LED street lights going on then off

[hl53us]

I recently installed a bunch of new Lumec LED street lights. Most of them work but there is a
handful of them that turn on then off, on then off, consistently. What could be the problem.

In the past I know that you have you use proper HPS light bulbs but this is LEDs that I installed.
Ballast?
Photocell?

 

[broadgage]

Faulty driver ?
Faulty or wrongly sited photocell that can see the light emmited by the controlled street light ?
Someone supplied the wrong sort and it contains a PIR motion detector and therefore only lights when it sees movement.
Line voltage right at upper or lower limit for the LED driver ? For example a 277 volt unit used on 240 volts might be fine when the actual voltage is 250, but not when it drops to 230.

 

[Gac66610]

I was always told that, "a blinking light controled by a photo cell, is wired backwards."

 

[hl53us]

Here is how it is wired:
Photocell has Line, Load, Neutral
Line side is 240V Black, Red
Load side is 240 Black, Red

So I pigtailed:
1. Line Red, Load Red, Photocell Neutral
2. Line Black, Line Photocell
3. Load Photocell, Load Black

All 34 lights are wired this way but 7 lights blink on and off.

 

[ggunn]

I recently installed a bunch of new Lumec LED street lights. Most of them work but there is a
handful of them that turn on then off, on then off, consistently. What could be the problem.

In the past I know that you have you use proper HPS light bulbs but this is LEDs that I installed.
Ballast?
Photocell?

Photocell would be my guess. I once installed a photocell controlled light fixture in my living room. When it got dark it would turn on, see its reflection on a nearby wall and turn off, respond to the darkness by turning on, etc. Made me want to start singing "Staying Alive, Staying Alive..."

 

[hl53us]

That is my guess as well....

It is a post top light with a big round disc on top of it... so it may be reflecting light to the pc (even though the pc is side mounted on the pole)

 

[GoldDigger]

That is my guess as well....

It is a post top light with a big round disc on top of it... so it may be reflecting light to the pc (even though the pc is side mounted on the pole)

One thing to look at to confirm this is the time constant of the photo cell. If the on/off period is equal to the delay time in the photocell you know that is the problem.
The other test, if you have easy access to the pole top, is to cover the pc and see whether the light comes on and stays on.

Sometimes this can be fixed by just paying attention to the orientation of the pc so that it is not looking directly at the disc. In the worst case, you may have to install a light shield.

 

[TNBaer]

Could be an issue with thermal management as well. A lot of these suckers will shut off if they get too hot, cool, then turn back on, heat up and turn off, cool, then turn back on rinse and repeat.

 

[mgookin]

Bypass the photocontrol on one of them and see if the problem continues. Simple test.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Could be an issue with thermal management as well. A lot of these suckers will shut off if they get too hot, cool, then turn back on, heat up and turn off, cool, then turn back on rinse and repeat.

This is what I was thinking. The top of the fixture is usually the heat sink and you get birds and what not up there.

But I wouldn't rule out the photo cell either.

 

[WillisCampbell]

I recently installed a bunch of new Lumec LED street lights. Most of them work but there is a
handful of them that turn on then off, on then off, consistently. What could be the problem.

In the past I know that you have you use proper HPS light bulbs but this is LEDs that I installed.
Ballast?
Photocell?

it does happen with cheap low quality led lights.. I had similar problem earlier and need to upgrade it with good ones

 

[MichaelKelley]

Why dont use LED Flood Lights

Why dont use LED Flood Lights

(Removed link)


LED flood lights have wide application, such as for hotel outer walls, on plaza for night lighting, it can be used for both indoor decoration and outdoor lighting. The light of the LED flood lights is scattered to all directions. The LED flood lights can be put at anywhere at the scene. You can use them alone or use several of them together.

 

[Danielciara]

Sometimes it happens because of sparking as it occur due to loose connection.

 

[petersonra]

I walk the dog every morning. It is usually still dark. I see street lights doing this pretty regularly.

 

[rinaric15]

LED street lights going on then off

I know that CFLs can flicker when people have a programmable switch installed. Do you have one - I'm not sure if it would do the same with LED though. I'm not an electrician or wiring expert so if this was going on at my house I would call one.


Maybe someone more experienced with lighting will come along to help though