Under cabinet LED light

I installed an under counter dimmable LED light. Based upon the recommendation of a store worker I purchased a Lutron CL dimmer switch. It is a single pole switch. I installed the switch, ran a wire to a junction box, placed a receptacle there into which to plug in the light. The light worked fine for about a week. Now, whenever I turn the light on at the wall switch it does not come on.
I checked my wiring, plugged a lamp into the receptacle and all is good.
I called the store where I purchased the light and was told that a CL dimmable switch is inadequate, that I need to replace it with an ELV switch, which he can sell me to the tune of about $80.00.
Upon looking online for such switch the same switch I installed popped up as a compatible switch.
I am unsure how to proceed. All I want is for this light to function as intended.
It was made by American lighting, has three hues, and an on/off switch on the fixture. I checked, it's on.
Advice as to a fix is appreciated

Thanks,

Al graham

 

While not the cause of your problem you have a code violation. A standard receptacle can not be on a dimmer.

Did you check the light by plugging it into another receptacle?

 

What is the code violation?
This light was sold with a power cord to be plugged into a receptacle. All of the products in this line of lights are dimmable. How, then, should it be wired?
Please address the switch question I raised. CL vs ELV

Thanks.

Al

 

A standard receptacle can't by code be on a dimmer because someone could plug in something that can't be dimmed and damage the item they plugged in. That would be a good question for the manufacturer. There are non standard dimmer receptacles that require a special plug that only fits the dimmer receptacle but if it came with a standard plug then it wasn't sold for use on a receptacle with a dimmer.

Is this your under counter light? http://www.americanlighting.com/asse...d-complete.pdf If so instructions show it being hard wired. Perhaps for a dimmer you must remove the cord and hard wire. However by code you can not have lights hard wired to the kitchen counter receptacles so you would have to run power from another circuit.

Sorry I know I haven't really answered your question but I am puzzled how the manufacturer meant for a plug-in light to be dimmed. Hopefully one of the pros can help you.

Edit: See my new reply next.

 

Rereading everything I see I forgot one crucial question. Do the under cabinet lights work if plugged into a standard receptacle without a dimmer. If not then they are bad. Since they worked for a week that makes me think maybe it wasn't the dimmer.

A mod here often recommends Luton dimmers.

PJMax wrote in http://www.doityourself.com/forum/li...immer-off.html:

 

Please post a picture of the light and/or complete model number. It doesn't make sense that a fixture would state that it's capable of dimming and at the same time have a power cord. We are all in the USA and I have never seen a fixture like that.

The short answer to your question is that the lights need to be hardwired to install a dimmer, and even compatible dimmers might take some trial and error to find the best one.

 

Brian summed it up well. Saying a plug in light works on a dimmer is inconsistent with the nature of a plug in light. Maybe there was some confusion. Maybe the dimmer did harm the light because being a plug in it normally wouldn't be dimable.Advice from stores is sometimes wrong. If they are the ones who told you it was dimable then this may be their screw up.

We can advise you better when we have the make and model number of your light.

 

Reply from American lighting tech support.
The only way I know to answer this question is you would have to use a table top dimmer. Plug it into the wall and plug the ALC into it.. It is against the NEC code to dim an outlet.