I have been having trouble with my 2 Amerlites in the pool. The pool is about 8 years old. About 4 months ago, one of the lights stopped working. I pulled it out of the water and it was about 1/2 full of water on the inside of the light. I replaced the bulb, installed a new gasket, and reinstalled the light. Everything worked great.
About 2 weeks ago, all of the lights stopped working (pool and spa). The GFCI would trip instantly when the lights came on. I pulled out the second pool light (not the one I replaced before) and it too was 1/2 full of water. Dried it out and installed a 40W bulb just to make sure the fixture worked (and no problems with the GFCI) before I reinstalled. However, the GFCI still tripped. Pulled the first fixture out and it had a small amount of water. I opened it up, and noticed that the resin at the base of the fixture had several hairline (non-displaced) cracks.
After I dried everything out overnight, the GFCI resets fine, and both fixtures work with a 40W bulb, up on the pool deck.
Here are my questions: should I reinstall everything, or does the fixture with the cracked resin need to be replaced? Is the cracked resin the reason it filled with water in the first place, or is it normal for these fixtures to eventually take on water as the gasket ages? If hot, maybe both of the fixtures need to be replaced? At $200-$400 per fixture, I hope not! :grrrr:
Also, if I do replace the fixture(s) should I consider the LED fixtures? If one is LED and one incandescent, will the light output match?
Thanks for any help.
About 2 weeks ago, all of the lights stopped working (pool and spa). The GFCI would trip instantly when the lights came on. I pulled out the second pool light (not the one I replaced before) and it too was 1/2 full of water. Dried it out and installed a 40W bulb just to make sure the fixture worked (and no problems with the GFCI) before I reinstalled. However, the GFCI still tripped. Pulled the first fixture out and it had a small amount of water. I opened it up, and noticed that the resin at the base of the fixture had several hairline (non-displaced) cracks.
After I dried everything out overnight, the GFCI resets fine, and both fixtures work with a 40W bulb, up on the pool deck.
Here are my questions: should I reinstall everything, or does the fixture with the cracked resin need to be replaced? Is the cracked resin the reason it filled with water in the first place, or is it normal for these fixtures to eventually take on water as the gasket ages? If hot, maybe both of the fixtures need to be replaced? At $200-$400 per fixture, I hope not! :grrrr:
Also, if I do replace the fixture(s) should I consider the LED fixtures? If one is LED and one incandescent, will the light output match?
Thanks for any help.
