LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

I replaced incandescent flood bulbs on outdoor light/motion sensor base and the LED bulbs stay on all the time, day & night. Is it a technology problem? Do I need to put incandescent bulbs back in, or replace the base?

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

In writes:

I replaced incandescent flood bulbs on outdoor light/motion sensor base
and the LED bulbs stay on all the time, day & night. Is it a
technology problem? Do I need to put incandescent bulbs back in, or
replace the base?

Any chance you kciked the unit into "stay on" mode?

- many have this as an option.

I ran into this with a newly installed unit which stayed lit.

That circuit has a wall mounted switch and.. if you turned
it off then back on within a couple of seconds, the lamps
remained energized and lit regardless of motion, etc.

To get it back into "motion sensor mode" involved simply
turning the wall switch off for 30 or more seconds, then
back on.



--
__________________________________________________ ___
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key

[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 12/14/2015 9:55 PM, wrote:
I replaced incandescent flood bulbs on outdoor light/motion sensor base and the LED bulbs stay on all the time, day & night. Is it a technology problem? Do I need to put incandescent bulbs back in, or replace the base?


I am actually glad to hear that someone else has the same problem. I
currently have a Philips non-dimmable LED in one of our eleven motion
sensor outdoor lights and although it does not come on during the day it
frequency does not go off at night once it is turned on by motion. I
just went out and flipped it on test and back to shut it off and then
walked by and of course it came back on but to my surprise it went off
after the programmed 5 or 6 minutes. Because it is not consistent I am
going to try exactly the same brand, model, and wattage of bulb (I have
a bunch of them) in a few others and see what I get from them...maybe I
just have one bad fixture.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

IGot2P wrote:
On 12/14/2015 9:55 PM, wrote:
I replaced incandescent flood bulbs on outdoor light/motion sensor
base and the LED bulbs stay on all the time, day & night. Is it a
technology problem? Do I need to put incandescent bulbs back in, or
replace the base?


I am actually glad to hear that someone else has the same problem. I
currently have a Philips non-dimmable LED in one of our eleven motion
sensor outdoor lights and although it does not come on during the day it
frequency does not go off at night once it is turned on by motion. I
just went out and flipped it on test and back to shut it off and then
walked by and of course it came back on but to my surprise it went off
after the programmed 5 or 6 minutes. Because it is not consistent I am
going to try exactly the same brand, model, and wattage of bulb (I have
a bunch of them) in a few others and see what I get from them...maybe I
just have one bad fixture.


Should try dimmable one too.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 12/14/2015 09:55 PM, wrote:
I replaced incandescent flood bulbs on outdoor light/motion sensor base and the LED bulbs stay on all the time, day & night. Is it a technology problem? Do I need to put incandescent bulbs back in, or replace the base?


I haven't yet used LED bulbs in such a fixture, but I have tried CFLs.
It may work properly if you replace only one bulb (one incandescent, the
other LED).

--
10 days until the winter celebration (Friday December 25, 2015 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"If Christ, in fact, said "I came not to bring peace but a sword," it is
the only prophecy in the New Testament that has been literally
fulfilled." [Robert G. Ingersoll]

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Mon, 14 Dec 2015 20:00:45 -0800, "Bob F" wrote:

wrote:
I replaced incandescent flood bulbs on outdoor light/motion sensor
base and the LED bulbs stay on all the time, day & night. Is it a
technology problem? Do I need to put incandescent bulbs back in, or
replace the base?

Try the phillips dimmable LEDs. They've worked for me in similar circuits.


I've never seen a motion sensor that works like it should all the time.
It dont matter how much you pay for them, none are perfect. Some are
better than others though.

Anyhow, it could be there is not enough current being drawn to turn off
the light. (Just a guess). If so, you may have to either use LED bulbs
that draw more current (higher wattage), or make one of the bulbs an
incandescent, the other a LED.

Maybe the dimmable ones will work better, I dont really know. LED is new
technology, so there will be issues, and since motion sensors have
always been touchy, that just adds to the issues.

Do they make and sell motion sensor fixture INTENDED FOR LEDs? I dont
know, I have never looked for them. I got rid of most of my motion
sensor fixtures because they seemed to waste more power than without.
Seemed that the lights would go off just from a dog or cat, or a wild
animal, moving branches, rain/snow, etc. So it seemed they were turning
on and off all hours of the night. I only have one left on my barn, but
I put a switch on it. When I'm working out there after dark, I turn the
switch on and the sensor works when I go near the thing. Before I go in
the house at night, I turn it off.

This is not the first time I heard of this problem, including using CFL
bulbs.

You could also wire a second fixture to the same sensor, that would be
FOUR LED bulbs on one sensor. Maybe that would help????

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 12/14/2015 9:55 PM, wrote:

When the electric company installed a smart meter my motion detector
light sensor stayed on all night. It's only about 4 feet above the
meter. I tried putting a can around the motion sensor but that didn't
work, then I cut the end out of a metal coffee can and put that over the
meter. That worked, the smart meter can still phone home. I have four
LED bulbs that run off the motion detector now. I've had incandescents,
and HFL but now LEDs it didn't matter they all turned on and off
automatically. The neighbor's dog sets the motion detector off but
that's OK they are just doing their job of keeping honest people honest.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 12/15/2015 02:27 AM, wrote:

[snip]


You could also wire a second fixture to the same sensor, that would be
FOUR LED bulbs on one sensor. Maybe that would help????



It's all got to be in PAIRS.

What's wrong with ONE little incandescent light wired to that sensor, as
well as the LEDs you want?

--
"The self-assured believer is a greater sinner in the eyes of God than
the troubled disbeliever." [Soren Kierkegaard]

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 12:57:40 -0600, notX wrote:

On 12/15/2015 02:27 AM, wrote:

[snip]


You could also wire a second fixture to the same sensor, that would be
FOUR LED bulbs on one sensor. Maybe that would help????



It's all got to be in PAIRS.

Nonsense.
You can use 1 bulb 2 bulbs, or 12 bulbs, as long as you dont exceed the
amperage allowed by the sensor and/or the circuit.

The old Flood light bulbs were 100 or 150 watts. So it was not uncommon
to run 200 or 300 watts off a sensor. 12 LED bulbs would not likely
exceed 300W.

What's wrong with ONE little incandescent light wired to that sensor, as
well as the LEDs you want?

DO IT !!!

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

replying to Paintedcow, Lynster wrote:
I think you might be on to something with the "Current Draw" theory. I've got
several dusk/dawn/motion fixtures around the house and thought I'd save some
"long term" money by replacing the incandescent flood bulbs with LED flood
bulbs. Nope, bad idea... they don't turn off but go into a rapid flashing
(very irritating) mode. When motion is detected, they go on full, but then
when it times out, back to rapid flash. SO to throw more $$ away, I bought a
couple of new control heads that explicitly state on the box "Works with LED,
CFL, yada, yada..." Bad news, they do the same thing! I wonde if they test
this crap before they start selling it?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 8/13/17 4:14 PM, Lynster wrote:
replying to Paintedcow, Lynster wrote:
I think you might be on to something with the "Current Draw" theory.
I've got
several dusk/dawn/motion fixtures around the house and thought I'd save
some
"long term" money by replacing the incandescent flood bulbs with LED flood
bulbs. Nope, bad idea... they don't turn off but go into a rapid flashing
(very irritating) mode. When motion is detected, they go on full, but then
when it times out, back to rapid flash. SO to throw more $$ away, I
bought a
couple of new control heads that explicitly state on the box "Works with
LED,
CFL, yada, yada..." Bad news, they do the same thing! I wonde if they
test
this crap before they start selling it?

Buy a cheap mechanical relay rated for the voltage of your system.
It might suck up the odd current in your circuit. Amazon, Ebay, or
maybe your local auto parts store if the circuit is dc. I got this
idea from the resident electrical whiz kid when I was having trouble
with solid state relays.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Sunday, August 13, 2017 at 5:14:11 PM UTC-4, Lynster wrote:
replying to Paintedcow, Lynster wrote:
I think you might be on to something with the "Current Draw" theory. I've got
several dusk/dawn/motion fixtures around the house and thought I'd save some
"long term" money by replacing the incandescent flood bulbs with LED flood
bulbs. Nope, bad idea... they don't turn off but go into a rapid flashing
(very irritating) mode. When motion is detected, they go on full, but then
when it times out, back to rapid flash. SO to throw more $$ away, I bought a
couple of new control heads that explicitly state on the box "Works with LED,
CFL, yada, yada..." Bad news, they do the same thing! I wonde if they test
this crap before they start selling it?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

If you can live with one incandescent in that circuit, it will probably work.
For example, if you have four 75W bulbs and replace 3 with LED, you've cut
the power usage by ~60% and it will probably work. Whether it's acceptable,
not noticeable to have one different, depends on the application. Or you
could even have one 40W bulb in there and it will likely work.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

replying to swak.leete, sarabulho wrote:
I am dealing with the problem of a motion sensor switching LED bulbs. After
thinkering with the problem of extended time off or no turn off at all, I
found a MS that has a led which blinks when motion is detected. To my
surprise, it keeps blinking at a constant rate even without motion! It
occurred to me then that bulb leds has switched power supply included which
generates lots of EMI (RF) and that triggers the sensitive MS through the
power line. I figure that the solution requires an RF filter for the load.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

sarabulho posted for all of us...



replying to swak.leete, sarabulho wrote:
I am dealing with the problem of a motion sensor switching LED bulbs. After
thinkering with the problem of extended time off or no turn off at all, I
found a MS that has a led which blinks when motion is detected. To my
surprise, it keeps blinking at a constant rate even without motion! It
occurred to me then that bulb leds has switched power supply included which
generates lots of EMI (RF) and that triggers the sensitive MS through the
power line. I figure that the solution requires an RF filter for the load.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

You are a wizard! Now git r done.

--
Tekkie

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

replying to Lynster, Grammy wrote:
Not according to a manufacturer that I called. While in Lowes, I found a
motion light that showed it could use LED lights. While there I called the
phone number on the fixture box. I asked what brand LED bulb they suggested.
He said, "Oh, we don't test them". He said anything should work.
Doesn't the government require testing of electrical products?
I become frightened when I have a conversation like that.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 10/12/2017 11:14 PM, Grammy wrote:
Not according to a manufacturer that I called.Â* While in Lowes, I found a
motion light that showed it could use LED lights.Â* While there I called the
phone number on the fixture box.Â* I asked what brand LED bulb they suggested. He said, "Oh, we don't test them".Â* He said anything should work.
Doesn't the government require testing of electrical products?
I become frightened when I have a conversation like that.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homo-owners-chub.com/mai...se-860658-.htm

=

If it explicitly says it should work with LED bulbs, buy it. Try it out and if it doesn't work, return the cheap china-crap piece of **** to McLowesDepot and get your money back.

At some point the china-junk manufacturers and retailers will become tired of product returns and stop screwing consumers with this mal-engineered mal-advertised china-crap.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Fri, 13 Oct 2017 03:14:02 GMT, Grammy
m wrote:

replying to Lynster, Grammy wrote:
Not according to a manufacturer that I called. While in Lowes, I found a
motion light that showed it could use LED lights. While there I called the
phone number on the fixture box. I asked what brand LED bulb they suggested.
He said, "Oh, we don't test them". He said anything should work.
Doesn't the government require testing of electrical products?
I become frightened when I have a conversation like that.
They have tested THEIR product - they don't have to test other
people's products, and could get into trouble for recommending one
brand over another. If their unit is designed to operate withe LEDs,
it should not make any difference what kind.

I get around the whole problem now by buying motion sensor lights
built with LEDs installed - then there is no compatability issue.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Friday, October 13, 2017 at 4:55:42 AM UTC-4, Hecho en China wrote:
On 10/12/2017 11:14 PM, Grammy wrote:
Not according to a manufacturer that I called.Â* While in Lowes, I found a
motion light that showed it could use LED lights.Â* While there I called the
phone number on the fixture box.Â* I asked what brand LED bulb they suggested. He said, "Oh, we don't test them".Â* He said anything should work.
Doesn't the government require testing of electrical products?
I become frightened when I have a conversation like that.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homo-owners-chub.com/mai...se-860658-.htm

=

If it explicitly says it should work with LED bulbs, buy it. Try it out and if it doesn't work, return the cheap china-crap piece of **** to McLowesDepot and get your money back.

At some point the china-junk manufacturers and retailers will become tired of product returns and stop screwing consumers with this mal-engineered mal-advertised china-crap.

+1

And if it says it works with LEDs, it probably does.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

replying to swak.leete, Toolworker wrote:
I have an X10 PR511 floodlight unit that's driving me nuts. Most cycles, the
lamps in the unit remain on. I replaced it with another one bought on eBay and
it fails similarly. I did have one LED and one CF bulb in it. I'll replace
the CF with an incandescent and report back.

I tested the unit I removed using just one indoor LED bulb and it seemed to
turn off reliably, so I don't think it's the wattage. It could be
interference from some LED or CF bulbs.

Has anyone tried to update their unit? I started to open it up, intending to
replace the electrolytic capacitors, but got to where a ribbon cable had to be
removed, got leery and put it aside.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Sunday, November 26, 2017 at 2:14:08 PM UTC-5, Toolworker wrote:
replying to swak.leete, Toolworker wrote:
I have an X10 PR511 floodlight unit that's driving me nuts. Most cycles, the
lamps in the unit remain on. I replaced it with another one bought on eBay and
it fails similarly. I did have one LED and one CF bulb in it. I'll replace
the CF with an incandescent and report back.

I tested the unit I removed using just one indoor LED bulb and it seemed to
turn off reliably, so I don't think it's the wattage. It could be
interference from some LED or CF bulbs.

Has anyone tried to update their unit? I started to open it up, intending to
replace the electrolytic capacitors, but got to where a ribbon cable had to be
removed, got leery and put it aside.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

X10 is well known to be far from reliable. It's OK for some apps, when
you understand that. IDK what your specific problem is, but most of
the load specific problems come from many of these devices relying on
using the load
path to power themselves, ie, they don't have a neutral connection.
That works fine when you have an incandescent load that's 40W+ but not
when you have a CFL or LED load that's a small switching power supply.
If that's the problem, then putting one small incandescent in the circuit
will fix it. Of course, that may not be a real solution, eg if you have
4 outdoor lights by a garage, having one incandescent and 3 LEDs may not
be acceptable appearance wise.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Sun, 26 Nov 2017 12:42:52 -0800 (PST), trader_4 wrote:

That works fine when you have an incandescent load that's 40W+ but not
when you have a CFL or LED load that's a small switching power supply.

True. Also, I have a similar motion sensor switch which is continuously
triggered as sensing motion just by the ballast circuitry in a CFL. I must
use at least one 40W incandescent in parallel with LEDs. (If just LEDs', it
ends up flashing them very briefly every few seconds when in standby, i.e.
when no motion is detected.)

NB: The upstream 'homeownershub' post is two years old, but I decided to
followup in order to possibly enlighten someone else.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 11/26/2017 01:14 PM, Toolworker wrote:
replying to swak.leete, Toolworker wrote:
I have an X10 PR511 floodlight unit that's driving me nuts. Most cycles,
the
lamps in the unit remain on. I replaced it with another one bought on
eBay and
it fails similarly.Â* I did have one LED and one CF bulb in it.Â* I'll
replace
the CF with an incandescent and report back.

Most X10 devices will turn on when the load has been removed and
reapplied. This was a feature (local ON) with incandescent lights, but
electronic devices (including LEDs) actually do turn off for parts of
the AC cycle and this can cause the X10 device to turn on again.

I think there's a simple way to fix that, but don't have the information
for that one.

[snip]

--
28 days until the winter celebration (Monday December 25, 2017 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"The church is a bank that is continually receiving deposits but never
pays a dividend." [Lemuel K. Washburn, _Is The Bible Worth Reading And
Other Essays_]

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

replying to trader_4, Thankful wrote:
The one incandescent bulb did the trick on a sensor-ed system. Thanks

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...se-860658-.htm

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 1:44:14 PM UTC-4, Thankful wrote:
replying to trader_4, Thankful wrote:
The one incandescent bulb did the trick on a sensor-ed system. Thanks

--

Always good to hear that suggestions worked. Thanks for letting us know.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 10/13/2017 8:04 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Friday, October 13, 2017 at 4:55:42 AM UTC-4, Hecho en China wrote:
On 10/12/2017 11:14 PM, Grammy wrote:
Not according to a manufacturer that I called.Â* While in Lowes, I found a
motion light that showed it could use LED lights.Â* While there I called the
phone number on the fixture box.Â* I asked what brand LED bulb they suggested. He said, "Oh, we don't test them".Â* He said anything should work.
Doesn't the government require testing of electrical products?
I become frightened when I have a conversation like that.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homo-owners-chub.com/mai...se-860658-.htm

=

If it explicitly says it should work with LED bulbs, buy it. Try it out and if it doesn't work, return the cheap china-crap piece of **** to McLowesDepot and get your money back.

At some point the china-junk manufacturers and retailers will become tired of product returns and stop screwing consumers with this mal-engineered mal-advertised china-crap.

+1

And if it says it works with LEDs, it probably does.


But not necessarily with every kind of LED.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 10/13/2017 7:32 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2017 03:14:02 GMT, Grammy
m wrote:

replying to Lynster, Grammy wrote:
Not according to a manufacturer that I called. While in Lowes, I found a
motion light that showed it could use LED lights. While there I called the
phone number on the fixture box. I asked what brand LED bulb they suggested.
He said, "Oh, we don't test them". He said anything should work.
Doesn't the government require testing of electrical products?
I become frightened when I have a conversation like that.
They have tested THEIR product - they don't have to test other
people's products, and could get into trouble for recommending one
brand over another. If their unit is designed to operate withe LEDs,
it should not make any difference what kind.

I get around the whole problem now by buying motion sensor lights
built with LEDs installed - then there is no compatability issue.


Until it's time to replace the LED.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:43:37 -0700, Bob F wrote:

On 10/13/2017 8:04 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Friday, October 13, 2017 at 4:55:42 AM UTC-4, Hecho en China wrote:
On 10/12/2017 11:14 PM, Grammy wrote:
Not according to a manufacturer that I called.Â* While in Lowes, I found a
motion light that showed it could use LED lights.Â* While there I called the
phone number on the fixture box.Â* I asked what brand LED bulb they suggested. He said, "Oh, we don't test them".Â* He said anything should work.
Doesn't the government require testing of electrical products?
I become frightened when I have a conversation like that.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homo-owners-chub.com/mai...se-860658-.htm

=

If it explicitly says it should work with LED bulbs, buy it. Try it out and if it doesn't work, return the cheap china-crap piece of **** to McLowesDepot and get your money back.

At some point the china-junk manufacturers and retailers will become tired of product returns and stop screwing consumers with this mal-engineered mal-advertised china-crap.

+1

And if it says it works with LEDs, it probably does.


But not necessarily with every kind of LED.

It depends on the design. If it has a relay in it, the bulb type does
not matter.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

According to the kill-o-watt meter I tested with, incandescents have a power factor of 1.0, while CFLs and LEDs were running at 0.6.

Just throwing it out there, I don't know what kind of circuit that would be a problem for, if any.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On Fri, 29 Jun 2018 06:00:52 -0700 (PDT), TimR wrote:

I don't know what kind of circuit that would be a problem for, if any.

Power factor of the load is not relevant. The original problem was that
many models of motion-activated light switches use the load as a virtual
ground for the sensor circuit. Thus there is always a small current flow
through the load while the sensor is checking for motion.

Full current is applied when motion is detected, and the small continuous
flow while it is 'waiting' is not enough to light an incandescant bulb.

But it *is* enough to light the much more efficient LEDs. Thus they end up
being slightly 'on' while no motion is detected. Because of the design of
the AC power supply in the base of the LED that convert & filters the
current for the LED, often they will blink very fast instead of lighting up
very dimly.

LED bulbs won't turn off in outdoor light/motion sensor base.
 

On 06/29/2018 10:28 AM, Mike_Duffy wrote:

[snip]

Full current is applied when motion is detected, and the small continuous
flow while it is 'waiting' is not enough to light an incandescant bulb.

But it *is* enough to light the much more efficient LEDs.

Also, LEDs don't have to heat up to produce visible light.

Thus they end up
being slightly 'on' while no motion is detected. Because of the design of
the AC power supply in the base of the LED that convert & filters the
current for the LED, often they will blink very fast instead of lighting up
very dimly.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"The hands that help are better far than the lips that pray." -- Robert
G. Ingersoll