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In both pictures below, RIGHT is NOMA 40W G9 Halogen Bulb that has always fit snugly into my IKEA November.

LEFT is the Globe Electric 4W (40W Equivalent) Daylight (5000K) Dimmable LED, G9 Bi-Pin Base, 400 Lumens, 15,000 H — bought today. Here's Globe Electric's Dimmer Compatibility List.

  1. How do I fix this LED? Why does this LED fail to fit properly into my IKEA November Lamp bought in 2007? First I must nudge the LED into the socket with my fingers. Then I must grip LED with my fingers to wedge it into position, and keep the bulb illuminated! As soon as I remove my fingers, LED stops illumining!

  2. Which side of the LED is correct? Picture 1 or 2? I tried to insert both sides into the socket.

LED works when inserted as shown in image 1, but DOESN'T work at all when inserted as shown in image 2.

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    you fix it by returning it to IKEA – jsotola Dec 25 '21 at 22:49
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    If half the lighting elements in one bulb light up but the other ones don't, I don't think it matters why the base doesn't fit well. There's two pins, it's either getting power or it's not. If half the bulb fails, the bulb is defective. The lamp base may be defective too but I think the easiest thing to do now would be to return the half-working bulbs and buy new ones from a third manufacturer, that will help you determine if the lamp or the Globe Electric bulbs have imperfect bases. – jay613 Apr 14 '22 at 13:11
  • You may be correct, @jay613, I, however, took it to mean that plugged in one way it works, but turn the bulb 180° and plug it in, then it doesn't work at all. There was no question in my mind about that, but now, there is. Maybe the OP will clarify what he means. – FreeMan Apr 14 '22 at 13:34
  • Hmm, yes your interpretation is about as likely as mine. Anyway I think the theory in your answer about the slightly convex transition from bulb to base is probably correct, so maybe a different brand will solve the problem. Or maybe Ikea designed the lamp around the only bulb in the world that is NOT constructed that way ... that would be totally unsurprising. What fun. – jay613 Apr 14 '22 at 14:05
  • @jay613 "If half the lighting elements in one bulb light up but the other ones don't". No, this isn't what I meant. Either everything lights up, or doesn't. See comment below. DON'T hesitate to edit my post to improve it. –  Apr 14 '22 at 14:21
  • @FreeMan " I, however, took it to mean that plugged in one way it works, but turn the bulb 180° and plug it in, then it doesn't work at all." Yes you are correct. DON'T hesitate to edit my post to improve it. –  Apr 14 '22 at 14:21
  • @jsotola November lamp was bought in 2007. Too late to return it to IKEA. –  Apr 14 '22 at 14:23
  • Ok good. Well, I'm increasingly convinced it is your bulb, not your lamp, that is the problem, as suggested in the answer you marked correct. Let us know if a different bulb solves the problem! – jay613 Apr 14 '22 at 14:32
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    And don't worry about jsotola's comment ... we are a receptive audience for cheap cracks at Ikea, so just let us enjoy that. :). Here's mine: The best solution is to leave the lamp with the half working bulb in your dorm room when you leave! – jay613 Apr 14 '22 at 14:34
  • @toiv you're always welcome to [edit] your own question to add clarifying information. – FreeMan Apr 14 '22 at 17:23
  • @FreeMan Thanks for your edit. I wrote LED rather than "bulb", to distinguish Globe Electric LED from the Halogen Bulb. It's confusing that you used bulb to refer to both. What do you think? –  Apr 14 '22 at 18:31
  • It seemed pretty clear to me, but it's your question. I note you've updated your picture with measurements. It's interesting that the wire loops are different sizes. Between that and the taller base on the new bulb, I'd imagine that's what's making the LED not stay properly inserted. – FreeMan Apr 14 '22 at 18:35

2 Answers2

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Why doesn't the new bulb fit all the way into the socket?

Likely because the new bulb is just ever so slightly bigger than it's supposed to be and it has a slight taper at the base.

That would explain why, when you push the bulb down, you can force it all the way into the socket, the metal pins make contact and it lights up. It would also explain why, when you release pressure, it moves back out of the socket, breaking electrical contact. Just 0.5mm of movement on its own (0.1mm realistically) would be enough to break electrical contact, but you might not be able to detect this movement with your eye.

It's possible that the socket isn't properly shaped, but, since you have a bulb that will stay in it, that's not likely. However,

NOMA 40W G9 Halogen Bulb that has always fit snugly into my IKEA November. emphasis added

Maybe, just maybe, the socket on the lamp base is just a bit too small. The bulb should be a snug fit, but if you have had to really push the existing, functioning bulb in harder than you think you should, the socket might be the problem.

It could be a combination of a socket that's just too small and the new bulb is just too big and between them, they're just not going to fit together.

I do note that your original halogen bulb is a Sylvania Osram. Those are generally recognized as being pretty high quality, so it's very likely that the bulb was made within the proper specs for the G9 bulb base. It's still possible, though, that the bulb is toward the higher end of the allowable range of base thickness while the socket is at the lower end of the allowable range, thus making a somewhat tighter than expected fit.

Which side of the LED is correct?

I think the answer to this one it pretty obvious, don't you?

The question you probably meant to ask but forgot.

How do I fix this?

Buy a different bulb. It could simply be a different copy of this exact same brand/model of bulb. It's possible that there's just a flaw in this one that slipped past quality control. Or, you could try a different brand. If you do try another one of this brand and it still doesn't work, definitely go to a different brand - this one may may just be off enough on their manufacturing/design tolerance.

FreeMan
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  • Does my new edited picture change your answer? –  Apr 14 '22 at 18:31
  • No, @toiv, it really doesn't. The depth may or may not be important. It sounds to me like there's a variation in the thickness of the "plug" part of the base - it tapers from thicker at the top to thinner at the bottom. This taper, I suspect, is what's pushing the bulb back up enough out of the socket that that the contacts are out of reach of their mates in the socket. Again, this is my theory, and I don't know for sure. – FreeMan Apr 15 '22 at 11:46
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    As noted in the answer, it could be that all bulbs & sockets are within the spec for G9, but the new bulbs are far enough to one end and the sockets are far enough to the other end that they're just not playing well together. – FreeMan Apr 15 '22 at 11:46
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FWIW here is a G9 bulb I have. The transition from bulb to base is FLAT and the base is 13mm long.

enter image description here

What @FreeMan says in his answer, "a slight taper at the base", is that your bulb base needs to be long enough as measured from the bottom of the slight taper as shown below. I don't know if "long enough" means it needs to be 13mm, but it needs to be long enough that the pins reach the contacts. I suspect that by turning the bulb around you're just getting lucky (or not) with the pins just barely reaching the respective contacts on each side (or not).

With your original bulb it appears the bulb body is small enough that it could be inserted into the base all the way to the top of the yellow writing.

enter image description here

jay613
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  • Does my new edited picture change your answer? –  Apr 14 '22 at 18:31
  • Doesn't change my answer, because as I said, I don't know how deep your socket is. I know that 13mm is good enough for the sockets in my fixture. But that doesn't help you. Per your measurements, the distance in your Global bulb corresponding to my second photo is 11.5mm. That's 1.5mm less than mine. Which is roughly the height of the convex bottom of the main part of your bulb. Which sounds very scientific but it's not. I'm sorry ... my answer is just a theory, really it's just "the pins can't reach". – jay613 Apr 14 '22 at 18:39