Unfortunately, I think this means your triac was destroyed when the bulb
burned out. This is not an uncommon occurrence with light bulb circuits
in which the bulb is powered through a triac.
A triac is a device that can be triggered to conduct for various
portions of the AC cycle. The common lamp dimmer uses a triac. When
you turn the dial to adjust the brightness, the triac goes from 0% duty
cycle to 100% duty cycle in continuous fashion. In the touch-control,
the duty cycle is varied in steps rather than continuous adjustment.
Regardless of whether it is a touch control or a continuous dimmer, you
might be able to replace the triac. It is a three-pin device that is
most often in the TO220 type of package. There might be numbers on it
that will lead you to a exact replacement. Or, an electric repair
handy-person can probably find a suitable replacement, In a regular
dimmer switch it is hardly worth the cost to repair it unless you do it
yourself for fun. The touch control might be the same situation
depending on the price to replace it.
BTW, the way the touch control works is by monitoring the "noise" level
on the touch surface, treating the touch surface as an antenna. The
noise is rectified and integrated with a capacitor and discharge
resistor having appropriate time constant. When you touch the object,
the noise level shoots up because you are an extra antenna. The
circuitry detects this change in noise level and the logic portion of
the circuit toggles the triac into the next sequential duty cycle the
unit it programmed for. The integration feature plus detection of the
change of noise-level allows this to work effectively in different
levels of noisy environment. However, if you touch it too long, it
readjusts to the noise level with you touching it. If you then release
it and touch it again right away, it won't recognize the second (and
subsequent) touches until you stop touching it for long enough for it to
readjust to the ambient noise level.
I first became acquainted with these was when Heathkit made them
available in approximately 1980. They were fairly expensive at the
time, about $15 in kit form. I assembled four of them and used them in
several locations around the house. As they failed, usually upon
burnout of a bulb, I did not replace or fix them, and none is left.
Today I have switched over to X10 control, which is a fair amount of fun
as well as convenience,
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics and Chemistry
Chair of Sciences
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu