged before beginning any work.
Begin by seeing if the lightbulb feels loose in the socket, the switch doesn't work or sticks. For any of these problems, you can replace the lamp socket.
Pick out a socket that has a switch that meets your needs, both in practicality and looks. There are a variety of switches available that have chain-pulls, rotating knobs and push switches.
To replace the lamp socket and switch, remove by unscrewing or loosening the screw in the base of the socket. Pull the base from the switch housing and you will see the two wires connected to the switch. Unscrew the wires and replace the old socket with the new one and re-connect the wires.
Check the plug that goes to the power outlet. If the plug seems loose or is bent, replace it with a new one. Most old plugs need to be cut from the wire in order to be replaced. Follow the instructions on the package since reconnections for replacement power plugs vary.
The electrical wire should be inspected next. See if any of the wires that go from the power outlet to the lamp socket are worn or broken. Replace the wires that you think are questionable.
To replace the wires, follow the same directions as for replacing the lamp socket. When replacing the wires, you most likely will have to replace the power plug, also. Follow the same instructions as for replacing sockets and the power plugs.
Some wires feed up through the body of the lamp. To remove, slowly pull the wire through the lamp from the end with the power plug.
Hint: If you expect problems with threading the new wire through the lamp, tie one end of the old wire to the end of the new wire and pull them through together. As you pull the old wire out, the new wire will be pulled with it.
After the new wire is fed through the body of the lamp, strip the insulation off the end that will go to the lamp socket. To connect to the socket terminals, bend the wire into a "U" shape with a pair of needle-nose pliers so that it fits around the screw.
Repeat the procedure with the other wire and attach the power plug at the other end, if you haven't already.
\ Have any comments questions? Write to Curt Richert, Roanoke Times & World-News, 201 West Campbell Ave., Roanoke Va. 24010-2491.
\ AUTHOR Curt Richert is a staff writer for this newspaper.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB