Shorted light and intellibright questions

[Suley]

Hello all,

I have two lights in the pool, one at deep end, one at the steps and there is another light in the spa. Both the pool lights are on the same switch and the spa light has its own switch. All three lights are fed by the same GFCI. The light switch is a single unit which controls the pool and spa lights (one of those half switches with two separate switches built into one unit)

A few days ago the lights were on for like 5-10 minutes when the deep end light went off by itself while the one at the steps remained on. I turned off the light switch and turned it back on. This tripped the GFCI.

I checked the switch and found a cross current between pool and spa terminals, replaced the unit. At the junction boxes on the deck I found wire nuts to be pretty loose. Disconnected the steps light and the deep end light started working. As soon as I connect the steps light, GFCI trips.

How can the deep end light go off first if there was a short in the step light?

Now that I have found out there is an issue with the step light, should I just buy a new light or try replacing bulb and gasket? Any way to check which route to go before starting to buy things? If I were to replace the fixture, should I go for intellibright with replacement of all lights with intellibrights in mind?

Do intellibrights need any special wiring? Right now all lights are 120V and all wiring running to the pool is simple 120V.

 

[JVTrain]

I'd remove and inspect both lights for seepage of water before replacing. Then you'll know if you need to replace or just replace the gasket.

There are two types of Intellibrites. Those that are capable of plugging directly to 120V traditional wiring and those that connect to a dedicated power supply for LED and a smart controller system.

 

[Suley]

Thanks!

right now I'm dealing with a screw which won't budge so trying to figure out how to get the light out without breaking anything. Also, the screw is located at the 4 o'clock position on the steps light which is making it even more challenging to loosen.

 

[Suley]

Today I got the screw open and pulled the light out. There are beads of condensation inside it and I can see discoloration of the reflector like a rust stain or even an electrical short. The housing has greenish deposits on it all over and caked on deposits at a few places which I cant tell if they are calcium or plaster from when the pool was built. All the labels in on the housing have lost their writing but the lens cover says "American Products Company North Hollywood". The light measures 5-3/4 inches in diameter at the bezel. There is a visible gap between the wire and the nut holding it to the light housing but I'm not sure if it is supposed to be that way.

Is it worth trying to replace the bulb and gasket or should i just buy a new light?

The niche has its screw at the 4 o'clock position. Is this going to be an issue for the light?

PS: Got the screw loose after reading other threads on jammed screws. Worked like a charm to tighten the screw first and then loosening it. I *did* damage the screw a bit but the damage occurred in the tightening side like the threads had said. Its again TFP to the rescue!