Check to see if there is a breaker built into your outside outlet. That’s how I got my sensor working.

I have the same problem and thought the exact same thing but don’t have any gfi in the garage. I have a lantana built in 2006 anyone tell me where the gfi could be before I have to call an electrician.

Bill’s
 

Even if the light sensor was painted over, power would still come to the pole if it existed

Gfi
 

If you have no power, use a ohm meter and check for ground on the white lead. (test between the bare ground and the white wire) if if no ground shows it is a tripped GFI. When a GFI trips it opens both sides of the circuit, not just the hot.

Thank you. I didn't know any of this. I just went into my garage and I saw 2 different outlets - one had 2 buttons and the other had no buttons but both outlets were marked GCFI. Are the buttons on the GCFI outlet just for the lamp post?

You need to hire someone to fix it.
Before you get electrocuted!

The buttons are for that outlet, and any other outlets downstream.( outlets with no buttons and marked with a sticker are considered downstream)

Check the GFI breakers. If that doesn't fix it, try replacing the photoelectric sensor. $12 at Ace

reset breaker with gfi
 

Electrician showed how breakers with GFI must be held off a few seconds before turning back on to reset.

Ohiobuckeye
 

Check GFI’s because when anything is in contact with water or near a water source it’s got to have some protection. Otherwise when you disassemble it or took some parts off to paint it you had to do something to a feed wire. Because if it worked before you painted it, you probably knocked a wire off. But like other people said, check GFCI first you might of just touched something to kick one of the GFI’s out. Good Luck!

There may also be a GFCI by your front door.

Be careful
 

The pole light has constant power and is always "hot", assuming the circuit breaker in the electrical panel has not been tripped. While the pole has constant power running to it, it is interrupted by the photoelectric cell, which acts as a switch. The cell is mounted in the side of the pole, a foot or two from the bottom of the light.

Accordingly, you need to be damn careful when taking the pole light apart. Many people believe that ordinary household current, 110-120 volts, will only shock them and not do harm. For the most part, that is true if you are inside the house and not "grounded" when you touch the live circuit, such as by touching a plumbing fixture. However, when you are outside standing on grass or dirt you will be grounded and household current can be deadly. Never work with electricity outdoors when barefoot or in flip-flops whether it be Christmas lights or the pole light. Remember that the metal pole is stuck in the ground. Thus, if you are touching the pole with one hand and have a "hot" electrical wire in the other, you will have the full current running through you.

Thus, when working on the pole light, you must find the circuit breaker in the electrical panel in your garage. They will have been labeled or the house would not have passed inspection. If for some strange reason they are not labeled, click off every one of the breakers or, even easier, click off the entire power running into the house by the switch which is usually at the bottom center of the panel. You can do them one at a time and have someone inside the house to yell at you or you can use two cellphones to communicate with each other. As you determine the circuits or rooms controlled by each breaker, take the time to write them on the label or panel.

When you are confident there is no power to the pole, you can then start to determine what is wrong with the light. Most pole lights which go out are the result of the failure of the photoelectric cell. In your case, as the light was working before you took it apart. I suspect you pulled a connection to the photoelectric cell apart. If so, you will have to "fish" with a bent piece of wire (clothes hangers work well) to try and catch the wires inside the pole and pull them to the top so you can work on them. The problem then is that the electrician who originally wired the pole may have cut the wires short and didn't leave a lot of wire to work with. In that case, you have a real problem.

The usual problem in TV is when the homeowner removes the fixture to replace it or to take it apart to paint it. Often, he/she fails to secure the wires removed from the terminals on the fixture and the wires fall back into the pole. Again, you would "fish".

While you are going to all this trouble, be certain to replace the photoelectric cell. They may fail internally, or the plastic lens may weather and become cloudy and will not transmit sufficient light to activate the cell.

Having said all this, as your pole light was working before you took it apart, I suspect your problem is nothing more than having tripped the circuit breaker by, somehow, shorting the circuit when you took it apart. If so, all you need to do is to go to the electrical panel in the garage, open the door, and find the breaker which was tripped. It will be readily visible as the black handle will be in a slightly different position than the rest of te breakers.

It's not likely you have GFI's on your outlets in the garage. You can have the outlets changed to install ones with a GFI. This is a good idea if you have an outlet near a plumbing fixture in your garage, such as if you added a sink, or if you use the garage outlets to send power via an extension cord to outside the garage (Christmas lights) or electric leaf blower, hedge trimmer, or leaf blower. Anytime you send electricity via an extension cord from the inside to the outside, the outlet you use should be one with a GFI.

Having said that, I just realized my wife, for the first time, added Christmas lights to the bushes in our front yard and used an extension cord. My next stop is at ACE Hardware to buy a GFI outlet!

I agree with your safety information. I would also point out that the light pole should always be connected to a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) device. Those devices are not fool proof, but they do provide some protection from getting electrocuted. They detect very small changes in the incoming and outgoing current, and they are designed to shut off the electricity before a dangerous current flows through your body. The regular circuit breaker is designed to protect the wiring from overheating, but it doesn't provide much protection from a person getting electrocuted.

I believe you are incorrect, ALL of the outlets in our garage are protected by GFCI either outlets or circuit breakers, this is a building code requirement. Several of the big box stores sell power testers 9these indicate power and co0rrect wiring) that have a button to test GFCI operation, I will guess if you get one these you will find that your garage outlets are protected. Also, if you add a GFCI in series with another GFCI BOTH may trip, so IMHO, test first otherwise you may need the electrician to find the 'other' GFCI.