3 Way Keyless Socket Interior

A keyless socket interior or keyless socket is not a typical lamp socket. It doesn't have a switch function so the circuit control needs to be performed by another mechanism. The keyless socket is the true "lamp holder" with no other purpose. Keyless sockets are ideal for pendant lamps (use a switch on the wall) or chandeliers (one switch controls all the lights) and some cluster lamps.

48204 - Leviton Brand Short Keyless Medium Base Socket Interior

40204G - Leviton Brand, Keyless Socket

40266 - Leviton Brand Keyless Plastic Medium Base Bakelite Socket

The more complicated keyless socket is a 3-way socket. Designed for 3-way bulbs, the 3-way socket has the extra contact point on the base of the socket. 3-way bulbs have a low, medium, and high setting from having 2 sets of filaments.

On-Off PushThru Socket Interior

On/Off Turn Knob Socket Interior

3-Way Turn Knob Socket Interior

48220i - 3-Way Keyless Socket Interoir

For the 3-way socket to work with the 3-way bulb, you will need a 3-way switch and wire it in the correct order. Our 40402 switches are 2 circuit and will work with a 3-way interior.

40402N - 3-Way 2 Circuit Nickel Rotary Switch

Here is a wiring diagram to make it work:

The switch has 4 positions and the socket has 3 screw terminals. As the diagram shows, the smooth lamp cord wire connects to the black wire of the switch. The ribbed lamp cord connects to the nickel screw terminal on the socket. The red wire is the first circuit to turn on so it connects to the brass plated screw terminal and the blue wire connects to the black screw terminal. In the 4th position of the switch, both red and blue wires are on the closed circuit and the 3-way bulb has both filaments lit.

Can you use a standard bulb in a 3-way socket?

Most sockets require you to have a matching bulb. A mogul socket would require a mogul bulb and a GU-24 socket requires a GU-24 bulb. 3-Way sockets do not have the same requirement. I would say that most 3-way sockets probably don't have 3-way bulbs in them because they can operate a standard light bulb.

How can you tell if the socket is 3-way?

You can look inside the socket for the second bulb contact.

Without removing the bulb, you can tell a three way just by turning the knob as demonstrated in this video:

3-Way bulbs aren't for everyone. They are more expensive than standard bulbs and in some instances they might be too bright.

How to Make a Lamp

Constructing a lamp is easier than you might consider. Specialty lamp parts stores like Antique Lamp Supply offer a variety of lamp making kits. Not only do these kits come in different finishes like brass, antique brass, and nickel, but there are different types of kits depending on the application you need. If you need a dimmer, 3-way, push thru or swag kit, they are all available.

To create a lamp you only need a few items: lamp base, lamp shade, and a Make-a-Lamp kit. The kit contains the socket, harp, harp saddle, threaded rods, finial, washers and nut. A few required hand tools include: flat head screwdriver and pliers.

As the included instructions show, the lamp cord is pushed up the lamp body and attached to the socket interior with a UL Knot.

In just a few minutes, the lamp is complete and ready to enjoy.

Hand Decorated Table Lamp With Bottom Light, Rewired

A customer brought in this Gone-With-The-Wind or Parlor style table lamp and wanted it to be rewired. After an initial inspection, we found the cord was not polarized and the top socket was worn.

The lamp parts needed for this repair include:

1) 3-Way Socket Interior With 1/8F Hickey

3-Way Socket Interior for 3-Way Light Bulbs. Medium base (E26) turn knob socket with 1/8F tap hickey, full paper insulator and short mandrel. 250W-250V

2) 8 Foot Brown SPT-1 Cord Set (Brown [item 46710] was their choice, any color polarized cord set would work.)

46710 - 8 ft. Length, Brown 18/2 Plastic Covered Lamp Cord Set, SPT-1

To disassemble this lamp, we will need to remove the socket. This lamp has an unusual socket, there is no cap or shell. It has a hickey on the bottom inside the gallery. You will first need to unscrew the key from the socket. Then, you will unscrew the hickey from the socket interior. A small flat head screw inside the socket connects to the hickey.

With the old socket removed, unscrew the wire terminals and pull the old cord down from the lamp base.

Untangle the wire to remove from the bottom light wire. Using the new lamp cord, twist the bottom light wire to the new lamp cord. The cords should match: smooth wire together and ribbed wire together. If the bottom light has a black and white wire, the smooth wire connects to the black wire and the ribbed wire connects to the white wire of the bottom light. With the wires connected, push them up the lamp rod to the top socket.

Connect the lamp cord to the new socket interior. Since we have a 3-way socket, the smooth wires each have a screw terminal. The smooth wire from the plug attaches to the brass plated screw terminal. The smooth wire from the bottom light connects to the black screw terminal. Both ribbed wires connect to the nickel screw terminal.

In some cases (like this one), you can get lucky and use the old hickey on the new socket. For this lamp, we removed the hickey off the new socket and used the original hickey on the lamp and the flat head screw from the socket. Just be sure to pull wires down the lamp to avoid excess slack around the socket. Slip the new insulator over the socket and screw on the old lamp key.

If the bottom light was removed for this installation, simply snap it back in place. If the bottom light needed to be replaced, now would be the right time with the cord replacement.

48235 - Keyless Candelabra Socket w/Spring Clips, Leviton Brand

With a few good bulbs in place, we test the lamp.

Gone-With-The-Wind, not. Total time < 30 minutes Total Cost < $10

Heavy Socket With Collar Repair

In this blog we have covered many socket repairs. The latest "technology" in lamp sockets is the screw collar style socket that connects the socket cap to the socket shell.

48243SB - 3-Way, Turned Brass Lamp Socket (E26)

It is a good looking socket and can cost some real money to replace. We are all about being green and saving green so we will repair when it is an option. The other day a customer brought in this newer lamp with a screw collar type socket. They complained it stopped working and needed repair.

It looks good. No burns or worn places. The cord is polarized and in good shape. The only lamp part we can find wrong is the socket turn knob does not click. It just spins. Something inside the mechanical function of the socket has stopped working. We are going to fix this lamp, but only replace what is broken and not a penny more.

Most sockets snap together and have a PRESS marked on the socket shell to pry it from the socket cap. These sockets are a bit easier since they have a threaded collar connecting the cap and shell.

First, make sure the lamp is unplugged. Remove the harp from the harp base by pulling up the locking couplings and squeezing the tines together.

Then unscrew the collar on the socket. The collar hangs on the harp base while the socket shell is removed.

Pull the socket interior out from the socket cap. You might have to pull some slack from the cord or push extra cord up from the base. Unscrew the terminals holding the wire to the socket interior. (Some lamps might have a quick connect type socket interior. The wires on a quick connect should be cut close to the socket interior.) Remove the old worn socket interior.

Next, the new interior goes on the same way the old one came out. Simply revers the order of removal. The socket interior we are putting in this socket is a three-way socket to use with either 3-way bulbs or standard on/off bulbs.

Remember to properly connect the wires, the smooth wire connects to the brass screw and the ribbed wire connects to the nickel screw. If you pulled any slack up the socket for the interior, you will need to pull it back down the lamp. The harp is squeezed band clips back in the harp base.

Viola!! Complete repair in < 10 minutes  and costs < $