Newbie question - lights not working

[HappyFunJay]

Hello,

I just bought a house with an in-ground combo pool/spa. This is my first house purchase, so I know very little about home ownership, let alone pools.

The pool uses a Hayward OnCommand unit, connected to an Aqua Pod remote, for automation. The remote seems to be correctly controlling the filter, spa jets, waterfall, etc. However, the lights aren't working. When I press the button on the remote to turn on the lights, the remote indicates that the lights are activated, and I hear a distinct "clicking" sound coming from the vicinity of the pool equipment, but the lights don't turn on. When I press the button again, the remote indicates that the lights are deactivated, and I hear the clicking sound again, but still no lights.

I seem to recall the lights working properly a couple of weeks ago, so I don't know what's changed. The fact that all of the lights fail to turn on leads me to believe that it isn't a problem with the lights/bulbs themselves.

How should I go about troubleshooting this? I didn't find any useful information on the Hayward Web site or in the manuals. Is this likely a fuse issue? Where should I start looking?

Thanks for reading.

 

[domct203]

Hello,

I just bought a house with an in-ground combo pool/spa. This is my first house purchase, so I know very little about home ownership, let alone pools.

The pool uses a Hayward OnCommand unit, connected to an Aqua Pod remote, for automation. The remote seems to be correctly controlling the filter, spa jets, waterfall, etc. However, the lights aren't working. When I press the button on the remote to turn on the lights, the remote indicates that the lights are activated, and I hear a distinct "clicking" sound coming from the vicinity of the pool equipment, but the lights don't turn on. When I press the button again, the remote indicates that the lights are deactivated, and I hear the clicking sound again, but still no lights.

I seem to recall the lights working properly a couple of weeks ago, so I don't know what's changed. The fact that all of the lights fail to turn on leads me to believe that it isn't a problem with the lights/bulbs themselves.

How should I go about troubleshooting this? I didn't find any useful information on the Hayward Web site or in the manuals. Is this likely a fuse issue? Where should I start looking?

Thanks for reading.

Welcome to the forum!

Have you checked all pool-related circuits for tripped circuit breakers and/or GFCI's?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jay,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all pool owners with pool light issues...

I agree with Dom, this is most likely a tripped GFCI somewhere.

All pool light circuits have to be protected by either a GFCI circuit breaker or GFCI outlet.

A lot of automation systems have what looks like a regular house AC outlet stuck to the side of the main enclosure. This will be a GFCI outlet.
Installers will often use the back side of this outlet to provide power to the light circuits. My guess is that if you reset this outlet your lights will start working again.

Of course if any one of your lights is bad, it will trip the GFCI, and since they all get their power from the same source, none of the lights will work.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[Sseaman]

Any idea what type of lights you have? Is there a power transformer near your control panel? The clicking is probably the relay. A pic of the equipment might help.

 

[HappyFunJay]

Thanks so much for the replies, folks!

I had a chance to examine the equipment yesterday. (I'm not moved into the house yet.) Sorry, I didn't take any pics.

I have no idea what type of lights they are. How can I identify them?

As far as I can tell, all of the breakers for the pool equipment, including the lights, are turned on. All of the equipment on all of the other breakers is functioning properly. I tried toggling the breaker for the lights, and the lights don't work with the breaker in either position.

You guys are probably right about this being related to a GFCI. Just like Jim suggested, there is a GFCI outlet connected to the bottom of the OnCommand unit. I tried pressing the test and reset buttons on the outlet several times, but the outlet doesn't seem to be resetting properly. The test button isn't making that "click" like it's supposed to.

Does this mean one of the lights is likely in need of replacement? Should I call in a pool technician to check this?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jay,

Well, since the lights are generally not on, then if the lights were faulty, the GFCI should reset until you turned a light on and then the GFCI would pop.

If nothing is plugged into the outlet side of the GFCI, and it won't reset, then I would suspect a bad GFCI outlet. Could be mis-wired but doubtful.

If you are not comfortable with troubleshooting or working on an electrical circuits, then I see a Pool tech familiar with electricity in your future..

Better to be safe than sorry,

Jim R.

 

[gwegan]

Your GFCI is not resetting probably because it is detecting a fault and will not reset if it detects a fault. It could be a fault in the lights or something else downstream from the GFCI.

You should have someone qualified like an electrician familiar with pool lights look at what is occurring.

GFCIs sold since 2015 have a self test process and will not reset if there is a fault.

 

[HappyFunJay]

OK, I'll have a technician look at the outlet and the lights. Thanks again for the help, guys!