A ceiling fan, consisting of a fan motor and 4 compact fluorescent bulbs, is controlled by an X-10 system. In order not to place too much load on the X-10 module, the module controls an external relay which controls the ceiling fan, a system which has worked for years. Recently, the ceiling fan would not turn off in response to the X-10 command. After much troubleshooting, I determined that if I unscrewed a particular one of the 4 bulbs, the system would work; if I replaced the bulb, the system would again fail to respond to the X-10 command to turn off. The solution seemed clear: a defective bulb. Perhaps the bulb was generating noise which interfered with the X-10 signal.
I then replaced the bulb with a new bulb, but it didn't solve the problem! I tried interchanging two of the four bulbs, but it seems that whenever any bulb is screwed into this particular socket, the system malfunctions. Of course, I could just "solve" this problem by removing the bulb and getting by with three bulbs, but I'd really like to solve this problem.
Any suggestions?