we have a pool light but i have no idea if it works or how to turn it on. Any advice would help. Thank you
how to turn on pool light?
- Thread starter wyntyrose
- Start date
look for a light switch 
Not sure how to help you on this one. Once you id the switch there are things to check its function. It should be on a GFCI outlet or breaker which could be tripped making it not light. Or the bulb could be bad.
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
Not sure how to help you on this one. Once you id the switch there are things to check its function. It should be on a GFCI outlet or breaker which could be tripped making it not light. Or the bulb could be bad.
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
LOL well hmmm, there is an unidentified light switch by the back door that does not seem to turn anything on. so do you just take the bulb out and shake it like a regular bulb 
The bulb is directly under the diving board and behind the board is a electrical "box" sticking up out of the ground. not sure if this is all related to the bulb or not. wish we could just ask the previous owner but that is not possible.
The bulb is directly under the diving board and behind the board is a electrical "box" sticking up out of the ground. not sure if this is all related to the bulb or not. wish we could just ask the previous owner but that is not possible.
The junction box by the pool is for the light. There is at least a set of wires running from the box to the light. Another from the box to the switch. And maybe from the box to a power source.
If you are familiar with working with electricity you could open up the box and figure out if that is indeed the correct switch.
I would want to confirm the power source and switch before opening up the light.
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
If you are familiar with working with electricity you could open up the box and figure out if that is indeed the correct switch.
I would want to confirm the power source and switch before opening up the light.
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
I had to chuckle when I read your post. The same thing happened to us last year except the pool light would mysteriously turn on and stay on for days at a time. We finally found the light switch in the sunroom. Everyone kept flipping the switch trying to turn the ceiling fan on!
Our light didn't work when the pool was opened this spring. Luckily the circuit breaker box was labelled well with the location of the GFCI outlet. Sure enough, the GFCI needed to be reset. It had been replaced a few months earlier as part of a basement finishing project but wasn't reset.
So I would follow jblizzle's first post and find that GFCI first. It might be in an obscure location. For instance my light GFCI is on the basement ceiling above the electrical box but the automatic pool cover GFCI is on an outside receptacle.
Our light didn't work when the pool was opened this spring. Luckily the circuit breaker box was labelled well with the location of the GFCI outlet. Sure enough, the GFCI needed to be reset. It had been replaced a few months earlier as part of a basement finishing project but wasn't reset.
So I would follow jblizzle's first post and find that GFCI first. It might be in an obscure location. For instance my light GFCI is on the basement ceiling above the electrical box but the automatic pool cover GFCI is on an outside receptacle.
hmm me and electrical might not be a great mix. I think I will send the husband to figure this one out. the breaker box is brand new maybe it is labeled there. Thanks for the advice!
We had the same thing happen to us three years ago when we bought our house. Finding the pool equipment was easy. Finding the pool light switch, not so much. Turns out, the pool light switch was in the kitchen behind where we keep the coffee maker. Needless to say, this took a while to identify. I've since disconnected that circuit and now the pool light is controlled by the EasyTouch behind the pool house on its own GFCI dedicated circuit.
Assuming the bulb in the pool fixture is burned out, the best way to test would be to open the junction box near the diving board (with the switch off at the house), and then test the white and black wires for 120V. This will likely require removing the wiring nuts. Switch the circuit on and see if the is voltage. If there is, turn off the circuit, remove the light fixture from the niche (unscrew the screw at the top of the light fixture's bezel to remove) and bring the fixture up to the deck. Remove the bezel and lens from the fixture (often this requires untightening the ring clamp that holds the fixture together). Replace bulb and lens gasket, re-tighten the ring clamp and reinstall. Make sure there is no water getting into the fixture. Turn on light switch and you should see the light operating properly.
Assuming the bulb in the pool fixture is burned out, the best way to test would be to open the junction box near the diving board (with the switch off at the house), and then test the white and black wires for 120V. This will likely require removing the wiring nuts. Switch the circuit on and see if the is voltage. If there is, turn off the circuit, remove the light fixture from the niche (unscrew the screw at the top of the light fixture's bezel to remove) and bring the fixture up to the deck. Remove the bezel and lens from the fixture (often this requires untightening the ring clamp that holds the fixture together). Replace bulb and lens gasket, re-tighten the ring clamp and reinstall. Make sure there is no water getting into the fixture. Turn on light switch and you should see the light operating properly.
LisaM
0
- May 26, 2011
- 113
Question about this because I seem to have the same problem only I also have some unknown wiring that is not hooked up by my pool equipment. Are pool lights low voltage? should it be connected to a low voltage box somewhere? We tried to put power to that unknown wire to see if it would power the light but all it did was trip the breaker. It seems to go out to exactly the same set up the OP was discussing. Light in deep end with box sticking up out of the ground near there.
Pool lights come in 120V and 12V varieties, so you wouldn't know unless you removed the fixture from the pool and checked on its label, or if you could find the end of the circuit where the transformer exists. Of course, you can also just measure the leads in the junction box under a condition where you know the circuit is on. I am not sure what you were doing to cause a circuit breaker to blow. I would not suggest trying this unless you know ahead of time what the voltage is for the fixture and you completely unwire the light so that you are testing it isolated from the panel. BTW, if this was a 12V light and you ran 120V to it, you just blew the bulb (or worse, fried the electronics if it is an LED type).
BTW don't leave your light on for more than a few seconds if it is out of the water.
