Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Track lighting-bulbs burn out

There is a track in the kitchen and another in the service porch where the lights burn out a lot, though it happens more often in the kitchen. Once, when turning on the lights, three burned out at once.

The track and fixtures are 25 years old. The bulbs being used are 65 watt. I can't remember what the maximum is, but that is the lowest wattage available in at least some shops. I tried to remove a fixture to see what it says but I couldn't get it out.

One electrician I called said it's too hard to figure out the problem and better to replace the whole thing. Another electrician said it's not hard to find the cause. I don't want to replace everything if I don't have to.

A lighting shop will send out an electrician to trouble shoot for half the cost of an electrician I called. Is the shop's electrician more likely to find that the track needs to be replaced?

Premature bulb failure is an extremely common problem reported in this forum. You might have some luck searching for other threads.

Unfortunately, we are rarely able to offer much satisfaction. There are many causes of premature bulb failure, which makes it diffficult to always correct it. Replacing the fixture is often the most successful solution.

I offer the following partial list of the potential causes.
- Vibration (e.g., kids romping in the room above)
- Bulb overwattage
- Improper fixture installation (trapping heat)
- Poor-quality bulbs
- Excessive ambient heat

Many of the other potential problems, such as voltage fluctionations in the house, are less likely if they are only occurring in this one fixture.

I'd just keep replacing the bulbs (making sure you are not overwatting). When you get sick of that, replace the fixture. 25 years is a long productive life anyway.

By the way, you may not have to remove the fixture to see the maximum bulb wattage. Removing one of the bulbs often exposes the sticker.