Pool lights not working after pool resurfaced

[Billrector]

Hi,

Just had the pool resurfaced with mini-pebble Stonescape and discovered neither pool light now works. The spa light (same light) on a separate switch works just fine. I have the Pentair Aqualight with a 250W halogen bulb. I have not used the lights since last year, so I can't verify they worked fine when they resurfaced the pool. I have ohm'd the bulb and visually inspected it from one light and it looks okay. I did get some minimal resistance on the meter. I also put the bulb back in and removed the switch by hard wiring. The light still did not come on, and I was not able to sense voltage with a voltage sensor. I have electricity at the switch box and those wires are live.

The only thing I can think of is that both lights went bad internally? Seems odd that BOTH would go bad (I have only looked at one light). New fixtures are expensive, especially if i go to LED ($500+ each).

Any ideas on something I might have missed?

Update: I'm confused looking at the electrical box. That box has two switches, one for the (2) pool lights and one for the (1) spa light. I would expect to see three (3) cables coming in for the three (3) different lights, but I only see two??? One is wired to the spa light switch (and that one works) and one is wired to the pool light switch. Also coming into the box is power from the box next to it. Just seems to me I should be seeing three (3) cables from the (3) lights??

 

[danpik]

Sounds like the problem may exist in the deck box or a junction box somewhere between the switch and the lights. As for the voltage tester you used, it is useless to troubleshoot electrical problems. Those proximity testers will detect ghost voltage and have you chasing your tail. You need a Volt/OHM meter to see where the voltage is and how much of it is at each connection along the line.

 

[Richard320]

Look for one of these somewhere.

Should have power coming in from the panel/switch on one side, and outputs to the pool lights on the other. It'd be real easy for someone to step on one or lean some heavy equipment on it and do some damage.

 

[Billrector]

I'm sure there is power at the box. The same power runs both the spa and pool lights. I'm getting 120V out of the lines coming in. I took the switch out and hard wired it but still no luck. This switch box is only about 9 paces from both lights. The wires coming into the switch box both have the same black cable insulation as the lights, so it does not look like the wire you would run from another box. Richard, I can't find anything in my pool area that looks like that box you are showing, but I appreciate your feedback. I'm sure the power coming in from the panel box is going into the switch junction box itself.

 

[Billrector]

Okay, went back outside and did find a grey junction box on the house. Looks like one of the lights runs into there and then connects to wires that take it into the switch box. So no problem getting 120V to the switch box. So, it is either the wiring between the switch and the light, the light fixture (both?) or the bulb. I did take the bulb out of both fixtures and I did not get an open circuit but I did get pretty high resistance (600K ohms)? Wouldn't a failed Halogen bulb be an open circuit? Visually, the bulbs look fine. If so, then it is the light fixtures. What can go wrong with a fixture? It looks like it is in good shape....no corrosion or water penetration.

 

[Richard320]

Okay, went back outside and did find a grey junction box on the house. Looks like one of the lights runs into there and then connects to wires that take it into the switch box. So no problem getting 120V to the switch box. So, it is either the wiring between the switch and the light, the light fixture (both?) or the bulb. I did take the bulb out of both fixtures and I did not get an open circuit but I did get pretty high resistance (600K ohms)? Wouldn't a failed Halogen bulb be an open circuit? Visually, the bulbs look fine. If so, then it is the light fixtures. What can go wrong with a fixture? It looks like it is in good shape....no corrosion or water penetration.

600K ohms is essentially an open circuit. You might be reading that just off damp or dirty fingers touching the probes.

Think waaaaaay back to Ohm's law.

120V/600KΩ = .0002A
120v *.0002A = .024w

1/40th of a watt is pretty dim. The bulb is bad.

 

[tim5055]

Well, when all else fails - just screw the bulb into a table lamp and turn it on. You will quickly know if the bulb is good or bad without the need for a meter.......

Now, if it does light p don't sit down to read War and Peace by the beautiful light. Pool bulbs need to be in the housing underwater to keep them cool, but a second or two won't kill them.