LED bulb not lighting up: repair or replace?

Test the bulb in a socket you know works before condemning it: if it stays dark elsewhere, it is dead. If it lights up, the fault is in the socket or the dimmer. Cut the power, tighten the contact, then replace the bulb with a model with the same base.

A replacement almost always costs less than a call-out, and it takes two minutes. Our collection of LED bulbs brings together 266 references as of 29 September 2026, from E27 to G9, enough to find the same light without touching the rest of your interior decor.

How do you know if an LED bulb is dead?

Unscrew it and screw it into a socket you know gives light. Does it stay dark in that test socket? It is dead, no dismantling will save it. Does it light up? The bulb is fine, and the fault lies in the socket, the dimmer or the switch.

The test socket check

1. Switch off the room breaker before touching the socket.
2. Screw the suspect bulb into a socket that already gives light, in another room.
3. Switch on: dark, the bulb is dead; lit, the fault is in the fixture.

The method works for all bases, E27 as well as GU10. When the whole fixture stays dark while the test bulb lights up elsewhere, you work back up the circuit. Our article on repairing a lamp that no longer lights up follows exactly this logic, from the wire to the socket.

The signs that do not lie

• Blackening of the glass or the area around the diodes: heat has done its work.
• Flickering as soon as it is switched on: contact or dimmer, rarely the LED.
• Intermittent light then permanent extinction: the driver gave out before the diodes.
• No reaction in two different sockets: bulb out of service.

How do you fix a flickering LED bulb?

Tighten the contact. Cut the power, unscrew the bulb, bend the base tabs out by a millimetre with a small screwdriver, screw it back in. If the flickering returns in a new socket, look at the dimmer: a non-dimmable bulb on a dimmer flickers almost every time.

Tightening the base contact

• Tabs on the base bent outwards, never folded upwards.
• Oxidation grey in the thread: a rub with fine sandpaper, with the power off.
• Dust: dry brush, moisture restarts oxidation within weeks.

On a pin-base socket, the culprit is often the spring. The details of each case are in our article on the flickering LED bulb.

The incompatible dimmer

An LED bulb is poorly controlled on a dimmer designed for halogen: flickering at the low end, buzzing, light that refuses to go down. Our range of dimmable bulbs groups the dimmer-compatible references.

To understand the gap between the two technologies before buying, the article on the dimmable or variable bulb sets out the differences simply.

Can LEDs burn out?

Yes, but rarely through wear of the diodes. What gives out first is the driver, the small circuit that converts the 230 V. An LED gives off little heat, yet it suffers from heat trapped in a closed fixture: that is the leading cause of premature failure. The details are explained in how an LED works.

What should you do if your LED bulb does not work?

Work back up the chain in order: bulb, socket, switch, breaker. Cut the power at the panel before each operation, tighten the contact, test again. If the bulb is good and nothing changes, replacing the socket or the fixture becomes the only reasonable option.

Loose base, oxidised socket

On a bedside lamp or a wall light, the bulb lights up then refuses to come back on. Two checks are enough: the screwing, and the state of the thread.

• Screwing: four fifths of the thread, never all the way.
• Socket: replace it if the plastic is cracked or melted.
• Base: a forced format in a socket that is too small damages the contact.

Unsure about the match between your socket and a model? Our guide to bulb base sizes gives the common references.

When nothing comes apart

Some fixtures have no replaceable bulb: the module is moulded into the diffuser. Opening it is pointless. One useful question remains: does the cover move, yes or no?

If the cover resists, the method is described in changing the bulb in a recessed spotlight without clips.

When the bulb is good but the light does not come back, the doubt often falls on the whole fixture. Our team helps you decide between repairing and replacing, and to identify the right base and the right colour temperature: ask for advice.

Can you repair an LED bulb without soldering, or an LED ceiling light?

Without soldering, no: a burnt-out LED is moulded into its holder and cannot be replaced with pliers. What can be dismantled is what surrounds the bulb. On a ceiling light, the cover opens, the module can be tested, and if the driver is inaccessible, the repair stops there.

Without soldering, what is really possible

• Contact: tabs, springs and socket can be reworked without a power tool.
• Bulb: swap for a model with the same base and the same wattage.
• Power supply: never opened, it keeps its charge after switch-off.

Ceiling light: remove the cover before condemning it

On a ceiling light with an integrated module, the order is simple: cut the power at the panel, remove the cover, unplug the module, test a reference bulb on the terminal block. If the light comes back, the module is at fault. If not, it is the ceiling supply that needs checking. The steps overlap with those in repairing a fixture.

When the module is inaccessible, complete removal becomes the only way. The catalogue helps at that point: LED ceiling lights are chosen by diameter and colour temperature, without redoing the wiring.

Warranty also changes the calculation. In our survey of 33 bulbs as of 29 September 2026, 73% of the product pages state 2 years and 27% 5 years. After that period, the after-sales service is still reachable to find the original reference.

Which LED bulb should you choose to replace yours?

Take the base written on the old bulb, then the colour temperature. 2700 K for a warm white in a living room or bedroom, 4000 K for a neutral white in a kitchen or office. The wattage comes last, once those two references are set.

The base first

The base decides everything, and it can be read directly on the socket.

• E27: the most widespread base, in pendants and floor lamps.
• E14: small table lamps, wall lights, chandeliers.
• GU10: recessed spotlights and tracks.
• G9: small globes, often in design fixtures.

In our survey of 33 bulbs as of 29 September 2026, 42% declare an E27 base, 27% a G9, 24% a G4 and 15% an E14. Our collection of E27 base bulbs covers the most common demand.

For a spotlight, GU10 LED bulbs can be changed without tools, provided the beam angle is respected.

Unsure about the match with your socket? The guide to choosing your bulbs well goes through the references one by one.

Colour temperature by room

Two details remain to check on the product page: the protection rating and the dimmer compatibility. Of our 33 surveyed bulbs, all are IP20, so for dry interiors, outside the shower zone.

What our catalogue says

Style matters as much as technique: 45% of the bulbs in our survey are listed as contemporary, 39% as modern. They match our lighting fixture collection, where the pendant light, the wall light and the design lamp share the same vocabulary of shapes.