Halo LT56 failure

[Lee Schierer]

My daughter called me a while ago and told me that one of her Halo LT56 5 inch light in her recessed fixtures in the ceiling failed with flame and smoke. Here is a picture of the failed light.
516491
This light was about 10 years old when it failed. It started blinking and then went out completely just before the flame and smoke.

Has anyone else had one of these LED inserts fail like this?

[Patty Hann]

Wow. The "flame and smoke" part is pretty scary :eek:

[Tom M King]

Lucky that one was in a can. I just installed some of the canless retrofit ones in an old bathroom ceiling this past week. The attic in that rental house has blown in insulation in the attic. I stole some of the silicone baking pans out of the kitchen to put up in the holes to hold the insulation out of the way. They were flexible to be able to get up in the
6-1/8" holes and heat resistant. Not as good as a metal can, but probably better than nothing. This made me remember to order some replacements.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

That is scary!

[Jim Becker]

While I suspect this is not a common level of "holly 'you know what' ", I'm sure glad it was caught before it took down the house! Very scary for sure!!!!

I'm a pretty good fan of the current generation of 'flat' LED round panels to replace older fixtures (once you pry them out which can be "fun") as well as for new applications. The drivers are separate from the lamps, too. They seem to generate less heat which is a good thing.

[Bill Dufour]

I wonder if they will give you all new upgraded light fixtures in exchange for the burnt out one? Huge liability for them now that they have been proved to be a problem. Wonder if UL can pull the certification? time to put a smoke detector in the attic.
Bill D

[Lee Schierer]

I wonder if they will give you all new upgraded light fixtures in exchange for the burnt out one? Huge liability for them now that they have been proved to be a problem. Wonder if UL can pull the certification? time to put a smoke detector in the attic.
Bill D

It was mounted in a cathedral ceiling...no attic. It was still glowing orange until she turned off the power.

[Bill Dufour]

Have her talk to the local fire department. She may need a paper trail if another one burns down her house.
BilL D

[Brian Elfert]

I wonder if they will give you all new upgraded light fixtures in exchange for the burnt out one? Huge liability for them now that they have been proved to be a problem. Wonder if UL can pull the certification? time to put a smoke detector in the attic.


One failure of a product does not mean there is a widespread problem. I would report it to the CPSC. There is a reporting link on the home page on cpsc.gov. They will have the manufacturer/importer do a recall if enough reports come in.

Electrical failures happen from time to time. That is why electrical connections are generally made in metal or fire resistant plastic enclosures. That light appears to be a retrofit for a recessed can light. The can lights are generally metal so flames are less likely to cause a fire in the house. I found several instances of possible fire inside electrical boxes in my house. The boxes stopped the fire. Every electrical box/enclosure in the house was opened at some point to replace light fixtures and replace switches and receptacles.