DIYbanter - Real Basic Electricity Question

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Real Basic Electricity Question

I have a motion sensor light in my driveway. One night I turned
it on and the bulbs flashed on and then immediatelywent out. I put in new
bulbs, but the light wouldn't work at all. Not even a flash when
I turned it on.

What could the problem be? Where should I start?

Thanks in advance,
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

when someone first told me this i didnt believe it, but after seeing a few
go and testing them its true.

for some reason the sensor seems to go bad in those fixtures. you could
probably trace it to cheaper fixtures. maybe better ones dont do it. ive
ripped into a couple and after testing them enough to know the sensor was
bad component, i cut the sensor out of a couple of em and used them in
locations that just needed a swtich...

its extremely unlikely something happened that is causing both bulbs to
instantly burn out.

did you try those bulbs someplace else? i bet they work. i'd just replace
the fixture.

randy

"Suzie-Q" wrote in message
...
I have a motion sensor light in my driveway. One night I turned
it on and the bulbs flashed on and then immediatelywent out. I put in new
bulbs, but the light wouldn't work at all. Not even a flash when
I turned it on.

What could the problem be? Where should I start?

Thanks in advance,
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 05:48:04 GMT, Suzie-Q
wrote:

I have a motion sensor light in my driveway. One night I turned
it on and the bulbs flashed on and then immediatelywent out. I put in new
bulbs, but the light wouldn't work at all. Not even a flash when
I turned it on.

What could the problem be? Where should I start?

Thanks in advance,

The electronics has gone south. You can send it in for repair but
it will cost triple what a new unit costs.

Suzie-Q wrote:

I have a motion sensor light in my driveway. One night I turned
it on and the bulbs flashed on and then immediatelywent out. I put in new
bulbs, but the light wouldn't work at all. Not even a flash when
I turned it on.

What could the problem be? Where should I start?

Thanks in advance,

These low-cost motion sensor lights seem to be a high failure rate item.
Fortunately, they are also cheap. I suggest:

1. Make sure the lamps you have used as replacements are really good.
Check the new ones with an ohmmeter if you know how, or try them in a
table lamp. (I mention this because it is amazing how often I get a call
to repair a light fixture that someone absolutely knows has good lamps
in it, but doesn't. I get to bill them my minimum for changing their
light bulb. Yes, I do mention this when they call, but they're
absolutely sure. Also, brand-new lamps are sometimes defective and may
either not work, or fail during the first few seconds or minutes of
operation.)

2. Are other devices on the same circuit working? If not, it is probably
a breaker, or possibly a wiring problem. Once in a while a breaker will
trip for no apparent reason. If it happens just once, don't worry about
it. If it keeps happening, you should have it diagnosed soon.

3. If you are up to it, check that the fixture is getting power. Do this
only if you know how to do it safely.

4. If the lamps are good, and the fixture is getting power and it still
doesn't work, just replace the fixture. They're cheap.

--
Tony Electric
http://dotznize.com/electric

The Reticulan Museum Of Unnatural History
http://ouchouch.com/fancy.html

RMUH wrote:

Also, brand-new lamps are sometimes defective and may
either not work, or fail during the first few seconds or minutes of
operation.)

Lately I've noticed this happens more with GE bulbs than other brands.
I guess they've outsourced their bulb manufacturing to the cheapest
third world country they could find.
Bob S.

On 27 Mar 2005 16:14:49 -0800, "Bob S." wrote:

RMUH wrote:

Also, brand-new lamps are sometimes defective and may
either not work, or fail during the first few seconds or minutes of
operation.)

Lately I've noticed this happens more with GE bulbs than other brands.
I guess they've outsourced their bulb manufacturing to the cheapest
third world country they could find.
Bob S.

Last year I bought a 20 watt GE halogen bulb that failed within 30
seconds. I called the number on the package and had them send me a
new one. That one has been going for a year now.

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 22:20:09 -0500, Dave Mitton
wrote:

Suzie-Q wrote:

I have a motion sensor light in my driveway. One night I turned
it on and the bulbs flashed on and then immediatelywent out. I put in new
bulbs, but the light wouldn't work at all. Not even a flash when
I turned it on.

Do the old bulbs work if you put them in some other fixture?

I'd be looking for a GFCI outlet somewhere upstream,
and only failing that, for fuses or other problems in
the fixture.