Any ideas? We recommend our users to update the browser. tee for wire opening, Two -in. Test each light fixture for its voltage level with a digital voltage meter (about $25 at Radio Shack). A multimeterwill help you track down and identify voltage issues. Like every other second they turn off and then right back on and back off and so on. Youll find $69 prepackaged sets and $100 individual lights; plastic fixtures and metal ones; lights you can shine down from trees and up from ponds. If so, I have seen in the past that one tab (the on tab) is a little longer and if yo use the shorter (off tab) it does not reach the toggling area Go on ,which sets lower. As much as you want to focus on your property you dont want light spillover to your neighbor. A branch simply refers to connecting another cable off your main-line cable in a different direction. In addition, LED lamps will turn on at both higher and lower voltages without having their brightness affectedlike, In our experience, LED lamps that are powered too high or too low tend to have a shortened life. When daisy chaining is done, the first fixture in the wire will get lots of power. If the voltage loads weren't done properly, who knows what other aspects of the system could havebeen passedover or skipped for a short-cut. We recommend wire nuts filled with sealant. Cvbs. Youll have to search for it or have someone else look for it. I had landscape lighting professionally installed by a company called VITEX. In this post, you can find solutions to the 7 most common problems people have when their landscape lights arent working. Remember the focus of outdoor lighting installation is on the subject and not the fixture. Since the transformer will always be plugged in, you must replace the standard outlet cover shown with an in-use weatherproof cover, available at home centers and hardware stores. 15 Ideas For Outdoor String Lights That Will Make You Want to Live Outside. Orient the photocell with some western (sunset) orientation so it doesnt turn lights on too early. This myth couldn't be further from the truth. Direct burial wire will keep moisture from getting into the copper wire this extending the life of your system. Since I am a true porch daydreamer, I spend a lot of time enjoying my outdoor spaces! I checked the connections and have use wire clamps to keep from pulling apart. But how do we know if gets enough power? All the other lights work fine after I replaced the faulty GFCI. They can be strategically positioned to accent the plants and features you want to highlight. If youre using halogen bulbs, wed check the volts for the light fixture at the end of the grouping. Use a torpedo level to level the light pole and pack soil around the base. Everything learned in the days of halogen still need to be applied today. What does this mean exactly? The numbers rotate through 1-9 very quickly and never stop. Just becauseLED is here, doesn't mean tried& true practices should be neglected or forgotten. If it has, wed flip the switch back to ON and see if it works. PVC coupler with -in. I have a 120 watt Malibu power pack. Will a new photo sensor cell solve the problem? Design inspiration and outdoor lighting tips and advice for homeowners. It seems to occur in both the back set and front. There is nothing she won't paint! In addition, LED lamps will turn on at both higher and lower voltages without having their brightness affectedlike old school halogen lamps would. My bulb wattage is under transformer capacity. I decided to upgrade the fixtures because the older ones were plastic and constantly breaking. The wiring is pretty straightforward in a smaller lighting system. If thats not the issue, wed turn the transformer off and start hunting for a short. Then push it into one side of the CC-2 (doesnt matter which side either is fine!). I have an old 100 watt power pack. In a small,75 Watt transformer you will typically have two terminals: one labeled common and one labeled 12V. And run great after resetting the breaker for a week or more? But when a system isn't properly installed & fine tuned, it doesn't tend to last. Path lights with a 20-watt halogen bulb at a 24-in. Youve bought a brand new LED landscape lighting fixture with a screw or quick connector, but have old wiring with the typical electrical cap connections and are baffled on how to install. Typically, this is done by splicing the wires, which can be complicated and unsafe if not done by a professional. But the LED lamps will still work when the system is first plugged in & will likely continue working. We've learned in our, own experience, that this doesn't go well for LED lamps when they aren't calculated to be as close to 12V or 11.5V as possible. A good rule of thumb is to put no more than 100 watts of lighting on one line. Be careful of light trespass. We hate that your landscape lights arent working as they should. 2500 Old Alabama Rd #18 Roswell, GA 30076-2400. The clock works but simply passes the turn on set point. It is safe to use, DIY friendly, and easy to install. What could be the cause? Cvbs, Heres a step-by-step rundown on how to join two low-voltage cable runs together using our patented CC-2 connector. Rotten Fence Post Cap? I have a portfolio outdoor transformer It's always a good idea to go with a professional. In the world of low voltage landscape lighting, LED lamps have also become prevalent. The two closest lights to the transformer not lighting .. the farthest three lighting ? Transformer is about 5 years old. And since theyre low voltage (you can literally add wires and lights to the system while its operating), theyre safe to use and install. Outdoor low voltage lighting provide a pleasant alternative to glaring floodlights. They will go on if I manually move the switch. Burying the wires should be your last step. If it goes back to the middle turn it OFF and, call an electrician, Make sure the wires entering the transformer are tight and fully inside the terminal lugs, Check the voltage and amperage on the transformer to make sure its still getting power, If it isnt the transformer may need replacing, If youre using a timer or photocell, reset the clock or bypass the photocell, If that doesnt work you may need a new one, Look for a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) and hit the reset button (see picture below), Mostly found in or near bathrooms and garages, it looks like an outlet but with 2 buttons on it that say reset and test. ??? Voltage drops are a bad thing, but so ishaving the voltage too high (we'll get to this in a little bit). Buy a larger transformer than youll initially need so you can add lights later as your landscape (and imagination) expands. Why would my landscape lights go on and off on a very regular basis. how to finish off a low-voltage cable properly. The way the lines are run has a big impact on the performance of the system and influences the way power is distributed. Is this a timer that has screw tabs that you set at different intervals. what are the connections. Use aluminum tent stakes to secure the unburied wire in the bedding areas, then cover it with mulch. Abulous Lighting is a leading landscape lighting firm in the North Metro Atlanta area. Our experience is they don't even carry a voltage meter in theirtool box. Plain & simple: if the person installing / working on your lighting system doesn't know how to use a voltmeter, you should be wary. If its less than 10 volts youve got a problem. That same goal guided the development of our entire low-voltage lighting system. In a large / long run of lights, the voltage can be boosted by moving the wire up to a terminal with a higher voltage to compensate for voltage drops caused by longer distances and higher counts. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. The great thing about being able to boost power is that if the last light in a run doesn't have enough power, we can simply boost the line until it does. My outdoor post light, when turn on it blinks. See, we can totally do some of these on our own, points out Matt. I get a clean 12 volts on the wire, but when I clamp the light in using the snap 9n connector the light does not come on. If your lights come with press-on fittingsthe type that bite through the insulation and into the landscape lighting wire to make their connectioncut them off and use the wire connectors shown in Photo 4. This question made me realize that this was a topic we haven't covered yet, but really ought to! Thanks for a marvelous posting! Since the lights nearest the transformer arent working but farthest are we are baffled? between the light and branches to prevent 'hot spots.' They also know the installation pitfalls and realize the value of doing the job right the first time. No, we aren't talking about decorating them with flowers. Many lighting systems out there are being built with disregard for sound & established engineering practices. Most likely its a loose connection somewhere in the circuit. My transformer reset button will not reset. Without the need for larger transformers that require more involved planning & engineering, LED lamps have also brought a strange myth to landscape lighting: that landscape lighting is simple & easy to do. Do not succumb to the temptation to use piercing type connectors. A well-engineered low voltage lighting system has to have balanced wire runs that are wired for an appropriate voltage load. But that doesn't mean the system should be run at peak output simply because it can. I definitely enjoyed reading it, you may be a great author. 2022 Abulous Lighting. I just cant imagine that lightening is hitting these lights over and over , but I dont know what else it would be . hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(338130, '019d8114-87c0-40b8-b6cd-28c6a55e9ed7', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(338130, 'd8b5f4db-0bf6-488b-a853-21cbd65f77cd', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Landscape Lighting Installation | Attach the assembly to the tree with galvanized or stainless steel screws. *We'd like to send out a special thanks to Kevin Smith with Brilliance LED for sharing his years of insight in the landscape lighting industry with us. Is there a relay somewhere that goes bad?? Have switched bulb and socket but still the same half brightness. Plain & simple: if the person installing / working on your lighting system doesn't know how to use a voltmeter, you should be wary. They are clearly getting power and then turn off. Yeah, itd be sad to pay a contractor to come out here just to flip a switch, agrees Christina. If youve had landscaping done recently, well be looking for damaged wires, loose connections, or other problems that couldve been caused by people disturbing the wires. My lighting was working great until the last month. was literally exactly what I needed . Running a lighting system at it's highest voltage is what tends to happen when a system needs to send enough power to thelastfixture in a long run of daisy chained LED lights. How-to Convert Old Under Cabinet Lights to LED, brand of of landscape lighting I purchased was Portfolio, Hampton Bay Landscape lighting from Home Depot, outdoor water resistant electrical caps filled with silicone. The brand of of landscape lighting I purchased was Portfolio which is carried at Lowes Home Improvement stores and online. Your email address will not be published. Error? It just started the half brightness after 3 years of good operation. It has never rained on the transformer and the wire are good and not touching. Purchasing and installing high quality fixtures will not only ensure high quality illumination but they will outlast the typical big box fixtures. They are on separate transformers. Im SO glad this helped! We just installed a new landscape lighting We have a hampton bay 120 watt transformer We have 5 3w lumens 20 W incadenscent equivalent fixtures and ran brand ndw 12 / 2 100 ft wire. Are a few months it started to pop the gfci every week or two with more frequency Over time. That was me, until I figured out how to make it all work. My next project is having the fence and landscaping updated to make it a whole lot prettier! Here are the 7 problems they find and the solutions to try: A short in lighting is when electricitys going where it isnt supposed to and nothing is slowing it down. Install the transformer in a central location near an outdoor GFCI outlet. Wouldnt it be easier to get our lighting contractor to come out and take a look? My outdoor lights are not working for a couple of days and I have been thinking to fix it. These wire connectors have a shield on the bottom and a blob of sealant inside that make them weatherproof. Let's take a 300W transformer for example. Don't hesitate to reach out and get your project started today! Avoid this voltage drop by creating a tee (Fig. Use weatherproof connectors for a trouble-free installation, Outdoor Landscape Lighting Dos and Donts. Matt groans. My lights go on for 10 minutes then all lights go out. Construct rock-steady bases for top-heavy path and cone lights from plastic pipe. If I unplug and replug it works great again for one more day/night cycle. All the lights on 2 of the runs flicker and on the 3rd they just dont come on. How-to Paint Outdoor Resin Wicker Furniture! The service is usually freeand youll avoid dangerous and costly surprises. The biggest mistakes in outdoor lighting installation, Seven reasons why you should choose LED landscape lighting over incandescent, Nine landscape lighting tips and steps to install like the pros , How to Create the Perfect Tree Uplighting for Your Property, Landscape Lighting Tree Ideas to Transform Your Property, Christmas/Holiday Lighting and Decorations. We have a vPro 2 system with 3 runs. You can also recalculate the wattage to ensure youre not exceeding the transformers wattage (watts = amps x volts). I hit reset button and they come on for 10 minutes then go out???? Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest. i have the same 3 lights work .its low voltage led lghts would like to chk connections. The bottom line is, youll get what you pay for. I have two sets of landscape lighting plugged into a timer. Use waterproof pond lights for illuminating pools, fountains and other water features; offset path lights for lighting walkways; cone lights for highlighting both walkways and the surrounding plants; tree-mounted spotlights for simulating moonlight; and flood lights for illuminating trees, buildings and other large elements. sweat-to thread copper adapters. Complete DIY projects like a pro! The internal pieces that make the LED work are forced to work harder when more or less power than 12V is being fed to them. But this power is diminished by each fixture added to the run until the last fixture is noticeablyunderpowered. It's important to also note that voltage also decreases with distance. This will give you the freedom to move a light after youve hooked it up for testing or after youve installed it. LED lights also give lighting designers greater controllabilityover the effects they are looking to create. Weve put together a list of the biggest and most common mistakes we see in our outdoor lighting installation travels. Tracey's super power of color memory and long history of color trend analysis is combined to findthe perfect paint colors for you! Questions? By checking the voltage of each light in the wire run, we can dial in the voltage to be exactly where we need it. Make any outdoor space unique with a high-quality, energy efficient, and modern outdoor lighting system. How about you start with some of the easier ones and Ill keep looking up stuff on this blog about landscape lighting? Matt nods and the couple gets to it. Many other manufacturers and Hampton Bay Landscape lighting from Home Depot have a quick connect or clamp type of system to attach the fixture. No electrical nuts or caps were included in the box, so I got searching and learned its called a screw connector. I have a set of lights that seem to work better right after it rains but not on dry days. Make sure you balance your system and design your hubs so you are evenly distributing power to each fixture. The contractor would come back and replace and they would work for a while and then stop working. A low voltage lighting system can be likened to a sprinkler system. Get a first-class installation using these tips: A moon light should be installed 15 to 30 ft. high and have one or more branches between it and the ground to simulate moon shadows. Bury these wires at least 6 in. It gives off a patchwork quilt vibe (great for quilts, not for lighting). It's also important to note that daisy chaining light fixtures will yield poor results. They also have very little metal-to-metal contact so the slightest change in the condition of the connection could cause premature failure. Watch the video below to see just how easy it is to install the CC-2 connector: How to Make a Low-Voltage Lighting Branch (with the CC-2 connector), How to Make a Low-Voltage Lighting Branch with the CC-2 Connector. Its like the system is reversed. I thoughteasy, this will take a few minutes! The CC-2 connector is designed to make it safe and easy for lighting pros and DIY-ers alike. female thread, For each ground light: 1-1/2-in. I had outdoor landscaping lights installed in the yard and they all worked for a while and then most of them started to fail. When you are installing on existing old wiring that used electrical caps, it gets a little more confusing. You'll likely also see two comm. Home Outdoors Yard & Garden Structures Paths. Porch Daydreamer was named a 2021 Better Homes & Gardens Stylemaker. But long wires also drain power so youll likely need a multi-tap transformer to ensure correct power to every fixture. I have 1 portfolio light that has turned blue the other 7 are still white. That's all there is to it. 7 Easy Ways to Create Maximum Curb Appeal. which has worked great for the last 7 years or so. You simply take your wire guide and place it on the 12/2 cable where you want to make the branch. base from treated lumber or cedar, mount the light base to it and insert your wire connectors into the hollow light base. To get an idea of the pond light effect, see the opening photo. Maybe just maybe the lights are set to come on in the day rather than night from the timer? If you are installing a brand new landscape lighting plan this type of connector is SO EASY to install along a low voltage wire. Some have worked for the whole time. All Rights Reserved. Every week we see mistakes made by do-it-yourselfers. Lights want turn off. The screw connector is part of the Portfolio line of landscape lights found online and at Lowe's Home Improvement stores. I am trying to replace a Hampton Bay low voltage led light. For safetys sake, call 811 to have your utility companies mark the location of underground wires and pipes before you dig for your low voltage lighting. As a rule, the broader the field you want to light, the higher the light pole youll need. But depending on the size of the transformer, there can be multiple terminal blocks and multiple commons. Contrary to popular beliefwe don't discover the voltage a fixture is getting by reading shadows or listening to crickets. The one in the back has started to pop the gfci again after several months. Recalculating the voltage drop isnt too difficult and may solve your problem. You wouldve just twisted the ribbed wire from the fixture, in with the ribbed wires already on the ground and the smooth wire from the fixture, with the smooth wires already there. For the price LED lamps cost, wouldn't you want to get the full lifespan out of them? Neither popped its own breaker. Mounting it on a post allows you to easily change the photocell's orientation. To fix this, wed first check the transformer to see if its somehow been flipped to OFF. What would cause my lights to flash on and off once in awhile ? Thanks for the great tips/ideas. When artfully placed, they can be as beautiful and natural looking as the landscape itself. Want to take your business to the next level with outdoor lighting and beyond? I had to replace the GFCI after a pretty bad storm two days ago. Connect the wires with weatherproof wire connectors. They are subject to moisture, which will cause a connection failure. Direct burial cable used in landscape lighting there are two wires. If you place too many fixtures on one wire run, the voltage will be poorly distributed and make it more difficult to get enough power to each light. We checked bulbs / connections and no luck. Extremely low readings indicate a bad connection somewhere in the system or too many lights on a circuit. Its a safe, quick, and ultra-convenient solution thatll save you time and give you more room to work on growing your landscape lighting business. Purchase a transformer with a built-in photocell and timer. Would this most likely be a wiring issue or in the transformer? Yep. Most pros warranty their work. The timer is set but the lights will not go on. Christina shrugs and nods as she gets her phone out to start Googling. In our experience, LED lamps that are powered too high or too low tend to have a shortened life. This base gives the low voltage lighting an indestructible, sturdy footing; provides a housing for your wire connections; and allows you to make pole extensions of any length, from 1/2-in. You might be wondering, what is a low-voltage lighting branch?. Thank you for your question! If they arent, check the fixture connection points for shorts. I have 12 in the back and 15 in the front. Thank you in advance for the help! Thinks for DIY. We can probably find some methods for how to troubleshoot landscape lights on Google, points out Matt. Shoot us a message at info@in-sider.com and well get back to you as soon as we can. In a transformer this size you are likely to see terminals with different voltages: 12v, 13v, 14v, 15v or even higher. If it isnt it may need replacing. We decided to pay about $90 apiece for metal architectural grade, low-voltage halogen lights. Look at the ends of the cable to ensure the copper strands arent touching. The metal construction of the fixtures means greater longevity for them too, and we loved the natural burnished look. When hooking up the CC-2 connector, it works identically to the Easy-Lock connector. We installed a new transformer Adequate for 12 path lights. is because it is made to power a larger system. I put in a new LED and still nothing!! Contains hand selected products, with affiliate marketing links where I may make a small commission if a purchase is made. I have since updated mine to brand new ones to make sure there is still a water barrier around the wire. Keep the fixtures hidden as much as possible. How to Install Outdoor Lighting and Outlet. Stopped working by itself. My portfolio transformer has an LED display to set the number of hours desired to be on. It wouldve been easier to cut the connector off you new lights and join them into silicone filled wire nuts, using new wire nuts of course. Abulous Lifetime Warranty Brass Flood Light. These mistakes can drastically reduce the lifespan of a system but they are also easily avoidable. Our experience is they don't even carry a voltage meter in theirtool box. Proudly serving Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington D.C. with award-winning pond services. If this isnt your first rodeo, I promise this will be brief! Our outdoor lighting portfolio includes projects from Salt Lake County and Utah County, to Davis County and Summit County and beyond. Then I opened my new fixture and was like what? There are many ways to messup an outdoor lighting installation. What makes it so hard to troubleshoot is it can happen in many places at the same time. And bear in mind that some plants, like hydrangea bushes, sumac and dogwoods with colorful stems, look cool lit up, even when theyre leafless. The longer the wire run, the more voltage will be lost going from one end to the other. Then wed set it up again. of insulation, twisting the small strands together, then attaching them to the terminals. I am installing 8 LED lights. You may also have too many lights, which means we need to take some out or increase the voltage. The lights will come on in the ON or R setting Wires should be taped together with electrical tape to keep them from getting pulled apart by accident. Why would it work for months then pop the gfci breaker? We have a 200 watt transformer and twice in the last month we have had lights that go out and will not come back on , these are also LED lights that the bulbs cannot be replaced in, so that means a whole new fixture (Not Good !!) Let's take a look at what all this means & how it all works. What should I try or what should I look for. Provide at least 24 in. Photo cell works and circuit breakers are on.. Well give you a free no obligation written estimate and back it up with our unmatched lifetime warranty on parts and installation. Plus, its direct burial (just like the rest of the in-lite system) so you can simply cover it with sod, mulch, or most other outdoor surfaces. Pond lights are watertight and held in place on the pond bottom by a weighted base. He wanted to know why his transformer was wired to the 12v terminal instead of the 14v. Cheap and Easy Repair! These Are Some Actions You Can Take To Get Your Maryland Home Warm And Bright At Night Again. You can find shorts in outdoor lighting by looking for wires that are cut, broken, frayed, are improperly connected, or are stretched by roots or rocks. Use plastic wire clips with stainless steel nails to secure the landscape lighting wire to the tree every 3 ft. 10 Breathtaking Outdoor Lighting Looks For Your Yard. Why? The last light in the run did not turn on at all. So, pick one side and twist down nice and tight. Thats a good p0int. I have an old transformer which you can hear is working. If you installed any light fixtures indoors or a dimmer switch, you are very familiar with electrical cap connections. Website by. The wires blow the light fixture are probably broken. Replaced gfci and it started again after 1-2 months. Wed be checking for any areas that could be exposing wires or bulbs to moisture too. Even if youre planning to use low voltage requirement LED lamps, youll want to use a good direct burial 12-2 gauge wire. I just got home, its dark, and our landscape lights arent working, says Christina. Thanks for reminding to check and see if the bulb is in the socket correctly. It has not been used. Now one of my lights comes on during the day instead of evening. How-to Paint the Pottery Barn Seadrift Finish, Demystifying Kitchen Island Pendant Light Size and Height, How-To Create the Pottery Barn Driftwood Finish. Hi Rick, in this size of transformer. The voltage requirements for a system can be all over the place. Wire runs should be split down the middle & center fed to help evenly distribute power and reduce voltage drops. In other words the lights are on 24 hours per day. I have a Vista CT600RP transformer. 2022 Porch Daydreamer Market theme by Restored 316, Wide Adjustable Wrench | 1.5-Inch Wide Jaw Opening, Portfolio 4-Watt Powder Coated Bronze Low Voltage LED Path Light, Portfolio 7-Watt Specialty Textured Bronze Low Voltage LED Path Light, Replacing Landscape Lighting: Quick Connectors, Replacing Landscape Lighting: Screw Quick Connector. In recent years, LED lamps have become a standard in the lightingindustry: as well they should be. We recommend a hub system of wiring so that it is easier to troubleshoot and fix these problems when they arise. For Simplicity, let's break this up into two parts: wire runs and transformerloads. The 5 Components Of An Ecosystem Fish Pond, The best amount of lumens for outdoor light bulbs, For incandescent bulbs, look for breaks in the wire filament (the wires inside the glass part), Look to see if the light fits properly in the socket, Check the socket to see if it is giving power. Luckily, landscape lighting is on low voltage wiring and fairly harmless. For the price LED lamps cost, wouldn't you want to get the full lifespan out of them? This a very steady pace, pretty much the exact timing for on and off sequence. Thats true, but Id rather not spend the money on something we can probably do ourselves. Christinas eyebrow rises. Soon after moving in I noticed the auto eye was keeping the lights on all day VITEX offered no help, I bought a new auto sensor rom them and installed it myself, and like before they worked for a short while and now are in all the time again?? It was baffling how to make it all work, so I am happy to help! How to Build 4 Different Styles of Path Lights, How to Build Your Own Little Free Library, How to Build a Propane Fire Pit Using Gabion Baskets, How to Build a Treated-Wood Retaining Wall, We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer). A successful low voltage outdoor lighting plan requires selecting the right fixtures, such as low voltage spotlights, then placing and wiring them correctly. Next, youre going to grab your existing wire run (thats the main line coming from your transformer) and again place the wire guide on, lock it in place, and twist down. My suggestion is to buy these, before you start your project, so you dont have to dig up everything again like I did! Copyright Next night nothing. There isn't a quiz at the end. These are the same steps we take when someones outdoor lights arent working. It is a must to use a multimeterto ensure you have balanced and correct power to every fixture. I have an entire system in my backyard but the only lights which wont come on are the 6 pathway low voltage lights. In protected planting beds, the low-voltage wire can simply be covered by mulch or soil. And the bulbs last longer, some up to 10,000 hours. Install lights where they wont be easily damaged by plows or shovels. Use 10-gauge wire for the main lines from the transformer to where the lights begin, then switch to 12-gauge wire between the lights.