On a recent (April 2022) work trip to the OBX Thornton Cottage, in preparation for the arrival of Erin, Ryan, Tobin, and Lily for the summer, a repair problem presented itself. The overhead light in the dark, windowless garage was flickering. Over time it stopped working altogether.

So, handyman Tom overanalyzed the problem—as usual. Yes, I first tightened and then replaced the light bulb trying several in fact to make sure I had a working one. I then measured the voltage at the socket, hmmm… 80 volts instead of the expected 120—what would do that? I measured the voltage at other outlets to make sure the house was normal, yep 124 consistently.

Well, switches, a moving mechanical device, commonly fail and can reduce the voltage so I replaced the ancient (ok 1950s) ceramic switch. Of course, I agonized over replacing it since I had never seen these old switches and didn’t know if they were swappable with new switches. Texted Jeff and got the OK, went to Home Depot. Trip one. The replacement switch did not fix the problem but I still think they needed replacing. Note to self, buy three switches the first time and replace them all. Don’t overthink it! Made another HD trip for two more switches.

Will maybe the connections in the light receptacle were corroded, reducing the voltage. I cleaned them and applied dielectric grease. Nope didn’t work.

I then tried to remove the two screws holding the light socket on the junction box so I could access the connections on the inside—two screws, how hard can that be? Well, both screws were heavily rusted from the salt air as was the metal junction box. The first screw eventually broke loose after much effort but, of course, the second screw head sheared off. No way to remove the screw.

Gumption trap

I first heard of gumption traps in Robert M. Pirsig’s 1974 book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, defined in Wiktionary as:

An event or mindset that can cause a person to lose enthusiasm and become discouraged from starting or continuing a project.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gumption_trap

As I vaguely remember from the book, Pirsig’s gumption trap came when trying to remove four motorcycle cylinder head bolts. Of course, the last one sheared. A simple job, almost done, turned into life-sucking, energy-depleting hours of workarounds. He details his mental approach to this in his book.

My stuck screw thwarted a simple and quick repair, but fortunately, experience (and Jeff) have taught me to expect them and go with another plan. All simple repairs take three times longer than you expect.

I pulled out my handy Dewalt Multitool and sheared the stuck screw knowing the junction box would be damaged and unusable. Another trip to HD for a plastic, nonrustable, junction box and a plastic light socket. Simple installation and the light worked!!!

So too much time on the repair: analysis, three store trips, false starts, sitting and wondering what to do—but, I stuck with it until the problem was fixed and the total parts cost was less than 10 dollars. It helps to be retired and not on a time crunch.

I can’t imagine the cost of an electrician to do this.