Changed pool bulb, still not working

[thomearl]

I've been trying to get the screw undone to my Pentair pool light for a few years. The light worked when we first bought the place, but stopped maybe 5 years ago. Screw was frozen tight probably due to calcium or something. Anyway, had to drain pool a bit this week to deal with too much salt and was able to finally get the light casing out once it wasn't covered with water. Changed the bulb and put back in, but still not working for some reason. Is there some area on the motherboard or something else I can easily check to see what's wrong? Not that comfortable working with electricity, so if it's complicated I'd probably hire someone, but just want to see if there's anything I can check before doing that. Thanks.

 

[Texas Splash]

Did you figure it out yet?

 

[Mikes61]

When you removed the metal sealing ring, glass and gasket, was there water in the light housing?

Do you have or know how to use a voltmeter? Did you test the new bulb before putting it all back together?

 

[thomearl]

No there wasn’t any water inside the housing, it was completely dry. I didn’t test the bulb cause I read that you shouldn’t turn on outside the water for whatever reason. Never used a voltmeter, only the tool that lets you know if current is live in an outlet.

 

[Mikes61]

It’s okay to turn on the light for a few seconds to make sure it works. You don’t want to leave it in a long time because there is no cooling without it being in the water.

I’m not sure what you are describing and what you used to make sure there is current getting to your light.

Is there power to the light bulb socket? Is it 110 volts?

 

[thomearl]

It’s okay to turn on the light for a few seconds to make sure it works. You don’t want to leave it in a long time because there is no cooling without it being in the water.

I’m not sure what you are describing and what you used to make sure there is current getting to your light.

Is there power to the light bulb socket? Is it 110 volts?

I didn’t use anything to test. That was my first mistake. I just assumed it was the bulb and a new one would fix the issue. The tool I have I believe is called an outlet tester. Don’t think it can used to test light fixtures though. I guess I’ll have to open it back up and make sure the bulb is good by testing in a shop light fixture or something. At least it’ll be easier this time as the screw is not frozen anymore.

 

[Mikes61]

Yes, use a regular house type bulb or floodlight bulb. That will tell you if there is power at the socket.

If there is no power to the socket, check the junction box that is probably in a nearby planter. Also check that the breaker is on. Be careful if you open the junction box, there’s gonna be 110volts there hopefully.

Those screws are available on Amazon for $7. They are brass or stainless steel and come with a rubber o-ring that retains it in the light housing. Without that o-ring, you’ll drop it into the deep end of the pool and have to swim down to get it. Ask me how I know lol.

 

[Mikes61]

Once you get the power or bulb issue figured out, you may want to put in a LED bulb. They use hardly any electricity, are color changing by using your wall switch and are only $75ish for the bulb. It will screw into your existing light housing.

 

[wireform]

As @Mikes61 said, you can check the junction box somewhere in the grass or bushes. That's where the power comes from the circuit breaker and the wire from the light fixture meet. Check the line side to see if it's atleast it's bringing power to that point. If it's not powered there then your bulb may be ok but the power source needs to be figured out.

 

[thomearl]

Well, problem solved. So I was going to take a peak inside the junction box, but before I did that I wanted to see some pics of what the inside would look like. I searched TFP and found a thread that said sometimes the issue is just the GFCI on the side of the automation box being tripped. That's what the problem ended up being. Now both my pool and spa lights work! I guess the only question is if the GFCI being tripped means there's some other issue, or maybe it's a natural occurrence and just got tripped when the previous bulb blew out? Anyway, thanks for all the responses.

 

[wireform]

So what you can do is install a gfci breaker just for the lights and get away from the gcfi outlet. I see them trip out when there's a cover pump plugged in so when its damp/raining sometimes they trip and it takes the lights along for the trip ( pun intended).

 

[Mikes61]

Sweet! That was an easy fix.