It sounds like the photocell is working, and as you tried a new lamp, it
seems like the ballast transformer is probably bad, which probably means
your best recourse is to get a new fixture



wrote in message
oups.com...
We have an outdoor light that is light sensitive and supposed to come
on at dusk. It doesn't come on at all. It takes Philips PL-S 13 watt
fluorescent bulbs.

I removed the light bulb and used a multimeter to check the voltage at
the terminals with the light switched on. It was 0 until I put my hand
over the light sensor. When I put my hand over the light sensor, it
went up to 120 v. (I live in the US.) This suggests that the bulb is
the problem. However we replaced the bulb and the light still does not
come on. The multimeter gives a resistance of (Huge number) ohms
across the terminals of the bulb but this may be because it is a
fluouescent bulb and would have virtually no conductivity if not
attached to a power source. I would certainly appreciate any
suggestions one might have to resolve this problem.

Many thanks in advance,
Peter.