A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron

On Sep 18, 11:31*pm, Ron wrote:
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron

Just because a light bulb is new doesn’t mean the filament is intact
these days where everything is made in a crappy Asian factory. Can you
check for continuity?
Most likely reason is one of the riveted wire connectors is loose or
the wiring in the fixture is burned due to a higher wattage light bulb
being used that the fixture wasn’t designed for. Most fixtures can
only handle a maximum 60 watt bulb due to the socket being made of
Bakelite instead of ceramic especially if the orientation of the light
bulb is pointing down where the generated heat is concentrated on the
base.

"Ron" wrote in message
...
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Outside light issues like this are typically corrosion related. Get a
voltmeter and a screwdriver and take the fixture off and see if there's
current getting to the wires and inspect for discoloration, corrosion,
broken wires, etc. The socket itself sometimes gets a layer of crud on it,
especially the center tab. If that all looks OK I'd go look at the switch
to see if the wires are unbroken and still properly connected. A typical
failure point is where the insulation was stripped. Too deep a nick into
the wire can eventually lead to a total break, especially in outdoor
fixtures subject to frequent changes in humidity and temperature.

--
Bobby G.

A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?


*Bad switch, bad socket, bad connections, incandescent changed out for a
compact fluorescent, or something else.

Remove the light fixture and see if you have juice there or remove the light
switch and connect the two wires together.

"Ron" wrote in message
...
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron


What Molly and Robert said but also how does the switch feel? bad bulb, bad
socket, bad switch. Then the had to find things are next.


--
Colbyt
Please come visit http://www.househomerepair.com

John Grabowski wrote the following:
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?


*Bad switch, bad socket, bad connections, incandescent changed out for
a compact fluorescent, or something else.

Remove the light fixture and see if you have juice there or remove the
light switch and connect the two wires together.

"incandescent changed out for a compact fluorescent"
Why? All my outdoor light fixtures have been changed from incands to CFL
with no problem, except for the few seconds it takes a CFL to warm to
full brightness.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On 9/19/10 2:31 AM, Ron wrote:
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit& circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron


Been there, done that.

Most lights are controlled by switches. If you've had any visitors,
somebody probably turned yours "off" by mistake.

A schematic diagram would be the best way to locate the switch. If you
know the model number of your house, you can buy a schematic from SAMS
Technical Publishing.

On Sep 19, 1:31*am, Ron wrote:
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron

I had a lamppost with a similar issue. A bulb went out and I replaced
itm but it didn't work. The bul I took out was bad, and the new one
was good (worked in a different socket). It turned out that there was
a bit of debris that fell into the socket when I took the old bulb
out, preventing contact for the new bulb. The debris was a piece of
glass from the housing that was broken by a ball.

I cleared that and replaced the bulb, and it worked. For a while. I
did not replace the glass right away, and forgot about it. I ended up
getting water into the fixture and shorting it out.

So, there are two possibilities. Hope its helpful, and if its one of
tyhe two, I hope its the first. Just make sure that the fixture is
protected if it is the case.

In article ,
J Burns wrote:

On 9/19/10 2:31 AM, Ron wrote:
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit& circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron


Been there, done that.

Most lights are controlled by switches. If you've had any visitors,
somebody probably turned yours "off" by mistake.

A schematic diagram would be the best way to locate the switch. If you
know the model number of your house, you can buy a schematic from SAMS
Technical Publishing.

Dangit. I forgot all about SAMS. Here I keep thinking I need to make my
own house wiring diagram, painfully checking every switch and outlet
against the breakers, etc., when all I have to do is just order my
ready-made schematic for $12.95. (And I'll probably get my neighbor's
garage schematic in the bundle, too.) Thanks for the reminder. I'll go
start looking for that house model number now ...

A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?


*Bad switch, bad socket, bad connections, incandescent changed out for a
compact fluorescent, or something else.

Remove the light fixture and see if you have juice there or remove the
light switch and connect the two wires together.

"incandescent changed out for a compact fluorescent"
Why? All my outdoor light fixtures have been changed from incands to CFL
with no problem, except for the few seconds it takes a CFL to warm to full
brightness.



*Some people have controls such as timers for their outside lights. Some
controls do not have a separate neutral connection, but instead use the
incandescent filament to complete the circuit. It cannot complete the
circuit on CFL's.

I just finished a job replacing 194 outside lights on townhomes with energy
efficient light fixtures. About half a dozen would not work because of the
timers that the homeowners had to control their old fixture.

Sometimes the little tab in the center of the socket gets pushed too
hard. Needs to be bent out a little.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Ron" wrote in message
...
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron

On Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:31:38 -0700 (PDT), Ron
wrote:

A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron
Bad switch, bad socket, bad wire, or bad connection.

On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 10:31:26 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
J Burns wrote:

On 9/19/10 2:31 AM, Ron wrote:
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit& circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron


Been there, done that.

Most lights are controlled by switches. If you've had any visitors,
somebody probably turned yours "off" by mistake.

A schematic diagram would be the best way to locate the switch. If you
know the model number of your house, you can buy a schematic from SAMS
Technical Publishing.

Dangit. I forgot all about SAMS. Here I keep thinking I need to make my
own house wiring diagram, painfully checking every switch and outlet
against the breakers, etc., when all I have to do is just order my
ready-made schematic for $12.95. (And I'll probably get my neighbor's
garage schematic in the bundle, too.) Thanks for the reminder. I'll go
start looking for that house model number now ...

While you're at it, check out the schematic for the bank's alarm system.

"Ron" wrote in message
...
A while back the outdoor back light stopped working. The obvious thing
to do was to replace the light bulb, but even with new bulbs, the
light still doesn't work at all. Now assuming the inside light --which
is on the same circuit & circuitbreaker -- is still working, why
doesn't the outdoor light work? Suggestions, anyone?

Ron

I have some humongous lights outside. They take a 250W Metalarc light.
They can run on 220 or 110. If you hook them up to 110, there is a
transformer. There is also what looks to be a very large capacitor (may be
ballast) in the transformer box.

You have not provided enough information about your light. There are lots
of different types. Perhaps if you were a little more specific
................ It could be transformer, ballast, capacitor, bulb(s), lots
of things.


Steve

On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:03:13 -0400, "John Grabowski"
wrote:
Some people have controls such as timers for their outside lights. Some
controls do not have a separate neutral connection, but instead use the
incandescent filament to complete the circuit. It cannot complete the
circuit on CFL's.

Also many motion detectors cannot handle CFLs. you have to make sure
you are getting one rated for fluorescent or for motor load. I ordered
on a few years ago both for this reason and because the ones I was
buying at the big box kept going bad, probably not sufficiently
lightning-resistant for Florida.

Also lighted switches may not be compatible with CFLs. A "lit when on"
switch will probably be OK (though I haven't tried it). A "lit when
off" switch very likely will not work, but you'll know it because the
CFL bulb will flash every few seconds. (The switch-light circuit also
goes through the bulb, which is no big deal with incandescent because
the current is small and limited by the light in the switch. I assume
they do it this way so the light in the switch goes off when the
circuit is open elsewhere. With a CFL, the circuit is basically open
at the bulb when off, and the voltage builds up over a few seconds
until it the bulb lights, but then immediately goes out because the
other light has limited the current. At least this is what I worked
out from my observations when it happened to me. Quite possibly other
lighted switches don't trickle through the bulb and so are OK.)

Edward