In article ,
Smitty Two wrote:

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

My friend has a 100 watt mercury vapor security light on her garage that
for the most part won't turn off. she's replaced the bulb, it needed it
anyway, but the guy doing her handyman stuff says the sensor has to face
north. the wall the light is mounted on faces east, north faces a 12 to 18
inch roof overhang. seems like it would make more sense to face east or
even south east, but she isn't sure if the sensor is able to be rotated and
since she has a new one to put in with what looks like a weird electrical
outlet three prong plug, I doubt that it can be rotated. Any recommended
fixes?

Could be a cruddy switch. G.F. has a motion-sensing security light in the
carport that was staying on. There were a couple of slide switches and a
potentiometer on it. The pot adjusts sensitivity, and the slide switches
adjust ON time and override the motion-sensing feature so it can be manually
operated. At any rate, I "fixed" it by exercising the switches and pot.

Your friend's is apparently a dusk-to-dawn (light sensing) rather than
motion-sensing, but either way you'll likely find one or more switches on the
sensor that haven't been touched in years. Exercise them, spray 'em with
WD-40 or contact cleaner, or replace. Of course, the sensor window could be
getting cloudy, or the sensor could be failing for some other reason, but the
switch manipulation is a good first effort.

as of this moment, it appears that putting a replacement sensor has solved the
problem. I'm a little leery of saying it's cured because she's got another set
of security lights that get "cured" and work for a bit and then decide they
won't.

But thanks to everyone for the help. I didn't actually see the installation but
did see the replacement sensor and it didn't have a "shad" or adjustment
switches.