Lamp post Light

[bluedog103]

Does anyone know how the wiring is run to the outdoor lamp post lignt? I had wiring run today for an invisible fence for our dogs and tonight the light won't come on. The bulb is good.
The light worked last night so I suspect a cut wire. I can see the trench he made for the buried wire so if it's his problem he'll have to come out and fix it.
Thanks,
Bluedog

[pooh]

The wire to our lamp post had been cut before we moved in and the electrician sent from warranty first changed the bulb, then the sensor and finally had to dig up the post and found a cut wire. The wire seemed to come from the direction of the garage, but it is only a visual assumption for my particular light. I probably wasn't much help but hopefully, you'll find out what's wrong soon and the repair will be minor.

[Sparty6971]

BlueDog: Suspect the line might have been nicked or cut as you suspect. It might also just be one of your GFI circuits. My lamp also quit working shortly after we moved in (ten-year old home). Turns out the lamp post is on the same GFI circuit as the outdoor recepticles and outside porch/garage lights as the GFI recepticle in the garage. Reset the GFI and everything started working again. You might cycle the GFI in your garage first before spending any time or money tracing wires through the ground. Hope this helps.

BTW, you might remember this in the future. One of my outside recepticles shorted out a few months ago and I didn't know it. Only clue I had was the (same) GFI wouldn't reset.

[kb8tpw]

Just wondering what good an invisible fence is when there is a leash law? I don't have dog, and am not "pet savy" but was just wondering....... I'm probably missing something, it's getting late. I just put a flag pole in between my light pole and the edge of the driveway and suspected there might be something there as you may have encountered, but fortunately didn't have a problem.

[TommyT]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but why does the lamps burn every night??? Can the things be switched off ??? :shrug:

Seems like a waste of electricity to me !!!

[Sparty6971]

Suppose you could modify the pole wiring to include a timer, or have one inserted between the garage circuit and the pole. Not sure I would want to - just put in one of the CFL bulbs (60 watt equivalent is only about 13 watts); mine has been working fine for almost a year now. The pole light is frequently the only illumination of your home address. It would be a bummer to have medic try to find your home at 3:00 in the morning and not find it because it was too dark.

[Bryan]

I have had some problems with my light and had to check the wiring several times. I found that the front yard lamp/light is wired to the same circuit that runs my garage door opener motor. I live north of 466 so newer homes may be wired differently.

[dfn8tly]

My yard light stopped working a few weeks ago. Even when I put in a new power saving light it still didn't work. My neighbor suggested that the sensor had gone out so I went to Ace Hardware and they had dozens of them for sale. I was told this is a fairly common problem. They are not expensive and if you're technologically challenged, like me, any handyman can accomplish the job quickly. It's also a good time to clean those lenses and get rid of the spider webs.

[skip0358]

I have a 1 year old home. The lamp post is fed from the garage door opener outlet on mine. No GFI was installed but had one added. My sensor went bad shortly after we moved in.

[red tail]

My yard light stopped working a few weeks ago. Even when I put in a new power saving light it still didn't work. My neighbor suggested that the sensor had gone out so I went to Ace Hardware and they had dozens of them for sale. I was told this is a fairly common problem. They are not expensive and if you're technologically challenged, like me, any handyman can accomplish the job quickly. It's also a good time to clean those lenses and get rid of the spider webs.

its a simple wiring job. just 2 wires to replace the sensor. i had the same problem. changed the sensor and presto...works great. after changing it cover it with some tape to test.

[Snowbirdtobe]

Make sure that you shut off ALL the power in your house before you attempt any replacement of any wired in electrical equipment including the lamp post sensor.
If you are positive that you know the correct beaker and positive that the electrician didn't make a mistake and have lots of life insurance you can take a chance.

[Rag Bagger]

Because you experienced the problem right after the fence wire was installed it's probably likely that the installer cut the wire. Was the I.F. wire run between the house and lamp post? If yes, they most likely cut it.

Be very careful as the earlier poster said it's hard to tell which breaker the lamp post may be on. Be safe if you do the work and shut down the main breaker at the panel until you figure out which breaker is tied to the lamp post.

[red tail]

Make sure that you shut off ALL the power in your house before you attempt any replacement of any wired in electrical equipment including the lamp post sensor.
If you are positive that you know the correct beaker and positive that the electrician didn't make a mistake and have lots of life insurance you can take a chance.

these are people that know next to nothing about working with electricity...its not that dangerous!!!!i

[Snowbirdtobe]

these are people that know next to nothing about working with electricity...its not that dangerous!!!!i

I am an electrical engineer and red tail is correct with part of his assertion I do know next to nothing about working with electricity.

I do know that if you turn off all the power you won't get a shock.

[bluedog103]

Because you experienced the problem right after the fence wire was installed it's probably likely that the installer cut the wire. Was the I.F. wire run between the house and lamp post? If yes, they most likely cut it.

The wiring for the invisible fence was not run between the house and the lamp. The only place I can see where they might have cut the wire is where they came through the garage wall and buried their line. That's on the side of the garage where the light meter, cable and phone lines etc. are attached to the house. That might be where the lamp post wiring exits the house as well. I don't know that though.
I spoke with the honcho at the invisible fence company today and they're coming out next week to check their wiring. He said it's doubtful that the faulty light is their fault. He said that according to code the line from the house to the lamp post must be 18" deep. The trench for their line is only 3" deep.
It could be coincidence but the light worked Thursday night, they dug Friday and the light didn't work Friday night.
In any case, no biggie. We'll get it fixed. If it's not the I.F. company, warranty will take care of it.
Thanks for all the responses. I learned alot from reading your posts.

[chuckinca]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but why does the lamps burn every night??? Can the things be switched off ??? :shrug:

Seems like a waste of electricity to me !!!


I think you can buy a screw in light sensor that will turn the light off during daylight hours and allows you to just leave the switch to the outside light in the on position.


.

[bluedog103]

After speaking with the guy from the I.F. company I called warranty. The builder's rep had to come out to pick up a list of problems we found since the closing so it was a good time to ask about the post light. The buider's rep agreed with the I.F. guy that it wasn't likely that the I.F. installation had anything to do with the post light. Warranty sent out an electrician today who replaced the sensor on the lamp post. All is well now.
It was an unusual coincidence that the lamp failed shortly after the I.F. wiring was installed but everyone involved was honest and concerned and the problem was resolved without difficulty.
Thanks to everyone who responded.

[getdul981]

Just a short note here. If the cable to the lamp had been cut, there would be a breaker tripped that you cannot reset.

[handieman]

Just a short note here. If the cable to the lamp had been cut, there would be a breaker tripped that you cannot reset.

Why can't one reset the breaker that feeds the lampost? I do it all the time. BTW, get a new light sensor at Ace Hardware, they are 3-4 dollars cheaper that the home improvement stores

[handieman]

Speaking of circuit breakers

If you have a circuit breaker trip, it will not look obvious at first sight. Once you have determined which one you think is tripped, push it to the left (off) ALL THE WAY then reset it by pushing it to the right (on). Simply pushing a tripped breaker to the right will not reset it
Handie

[bluedog103]

Why can't one reset the breaker that feeds the lampost? I do it all the time. BTW, get a new light sensor at Ace Hardware, they are 3-4 dollars cheaper that the home improvement stores
Hey Handie, good hearing from you. I wasn't sure if you were still around.
As it turned out the lampost problem was caused by a defective sensor. After my conversation with the invisible fence company I called the warranty dept. The builders rep had to come out and pick up a list of warranty issues anyway. He said he didn't think the I.F. had anything to do with the light and sent out an electrician.
If it had not been a new I.F. and a new house I would have taken care of it myself.
The de-humidistat you installed for me in March works great. Saved me a bunch of money over the summer. Thanks.
Bluedog

[PaPaLarry]

More then likely, its the sensor!! Just replace. Very cheap and easy

[graciegirl]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but why does the lamps burn every night??? Can the things be switched off ??? :shrug:

Seems like a waste of electricity to me !!!

They are all made to come on when it's dark. I think for all of our security.

I suppose you could remove the light bulb or unscrew it.

[bluedog103]

More then likely, its the sensor!! Just replace. Very cheap and easy
This is an old thread but you're right, it was the sensor. Warranty changed it and it worked fine for a couple of months. They came out and replaced it again and so far all is fine.
A defective sensor is easy to troubleshoot and easy to change. Even easier when you have a great warranty department like TV.

[LI SNOWBIRD]

I think you can buy a screw in light sensor that will turn the light off during daylight hours and allows you to just leave the switch to the outside light in the on position.


.

Our lamp post light broke while were up north. The light was always on. So I did a search on TOTV and found my solution here. The fix cost $10.00 and took less than a minute. Thanks for the great information
:pepper2:

[PaPaLarry]

Just replaced lamp light on post yesterday. (6 yrs old, and pretty skimpy) Bought new light at Home Depot for 34.00. Turned off electric and replaced. Took 10 minutes. Sensor was replaced last year. Circumfrence of poles are all standard, so all fixtures are the same. Any handy person can do!!!!