ok.

i called the manufacturer.
they told me as long as the light rings are green the bulb is working. once
it starts to 'blink' its going BAD & after a week will die.

they told me to clean the casing.........

uh,,,, shoulda done that 1st (G).
as it was pretty cruddy.

ok , now will give it a week & see what happens.

thank you all for your comments
(hopefully the manufacturer is right)