billsfanva
New User
- Location
- Gainesville, VA
I have a lamppost with a light in front of my house. It also has a photo (day/night) cell. Recently, the light on the lamppost stopped working. I thought I'd start to troubleshoot by making sure the lamp post is getting electricity.. (The bulbs are good.)
The elect that supplies the lamppost starts in my garage, at the gfi outlet. I'm told that all outdoor wall outlets and this lamp post all have the same source of power (the garage gfi). We are in a development where things like this were all installed the same way. As far as I can ascertain I'm the only one who has this problem....
The gfi seems good. There is power there. From the gft there is wiring that runs to a blue elect box just inside the garage but at the opposite side of where the gfi is located. At this blue junction box, there is also a elec wire that comes in from the lamp post (black, white and ground). When connected, this should light the lamp post.
But here is my problem. In tracking the electricity i discovered that there is current from the gfi to the blue elec box. That was tested with a simple 2 prong current tester. For that test, I disconnected the lead ins from the lamp post. All good. Then I reconnected the lead ins from the lamp post. I disconnected the wiring for the light fixture and photo cell so I could test without bringing any potential problems they might have. When I then tested the lead ns to the lamp post at the lamp post and there was no power!
I next isolated the wiring from the garage blue box to the lamp post, tested for line continuity and resistance with a multi meter (after disconnecting the power). No issues there. All seems normal.
So I'm now at a loss as to why the power won't go all the way. I've also ruled out the possibility of squirrels or moles chewing on the underground wiring which I think is in a conduit, 18" or so down. There is a sprinkler system in the front yard but I don't think it's a factor based on the continuity and resistance tests. The gfi hasn't tripped either. Could the line be somehow shorting out and not tripping the gfi? The other outside outlets on that circuit are working fine.
Any ideas on my next move because I'm stumped??!!
Thanks!
The elect that supplies the lamppost starts in my garage, at the gfi outlet. I'm told that all outdoor wall outlets and this lamp post all have the same source of power (the garage gfi). We are in a development where things like this were all installed the same way. As far as I can ascertain I'm the only one who has this problem....
The gfi seems good. There is power there. From the gft there is wiring that runs to a blue elect box just inside the garage but at the opposite side of where the gfi is located. At this blue junction box, there is also a elec wire that comes in from the lamp post (black, white and ground). When connected, this should light the lamp post.
But here is my problem. In tracking the electricity i discovered that there is current from the gfi to the blue elec box. That was tested with a simple 2 prong current tester. For that test, I disconnected the lead ins from the lamp post. All good. Then I reconnected the lead ins from the lamp post. I disconnected the wiring for the light fixture and photo cell so I could test without bringing any potential problems they might have. When I then tested the lead ns to the lamp post at the lamp post and there was no power!
I next isolated the wiring from the garage blue box to the lamp post, tested for line continuity and resistance with a multi meter (after disconnecting the power). No issues there. All seems normal.
So I'm now at a loss as to why the power won't go all the way. I've also ruled out the possibility of squirrels or moles chewing on the underground wiring which I think is in a conduit, 18" or so down. There is a sprinkler system in the front yard but I don't think it's a factor based on the continuity and resistance tests. The gfi hasn't tripped either. Could the line be somehow shorting out and not tripping the gfi? The other outside outlets on that circuit are working fine.
Any ideas on my next move because I'm stumped??!!
Thanks!
