Can't fix it - get a bigger hammer.

[boyerbt]

So that is basically how it feels that this point.

I have a flush mounted light fixture in my dining room with a burnt bulb in it. I have tried to simply unscrew the bottom piece that holds the fixture in place but it appears that the bottom section is not threaded correctly as you can turn it till the cows come home and the light does not loosen. I have tried to figure out what else I can do but at this point I can only think of taking a hammer to it (once it is wrapped in a trash bag for easy cleanup) and replace it with a new light. The glass dome has some slight movement but the bottom piece is secure and only spins but does not loosen. I am at a loss at this point.

Does anyone have any ideas that I could try before I swing the hammer on this thing? T

Thanks for the help everyone!

[jba302]

Might be a tension mount. Grab some gloves and pull harder (and proper eye protection).

[boyerbt]

Might be a tension mount. Grab some gloves and pull harder (and proper eye protection).

It isn't - I should have mentioned that there are two other identical flush mounted lights in the house and both of them come off very easily with a few simple turns of the bottom piece.

[paddedhat]

I think I know what you are describing, and I might have a solution. If it's a typical fixture with a glass dome, and center mounted nut the supports the glass, the following should also be true, and sound familiar to you, based on removing the glass from your other fixtures. You might want to take another one apart to see if this makes sense. The knob on the bottom is a threaded onto a hollow tube called a fixture nipple. This nipple is screwed into a flat strap that crosses the electrical box. So, it makes sense that threaded hole in the flat strap, or even the nipple is stripped, AND the situation may be even more difficult if there is a nut on the back side of the strap, preventing the nipple from unscrewing.

 I would take a large pair of pliers, grab the nut on the bottom of the glass and pull straight down, hard! This should deform the strap enough that you get some play on the nipple. Now push the glass up and see if you have a 1/4" of nipple showing. Try and grab this with a needle nose pliers and then unscrew the nut on the bottom while using the needle nose to keep the nipple from spinning.

Remember to turn the power off at the breaker and wear eye protection, and gloves, as this whole process might result in things like ripping the fixture strap off the box, or shattering the glass. In the end you might have to go with plan B, that being carefully destroying the glass, but my idea might just work. Good luck and be safe.

Don't forget the golden rule of repair. "If you can't fix it with a hammer, or duct tape, it's probably an electrical problem"

[Spork]

This happened to my parents -- with a recessed can.  The wiring behind the can was spinning (and eventually shorted).

I had to take the can apart and rewire it for them.