Hello,
I recently replaced my back patio light with a security (motion)
light. It is on a switch that is inside. It seems to work fine with
the exception of one odd behavior. When I turn off a light in the
house (kitchen or living room), the security lights come on for about
20 seconds. It doesn’t do anything when I turn on the lights in the
house. Only when I turn them off. I’m guessing they are on the same
circuit. In addition to the white and black wires at the mount, there
was a copper ground wire coming out of the wall. The security light
mount had a ground screw, but I chose to put the ground on the copper
ground wire instead. Would that have something to do with it? Anyway,
I don’t expect it is a hazard and I can live with the oddity but if
anyone has a good solution, I would like to try it. Thanks. Larry

On Aug 14, 11:58*am, BigLar wrote:
Hello,
I recently replaced my back patio light with a security (motion)
light. It is on a switch that is inside. It seems to work fine with
the exception of one odd behavior. When I turn off a light in the
house (kitchen or living room), the security lights come on for about
20 seconds. It doesn’t do anything when I turn on the lights in the
house. Only when I turn them off. I’m guessing they are on the same
circuit. In addition to the white and black wires at the mount, there
was a copper ground wire coming out of the wall. The security light
mount had a ground screw, but I chose to put the ground on the copper
ground wire instead. Would that have something to do with it? Anyway,
I don’t expect it is a hazard and I can live with the oddity but if
anyone has a good solution, I would like to try it. Thanks. Larry

Let me guess... You can stand under the security light and look into
the kitchen and living room windows.

Your motion sensor is "seeing" the act of the light going off as
motion, and is turning on in response to the perceived motion.

On Aug 14, 2:07*pm, wrote:
On Aug 14, 11:58*am, BigLar wrote:

Hello,
I recently replaced my back patio light with a security (motion)
light. It is on a switch that is inside. It seems to work fine with
the exception of one odd behavior. When I turn off a light in the
house (kitchen or living room), the security lights come on for about
20 seconds. It doesn’t do anything when I turn on the lights in the
house. Only when I turn them off. I’m guessing they are on the same
circuit. In addition to the white and black wires at the mount, there
was a copper ground wire coming out of the wall. The security light
mount had a ground screw, but I chose to put the ground on the copper
ground wire instead. Would that have something to do with it? Anyway,
I don’t expect it is a hazard and I can live with the oddity but if
anyone has a good solution, I would like to try it. Thanks. Larry

Let me guess... You can stand under the security light and look into
the kitchen and living room windows.

Your motion sensor is "seeing" the act of the light going off as
motion, and is turning on in response to the perceived motion.

Why wouldn't it "see" the light coming on as a motion?

wrote

Let me guess... You can stand under the security light and look into
the kitchen and living room windows.

Your motion sensor is "seeing" the act of the light going off as
motion, and is turning on in response to the perceived motion.

LOL! Now why didnt I think of that?

On Aug 14, 9:38*pm, "cshenk" wrote:
wrote

*Let me guess... You can stand under the security light and look into
*the kitchen and living room windows.

Your motion sensor is "seeing" the act of the light going off as
motion, and is turning on in response to the perceived motion.

LOL! *Now why didnt I think of that?

Actually, it is not the problem. Although a pretty good theory, I went
home yesterday and disproved it. In the living room, there is an
overlead light/fan combo. I pulled the light string to off so there
would be no visible light. I then flipped the switch to on and
nothing. However, once I flipped the switch off the outside security
lights came on for about 15 seconds. Is apparently has something to do
with the circuit it is on but I don't know enough about electricity to
know what it be. Any more ideas? Thanks.

On Aug 15, 9:30*am, BigLar wrote:
On Aug 14, 9:38*pm, "cshenk" wrote:

wrote

*Let me guess... You can stand under the security light and look into
*the kitchen and living room windows.

Your motion sensor is "seeing" the act of the light going off as
motion, and is turning on in response to the perceived motion.

LOL! *Now why didnt I think of that?

Actually, it is not the problem. Although a pretty good theory, I went
home yesterday and disproved it. In the living room, there is an
overlead light/fan combo. I pulled the light string to off so there
would be no visible light. I then flipped the switch to on and
nothing. However, once I flipped the switch off the outside security
lights came on for about 15 seconds. Is apparently has something to do
with the circuit it is on but I don't know enough about electricity to
know what it be. Any more ideas? Thanks.

Many motion-detector (MD) controlled fixtures will come on for a few
seconds when first powered on.

It sounds like the flipping of the living room switch to the off
position is sending some sort of "signal" to the MD making it think it
was just powered on.

Maybe the living room switch is arcing when it breaks the circuit.
Here's what I would try:

- I would first verify that the living room switch and the MD are
indeed on the same circuit.
- I would then locate any other switches that are on the circuit and
see if they cause the same "problem"
- If not, I would replace the suspect switch in the living room. (Turn
off the breaker first!)
- If other switches, either on that circuit or not, cause the same
problem, then come on back and let us know so we can offer some other
suggestions - like perhaps you should call an electrician.

On 8/15/2008 7:15 AM DerbyDad03 spake thus:

On Aug 15, 9:30 am, BigLar wrote:
On Aug 14, 9:38 pm, "cshenk" wrote:

wrote

Let me guess... You can stand under the security light and look into
the kitchen and living room windows.

Your motion sensor is "seeing" the act of the light going off as
motion, and is turning on in response to the perceived motion.

LOL! Now why didnt I think of that?

Actually, it is not the problem. Although a pretty good theory, I went
home yesterday and disproved it. In the living room, there is an
overlead light/fan combo. I pulled the light string to off so there
would be no visible light. I then flipped the switch to on and
nothing. However, once I flipped the switch off the outside security
lights came on for about 15 seconds. Is apparently has something to do
with the circuit it is on but I don't know enough about electricity to
know what it be. Any more ideas? Thanks.

Many motion-detector (MD) controlled fixtures will come on for a few
seconds when first powered on.

It sounds like the flipping of the living room switch to the off
position is sending some sort of "signal" to the MD making it think it
was just powered on.

Maybe the living room switch is arcing when it breaks the circuit.

I think your first guess is pretty good, but your second (an arcing
switch) is grasping at straws here.

Isn't it more likely that the motion sensor is just on the fritz? Right
now I'm dealing with about half a dozen different motion-detector lights
among different clients. About half of them don't work because the
sensors have gone bad.

Fortunately, the sensors (assuming this is one of the garden-variety
type that's available everywhere) are pretty cheap, easy to get and easy
to replace. They should *not* be affected by the turnings on and off of
nearby devices.


--
"In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I
will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the
population into concentration camps and turn the country into a
wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do
that. Let ME do it.'"

- Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson
presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost
Authority".

On Aug 14, 11:58*am, BigLar wrote:
Hello,
I recently replaced my back patio light with a security (motion)
light. It is on a switch that is inside. It seems to work fine with
the exception of one odd behavior. When I turn off a light in the
house (kitchen or living room), the security lights come on for about
20 seconds. It doesn’t do anything when I turn on the lights in the
house. Only when I turn them off. I’m guessing they are on the same
circuit. In addition to the white and black wires at the mount, there
was a copper ground wire coming out of the wall. The security light
mount had a ground screw, but I chose to put the ground on the copper
ground wire instead. Would that have something to do with it? Anyway,
I don’t expect it is a hazard and I can live with the oddity but if
anyone has a good solution, I would like to try it. Thanks. Larry

I’m guessing they are on the same circuit.

If you don't know if they are on the same circuit, you should be
spending a little time mapping and labeling your breaker box.

I'll assume you turned off the breaker for that circuit before you
replaced the light, right? And I'll assume it was daytime so you don't
know what other lights were affected, right?

I certainly hope that's the case.